TechCrunch - Firepit Networking
Real world networking is often done using the central technology responsible for all civilization as we know it; beer.
My understanding is that humans first settled down from a hunter / gatherer life style to farm hops and grains to make beer. Farming led to towns, which led to all modern civilization.
As far as I can tell, TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington has built at least half of his huge list of personal connections using parties he throws at his house in Silicon Valley.
After last week’s HBS event, I then went over to Michael Arrington’s place. He was having another one of this TechCrunch shin-diggs. This time, to celebrate the announcement of an Enterprise Version of TechCrunch.
Michael Arrington is a good guy. Not only does he welcome complete strangers into his home for his Web 2.0 parties, but he’s got a great sense of humor.
When I met him, I told him that that I wrote an enterprise focused blog. Martini in had, he said TechCrunch was starting a new blog in the space because it was growing and because current coverage was so bad. He followed it with only the smallest smile.
To me, Arrington’s new enterprise focused blog is a good sign that things are heating up in the space.
Good-old Canadian bush parties
A bush party is held out doors (eg “in the bush” ), usually in the back corner of some old farm. They were a staple of my Canadian youth. The guy throwing the party would invite 10 people and, some how, 300 would show up. The focus point of a true bush party is inevitably a large camp fire. 150 people in front of the fire. 100 lined up for beer, and the remaining 50 lost in the woods.
Arrington’s event reminded me a bit of one of these good-old Canadian bush parties. Out back there is a firepit and everyone is walking around with that keg poured beer in one of those red plastic cups.
The only difference from my days way up der in North Bay was that instead of headbangers and lumberjacks, the people standing round the fire pit included Tariq Krim, CEO from Netvibes, Freddy Mini, COO from Netvibes, the Tantek Celik CTO from Technorati and Matt Mullenweg from WordPress. Robert Scobble was at the party also - and at the HBS event. Eric Moyer, CEO of stealth start-up Boorah and Vassil Mladjov, CEO of Blogtronix were also there.
How does one find out about these events? Read the blogs. How do you meet these people? Walk up and shake their hand.
You weren’t alone., my own east coast canadian youth was filled with the same parties. We called them “field parties” - although the drunkenness was probably the same, and a fight or two seemed to break out with great regularity. In the winter these turned into “house parties” and as we got a little older “kitchen parties”.