My take on the 27 dinner debate

As a non-geek, non-marketer, I would like to offer my views on the recent 27 dinner in Cape Town.

Firstly, I absolutely agree with the many people who said the speeches were way, way too long.  I really wanted to meet and bond and mingle and there just wasn’t opportunity for me to with the looooong speeches. I would far rather have no speeches than so many long ones. I really feel like I missed out on the bonding / networking bit. I eventually had to go stand outside, I couldn’t stand another minute of sitting still!

 However!!!

 The speakers did speak for free, and for that we should be thankful. AND! And this is a big AND…. The length of the speeches was beyond the control of Mike or Dave and they can’t be held responsible for that. Apparently the JHB speakers stuck to their allotted and agreed 7-10 minutes. (Side note to the speakers – it’s a little off to speak for so much longer than agreed, it puts the hosts in a really difficult situation.)

 And now for my moan. And believe me, I am not just saying this because Mike is my BFF. I am saving a swift kick up the ass for him at the end.

 I am surprised, irritated and just a little pissed off how effing whingy and ungrateful some people are.

 Yes, the speeches were too long / not technical enough / too technical blah blah whinge paste, but do NOT forget that this was the first 27 dinner. That this was arranged in their own time by people like Mike and Dave, who volunteer considerable time and effort to put these things together. It is a pain in the bloody arse to organize things. People are forever unhappy about something.

 It was the first 27 dinner folks, (at least in CPT), cut the guys some slack. Offer some constructive criticism if you want, but do it in a way that doesn’t come off like a big effing whinge. And please acknowledge the hard work and effort that the guys put in. Let’s learn from this one and make the next one even better*

 The 27 dinners are not just about geeks. And not just about marketers. What about the normal, common or garden bloggers. The boring mommy bloggers who also want to participate.  Do you hear us complain if the talk is about PHP or P2P or PSP or whatever bloody P you guys talk about? It is not just about a sub-culture within the broader community, it is about connecting with and to everyone who is passionate about this world. And you don’t need to be a geek to be passionate about this kind of thing.

 I’ve made some amazing contacts through the online community. Contacts that have and will help me hugely in my sideline that is blogging. But don’t forgot that some of us boring bloggers have day jobs working for massive multinationals like IBM. Huge networking potential and business opportunities that go beyond just geeks or marketers.

 Sorry this has got so long. It just pisses me off when there is so much negativity about something that is supposed to be a positive thing. And that people are quick to moan, but very slow to say thanks.

 So, thanks Dave and Mike, I for one had a great time and am looking very forward to the next one.

 Now, on to Mike…. Mike, Mike, Mike. The Cape Town chirps are uncalled for dude. Yes some people gave you schtick. And some people were judgemental, but the chirps are unnecessary. Stop that shit immediately.

 I do understand why you’d be a little hurt and irritated. I would be too if I had put in so much effort only to get so much flack in return, but you are not allowed to get defensive or sensitive about it. You’re a boy! Boys are not supposed to get emotional! And I think you are just fuelling the shit with your chirps, even if you are joking. We already have the geeks vs non geek thing going on, we certainly don’t need a Cpt vs Jhb thing.

 And the cliquey thing is a BS thing anyway. I hate that label.  It is up to everyone to get up off their arses, out of their groups and go introduce yourself to other people. It is only a clique if you allow it to be.

 So, no more of the anti Cape Town chirps! Stop that shit, immediately, k! Before I slap you.

 Ok, that’s all. Way too long already.

 Smooches to all.

 Tx

 

* My ideas: FAR less speeches, less sales pitchy, a venue that is conducive to mingling, I would LOVE name badges so that I can see who is who, and can’t think any more. Tired. Bed time.

Comments

[Paul Jacobson]

You know, I also suggested name badges in January and Mike made a good point. The idea is to find out who people are and chat to them. I agree with you about how this is the first CT 27dinner and it may be that the format should change to suit the CT crowd. I don't think blaming Mike and others for disappointing experiences is the answer. If you are in the community then really be part of it and help make the next one more enjoyable!

[Adeleida]

Yeah, I hate the Capetown vs Johburg thing too. I mean, what's to compare anyway... (oops). I wasn't there, but you're tickling my interest now! Gotta go next time. But if there's long speeches, there better be tall drinks.

[Mike]

Hee hee. To quote my esteemed colleague, no publicity is bad publicity.

I honestly think I'd like CT so much more if I could have my family down there with me. I shit you not, Tersh, I battle to enjoy it without them bundled with some of the experiences I've had (forget 27, me and Dave had the most bizarre couple of days. Really, really, bizarre).

Here's a confession nobody knows. I tell you cos you're my BFF. CT and I have history. Long before I was ever a geek wannabe, CT and I had issues. It's not an easy place to go to, for me. That's all I can say. It's wrong of me to project that on it's people but try understand some of the misdirected pain. I apologise if I offended you. You're one of the things that makes CT nicer to go to all the time :P

Forgiveness?

[Suzie-Q.]

Ummmm.... what's a chirp?

[Stii]

Ahhh, yes. We should have had some good Stormhoek, Tersh, but it wasn't to be. We'll definitely chat more in future.

I cannot agree more on the issue of Mike and Dave getting flack for something they did out of love. It cost nobody nothing. Eating was not compulsory, wine was free, speakers was free, venue was free, attending was free. Yet it seems as if Mike and Dave cost some geeks TONS of money. WTF is up with that?!?! I don't really get it. I agree with the topics of speakers. It is fine having more geeks talking a bunch of encrypted acronymns. Then every non-technical person in the room would have felt left out. Imagine you have to sit through half an hour/hour of me talking about how great the Code Igniter MVC Framework is! :-O Boring is not the word... At least the speakers that did deliver, delivered something that everyone could grasp.

[Dave]

Thanks for the balanced commentary Tertia. It really was so cool to have you there, even though our interactions were curtailed by the long talks. Loved the interview though!

[hash]

For those of us non-SA bloggers, what's a "chirp"? I'm not up on that lingo.

[Max Kaizen]

T you gorgeous creature! So fab to see you at the dinz, thank goodness we were sensible enough to spend some of the speechtime outdoors :-P

1. the ratio of effort to awesome connections at the dinners is always worth it (thankfully I didn't do anything other than the presentation of everyone's blogs this time) but having organised them b4 I promise it's not a fraction of putting a kiddies birthday party together!

2. Lots of attention means that people give a damn. What would hurt would be if it were so BLAND that no-one bothered to put their names on for the next one (which is beyond halfway full already). It was a success.

3. As a Jozigal who joyfully lives in CapeTown and a geekgal who plays in the marketing space I'm lucky in getting the best of both worlds here and appreciate that neither side can function well without the other. So as long as we can keep our good humour >>
we'll soon have the beginnings of a tech-culture where we can leverage our success from each others different worlds, talents and networks (especially those with badass ones like an IBMer we know & love ;-)
mmm.. we can live local & work global (jozi or cape town of course) happily ever after
What a delicious thought!