The #sgtweetup

I attended the first organised tweetup for locals a couple days back, held at Geek Terminal. There must've been about 100-odd people who turned up; it was kind of overwhelming for me. I'm not exactly a very sociable guy, nor am I dexterous in the ways of networking like a lot of these folks were. This tweetup, unlike the one we had last week with the #awaresg guys, was almost exactly what I expected. Lots of mobile devices and notebooks were in view, there were two screens with Twitterfall displaying the #sgtweetup tweets, and well, lots of tweeting and socialising going on.

It was great to meet some of the good people I have been interacting with online, and actually have a beer with them. Putting faces to names like @inrsoul, @FoOie, @micamonkey, @mhisham, @twistedian, @gniliep, @BoltClock (who looked like a poor fish out of water) and @CarlGriffith, who organised the event, is quite the experience. I'd have buggered off early if @inrsoul did not show up, but I'm glad I stayed till the end. It was worth it. There is another one planned for May 21st, and I'd love to go, but I'll have to see how much work there is left to do. But beer and tapas is one alluring package.

There were also a lot of complaining done during and after the event, which is unfortunate. All that griping because a few models showed up for a publicity stunt for an online modeling competition? Come on. I thought geeks complaining about models showing up would be one of the signs of the Apocalypse, but it happened. Yes, it was unexpected, and no one had any clue (though it did not stop the speculation when the models showed up). But to label it as a hijack, using demeaning descriptions on the models, and to attack Carl despite his top-notch effort in organising this tweetup was uncalled for. Some of these comments came from folks who did not even attend the event, which made it laughable. (Now why is that so familiar?)

I have to admit, the models was a curveball. But I don't think Babe Ruth stopped hitting home runs when one was thrown at him. The event was a success, and I definitely got what I went for: good company and good conversation. Having beautiful models around made it a lil more glamourous than just a collection of geeks. And it's a bonus, not a Bad Thing. You want justified gripes? Here's one: GT ran out of beer. That one's unforgivable in my book; no fault of Carl's. And here's a really justified gripe.

No one turned up dressed like a Klingon or like Tasha Yar. Now that is a real shame, and I'm sure Carl would agree.

Posted via email from trapper's posterous