oneforty celebrates at Cambridge Brewing Co.
Last night, I attended two very different events. The first was the one forty party at Cambridge Brewing Co. Oneforty was celebrating the recent $1.85 Million funding they received. (I know, no big deal right? Ha!)
The evening was attended by Techstars alums and applicants, developers, web and mobile designers, entrepreneurs and Twitter enthusiasts like myself. With unlimited beer on tap one forty proved that they not only work hard, but they play hard too.
Media Leaders Boston was the second event I got to check out. This had an entirely different vibe than the oneforty party. People were there to network and by network I mean find a job. As a I took in the scene at Media Leaders Boston I realized the problem with the Boston event scene– we are getting too comfortable. I found myself at Media Leaders Boston gravitating towards the people I knew. At oneforty party I met a ton of new people and wasn’t overwhelmed. The big redeeming quality Media Leaders Boston has was the young crowd, it was refreshing to see so many new faces. New blood is important for the Boston community.
Speaking of Boston’s community, there are at least two events per evening dedicated to stirring social media, networking, entrepreneurial discussion, and technology together. DartBoston draws in the young entrepreneuial crowd. MassInnovation Nights brings in the seasoned innovators and entrepreneurs. Tweet-ups appeal to the people who “get” Twitter and are active in social media. While many people are fortunate to get something out of all these events, it’s seeming increasingly unlikely that they will.
After we’ve first hit the scene, we tend to find our niche and go to the events with like-minded individuals.
I liked the oneforty party better and think we should use their model for future events.
Here’s my list of things we can do to keep these events productive and engaging:
1) Keep it small, fewer people means richer conversations and a decreased likelihood people will feel overwhelmed.
2) Make sure you can hear each other speak. Nothing is going to get accomplished if you can’t have a discussion.
3) Get people at your event who are influencers in the community and encourage them to work the room by introducing as many people as possible.
4) Have a diverse group of guests; get people who aren’t in the social media, entrepreneur, tech scene. Fresh ideas are important.
5) Exclusivity isn’t bad. Make it an invite-only meet-up, but make sure it’s a diverse group of people. It’s time that we got over hurting people’s feelings, they’ll get an invitation soon enough.
That’s my take on a multi-event night out at the oneforty and Media Leaders Boston events. Events are crucial for getting people off their computers and talking face-to-face. With two to three events per night, they’re are going to be ones that stand-out. Model your event after the oneforty party and leave your guests with an impression.
What do you think? How can we keep the tech events from getting stale in our community?
