I'm now on my way home from the lovely @bootlaw's summer party. A mix of techie hopefuls, gurus and made-it's with a sprinkling of possible investors to add to the mix. All jam-packed into a tiny venue with many steps (I should know, I fell down one before finishing even the first beer, an embarressing, altho quite effective way of meeting people).
I've learnt some important lessons from the whole event:
1. I think I'm quite rubbish at networking. I don't know that it shows I just know it feels it.
2. Never go to a 'networking barbeque' if you're a vegetarian unless forearmed with celery sticks
3. Marks and spencer's are open until 11 should you need to make up for said vegetarianism.
4. Understand that no matter what your aim is from networking at an event, it takes time and it takes perserverence. That along the way you should stop aiming to achieve a goal, but actually listen and learn from the experience of others.
We're on the unenviable quest of raising funding for odbody.com. That means meeting the right people that have the same passion, the same motivation and interest as you, but with just a bit more of the reddies. The thing is, finding that person is like finding the love of your life - you're going to have to date a lot of 'not quite rights' before finding the one that sweeps you off your feet. But just like dating, it doesn't mean that you can't have fun and learn along the way.
Tonight I met with some amazing people, there was James from Chinwag, the lovely Dr Phil from Comufy, Ken from Quantix (who knows more about super computers than is safe for one persons brain), plus the delightful Grant from, soon to launch, GJDW who attempted to save me from a killer step. Not to mention the always smooth Calvin Robinson.
Are any of them able to help our quest for finance directly? Probably not. But I've learnt more about their approach, their experience, their team set ups and their monetizing plans than I could have ever picked up from a brief tweet or rss feed, and in the meantime I've spread the odbody net out just a little bit further.
No matter how fab the web is the techie folk still like to meet in the flesh to share and learn. Not every contact is the right contact for you directly, but listen and learn, shared experience is the back bone to achievement.
I'll contemplate that thought whilst eating my m&s crisps!
A Mobile Blog - please excuse the lack of links - I'll add them when I'm back on the computer!
Thursday, 27 August 2009
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Separated from the web: A break from 'instant gratification'
Hmm, I go on holiday in a few days time. To a place with no wifi. I'm not sure how I'll survive. It's been a long time since neither a computer or at least an iPhone has had me tethered to the real world.
I'm both daunted and excited. Looking forward to reading some books without the obsessive glance at my iPhone every half hour to check that all is well in the outside world. (Really I don't know how the world survived without me to check it was ok at regular intervals!).
It makes me wonder how did we survive prior wifi, before Internet and email? Did things really take so long to do? Did post really buy you 3 days with a project? Did it actually matter? Stuff still got done and pretty well, often it would seem with less complication (admittedly with less health and safety considerations too).
I'm going to contemplate my navel whilst I'm away, and test a theory that I have, that no matter how quick the world is travelling these days, still very little actually changes.
That the real changes are seminal moments that happen in a split second... Hmm Einstein's theory of relativity perhaps? (I'm quoting that for effect, i never was much of a scientist at school). Perhaps it's more 'Sliding Doors' than anything more profound. Just seems to me that the more 'instant' life becomes the smaller the leaps forward in personal achievement become. After all, if everyone is traveling at the same speed aren't we all still just standing still? Have we achieved anything more amazing than the original postal system if everyone has the same expectations as each other of response times? There's nothing to amaze if everyone has email, or instant search. All that happens is us poor humans create stress by trying to keep up with it all.
Blimey I sound like an old git. I'm not, I love technology, I adore it. I'm just not always into instant gratification. I'm not sure that instant, immediate and 'real-time' is the answer to everything. Sometimes patience and waiting for things makes those things so much more special, more extraordinary.
You can probably tell from my mutterings that I need a few days in the slow lane. Perhaps less t'internet time is going to be a good thing after all.
Whilst I'm away, can I ask you to water the plants? Oh, and will you check that the worlds still turning for me? I do worry about it.
PS
I still have a few days - I'm off to @bootlaw's summer party Thursday so there's still some tweeting time to be had.
PPS Any would be thieves? I have house sitters kindly looking after home and dog!
A Mobile Blog
I'm both daunted and excited. Looking forward to reading some books without the obsessive glance at my iPhone every half hour to check that all is well in the outside world. (Really I don't know how the world survived without me to check it was ok at regular intervals!).
It makes me wonder how did we survive prior wifi, before Internet and email? Did things really take so long to do? Did post really buy you 3 days with a project? Did it actually matter? Stuff still got done and pretty well, often it would seem with less complication (admittedly with less health and safety considerations too).
I'm going to contemplate my navel whilst I'm away, and test a theory that I have, that no matter how quick the world is travelling these days, still very little actually changes.
That the real changes are seminal moments that happen in a split second... Hmm Einstein's theory of relativity perhaps? (I'm quoting that for effect, i never was much of a scientist at school). Perhaps it's more 'Sliding Doors' than anything more profound. Just seems to me that the more 'instant' life becomes the smaller the leaps forward in personal achievement become. After all, if everyone is traveling at the same speed aren't we all still just standing still? Have we achieved anything more amazing than the original postal system if everyone has the same expectations as each other of response times? There's nothing to amaze if everyone has email, or instant search. All that happens is us poor humans create stress by trying to keep up with it all.
Blimey I sound like an old git. I'm not, I love technology, I adore it. I'm just not always into instant gratification. I'm not sure that instant, immediate and 'real-time' is the answer to everything. Sometimes patience and waiting for things makes those things so much more special, more extraordinary.
You can probably tell from my mutterings that I need a few days in the slow lane. Perhaps less t'internet time is going to be a good thing after all.
Whilst I'm away, can I ask you to water the plants? Oh, and will you check that the worlds still turning for me? I do worry about it.
PS
I still have a few days - I'm off to @bootlaw's summer party Thursday so there's still some tweeting time to be had.
PPS Any would be thieves? I have house sitters kindly looking after home and dog!
A Mobile Blog
Saturday, 22 August 2009
The first mobile blog
So often my best thoughts come to me when I'm out and about. When I'm travelling and have time to think. Too often those thought are lost, as soon as I reach my destination I forget the idea, immediately immersed in the day-to-day humdrum...
I've used Twitter for the iPhone to capture the odd thought but so often I have more to say than 140 characters allow (not necessarily more meaning, just more to say!). And so, today inspired by the master of tech, @stephenfry, I have searched out a mobile blogging application I can use... And here it is, The first post.
Full of hot air, but at least, for now, a gateway to future posts -grabbed opportunities at airports, waiting rooms and coffee bars.
One day they'll be linked to a mobile odbody.com account so we can add immediate inspiring moments. But for now it's a work around. The first step to more posts.
A Mobile Blog
I've used Twitter for the iPhone to capture the odd thought but so often I have more to say than 140 characters allow (not necessarily more meaning, just more to say!). And so, today inspired by the master of tech, @stephenfry, I have searched out a mobile blogging application I can use... And here it is, The first post.
Full of hot air, but at least, for now, a gateway to future posts -grabbed opportunities at airports, waiting rooms and coffee bars.
One day they'll be linked to a mobile odbody.com account so we can add immediate inspiring moments. But for now it's a work around. The first step to more posts.
A Mobile Blog
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