stellargirl returns

are you coming to barcamp philly?

I've been a total blog slacker these last few weeks, but I actually have a pretty decent excuse. I've been really busy helping plan BarCamp Philly, happening on Saturday November 8th at UArts, as well as putting lots of effort into keeping the BCP website so fresh and so clean and totally up to date.

I am super excited about BarCamp and you should be too!  Chances are, if you know me personally, you've already heard me go on about it, but if you haven't, I will give you the nutshell summary.  BarCamp is an ad-hoc user-generated (un)conference where likeminded people come together, usually in a setting where people can break into groups (classroom situations are ideal), share thoughts and ideas, participate, collaborate, etc.  There are no pre-planned speakers or schedules. The attendees are the presenters (if they so choose).  Check out some of the people coming to BarCamp Philly!

The event is totally FREE to attend and you even get a t-shirt! You'll also get the opportunity to chat with people who are doing cool stuff all over the Philadelphia region. We've even got some great folks from NYC coming, and I am sure points further than that.  We have plenty of fun events in the works before and after the event, so be sure to visit the BarCamp Philly website often to stay on top of things.

Last but not least, registration is required. It's really key that we have a sense of how many people are attending and we do have to cap it at some point to make sure that we don't exceed capacity of the event location.  So if you are thinking of coming and haven't formally registered yet, please do it today!

sxsw: here i (we) come!

The countdown is winding down to hours until I make my way down to Austin, Texas for my first ever SXSW Interactive conference. I have wanted to go for about 5 years running now, but it turns out this is the year.

I'm happy to attend with a huge crew representing Philly... a big chunk of Independents Hall and my good friends from P'unk Avenue. We're gonna rock out in Austin! For those of you I haven't met yet, I can't even wait!

Let the adventures begin...

mmm...yeah... why don't you just go ahead and...

Free this Saturday night? Why don't you just go ahead and swing on down to Independents Hall for our first ever double header movie night, featuring the cult classics Office Space and Teen Wolf.

This event is sponsored in part by Philly Car Share, one of the best local businesses around. They've been doing these movie nights all summer long, so we're pretty psyched their helping us out with this one. If you have been thinking of signing up for Philly Car Share, this is a good chance to get more information, from them and from many existing members like myself! Come on down!

Doors open at 7pm for plenty of mingling and such before movie time at 8pm. Be sure to check out the full event detail page at Upcoming.org. Please RSVP there if you can!

Besides this being a great event for fun times, food & refreshments, it's also completely FREE! It's a can't miss. Hope to see you there!

friendly reminder: indy hall party THIS saturday!

Hello friends! Just wanted to remind you to be sure to stop by the Independents Hall kick off festivities happening this Saturday, September 1st. The party runs from 5 to 7 at the space [map], but follows with a local bar crawl that will finish at our local geek watering hole, National Mechanics.

If possible, please RSVP at the Upcoming.org event listing (which has all sorts of information about what's happening). See you there!

geek social hour: prototype w/ alex hillman

feeling likeminded?

This Friday July 20th marks the kickoff of a new type of networking here in Philly - likemind!

Here is the skinny on likemind:

who: people like you.

what: an opportunity to enjoy coffee and conversation.

why: because drinking good coffee with likeminded people is fun.

We'll be meeting at 8am at Benna's Cafe, located on the NW corner of 8th & Wharton in South Philly. Your hosts for this event are the illustrious Geoff Dimasi and Alex Hillman. I'll be there with my camera and most likely indulging in the rare treat of caffeine. Expect wall bouncing.

geek social hour

The last few nights, as the tweets rolled in, the Blogphilly recaps kept poppin' up (new from Blankbaby, John Suder, and P'unk Avenue), and my photos keep getting commented on and favorited, I thought to myself... what is this? Geek social hour?

And ya know what? That IS what it is, and it's pretty cool.

I get the sense that the creative juices are really flowing for everyone who participated in Blophiladelphia. For many of us, the creative juju HAS been flowing, but the opportunity to get out of the interweb space and into a real room with real faces and sounds and conversations was like breaking open a dam.

Plenty more opportunities for interfacing on the horizon, be sure to check Alex Hillman's fab post on upcoming July creative events.

The geek social hour is on. 24/7.