Meetups are important. As much as the internet promises to connect us all around the world, nothing beats face to face interaction. Let’s step away from our screens for a moment and head to a bar.
Elias Bizannes created the Silicon Beach Australia mailing list with the message:
Silicon Valley has a supporting ecosystem that makes Internet innovation thrive, so what can Australia do? How can that big island with the best beaches in the world, harness the passionate, intelligent individuals who care to do more? This website was created with no plan, just a question: “how can we bring the Australian technology community together?”
Elias and Bronwen Clune have also launched The Silicon Beach Podcast with some fantastic episodes, including :
I was recently in Sydney for a few days and got to experience the STUB and Open Coffee events (I couldn’t stay for the SB Official Drinks), which lead me to think – what’s happening on our Silicon Beach in Melbourne?
The Hive
The Hive is monthly ‘networking for entrepreneurs’. Although not strictly web, we (I’m a cofounder) have had a number of tech speakers including James Masini from Hippo Jobs, Dominic Carosa who founded destra and Aaron Fyke from Starfish Ventures. 150 people attended the last event and it is available on youtube, with plans for a podcast next year.
Melbourne Silicon Beach Drinks
I just got an email about the first Melbourne Silicon Beach Drinks taking place at The Carlton Hotel on Bourke St every second Friday from 6pm. The first event is this Friday, the 7th November. I can’t make this one but I will definitely be there in the future. For more details see the official mailing list thread or ask @ppeach about it.
Melbourne Jelly
Amit Gupta describes it as ”Jelly brings the good parts of working at the office to working from home (or working solo.) All the community, the brainstorming, the camaraderie, none of the office politics!” Started in New York, the concept has spread around the world and Pieter Peach kickstarted the Melbourne event a few months ago. Since then it has been a regular fortnightly event.
Social Media Breakfast Melbourne
Kate Kendall organised the first Melbourne Social Media Breakfast at Mr Tulk and it is continuing as a regular Friday morning event. It is fantastic to see such an active crowd getting more engaged.
Mobile Monday Melbourne
Meeting on the first Monday of each month to talk all things Mobile. The recent event was the Investment Edition – with a panel of speakers who each play a part in funding mobile technology in Australia.
The Churchill Club
The Churchill Club is a community of technologists, entrepreneurs & innovators who share ideas, wisdom and experiences. They have a range of events and often the focus is on web. The motto is ’No Hype, No Spin, and definitely No Powerpoint’.
The Domain
The Domain has recently featured Tony Wheeler of Lonely Planet who spoke about how the company is evolving with the web, in particular their plans for iPhone apps. They also recently had Eric Beecher, Chairman of Crikey, to discuss the media crisis.
Pitch Club
Pitch Club brings together entrepreneurs and investors into a competitive pitching environment. 10 entrepreneurs pitch their startups while the audience vote with their monopoly money for the winner. Antony at QM Codes won the most recent Melbourne event.
I like my beaches how they are, but I’d love a city with more silicon.
Is there anything I have missed? Add it in the comments below!
By Ross Hill - November 5th, 2008 at 11:41pm with 4,347 views - aaron fyke atlassian bronwen clune churchill club crikey destra domain dominic carosa elias bizannes eric beecher hippo james masini jelly kate kendall lonely planet martin hosking mike cannon-brookes momomelb mr tulk open coffee pieter peach pitch club qm codes redbubble rentoid silicon beach starfish ventures steve sammartino stub the hive tony wheeler
