Tweetups, Social Media Breakfasts, and … Dinner with Grandma

25 Mar

Posted by: BryanPerson in: Meetups

Now here’s a cool recipe for a meetup:

Round up a bunch of friends for a gathering using social media tools
Head to a good local restaurant
Share good conversation over a meal — prepared by your grandmother

That’s the gist of the idea dreamed up by Geneva, Switzerland-based entrepreneur Laurent Haug, founder of the Dinner with Grandma series. I heard all about it on the March 19/22 episode of Spark, an outstanding podcast from the CBC.

(The whole episode is good, but if you just want to hear the Dinner with Grandma segment, skip ahead to the 10:30 mark)

March 19, 2008 episode of CBC's Spark podcast. : Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Laurent’s held three of these meetups in Geneva, and now Spark is looking to bring the series to Canada.

Why these events work

For all the benefits of connecting and building relationships online — and there are plenty of ‘em — there tends to be something more intimate about sharing face-to-face time with those same friends and colleagues at events like conferences or unconferences, Social Media Breakfasts, or Tweetups.

It’s the reason a friend of mine attending the South by Southwest conference for the first time this year called it “an almost religious experience.” It’s the reason Jeff Pulve r says “the more virtual we become, the more we need to have face-to-face meetings.

Face-to-face matters.

I say Dinner with Grandma would be one heckuva meetup to hold in my neck of the woods, in Boston, too. So if you’re game to help me organize it, please drop me a line, or leave a comment below.

(Flickr photo by laughlin)

6 Responses

Laurent
25|Mar|2008 1

Great to see the idea spread I really encourage you to run your diner, it’s easy to organize and a lot of fun for everybody involved!
BryanPerson
25|Mar|2008 2

Thanks for your comment, Laurent. Let’s see if someone offers to help me with the organizing! I’d live to bring your idea here to Boston.
Dan Misener
25|Mar|2008 3

Bryan, it’s Dan from Spark here. Thanks so much for the link and the mention. Please do let us know if you end up holding a dinner — we’d love to hear about it.
Jeff
28|Mar|2008 4

Is 2008 the year of reinvention and movement? I’d venture to say so. Your last twitter post was somewhere on the order of 30 days ago and you’ve jumped URLs and have started talking about taking over the homes of the elderly just to have a free meal. What gives?

OK, a sliver of that is true, but I’m of the opinion that if you’re not reinventing yourself and staying on the wave, you’re sinking behind it. But, what I’d like to see is some discussion of how deluded we all can get when it comes to our self-importance.

Sure, the new media movement is huge, but only in relation to our crowd. When speaking with a friend the other day who is a true geek. He introduced me to gadgets while we were in college and he and I started up a Web Rehab company in 1996.

He doesn’t even use email anymore to communicate because it’s bogged down. He’s gone back to the phone and F2F for anything of consequence.

If we are to get across the idea that social networking via twitter and podcasts and other tools is here to stay AND is valuable, what do we do and what is our message?

Essentially, how do you convince the masses that this can help you?

And where do I get my ticket for Tuesday’s breakfast?

Keep up the good work!

Jeff
http://www.jeffcutler.com

**OH, my reinvention is a one-year sabbatical of writing for newspapers, magazines and other outlets. I’m also working on a book or two. That’s why I didn’t tout Bowlofcheese.com as the site. Find out more at my ’sabbatical’ site - jeffcutler dot com.
Sarah LaLiberte
02|Apr|2008 5

This idea is very interesting! Thanks for sharing. I can’t offer to organize unfortuantely, and I wish my grandmas were still around so they could whip up some tasty treats, but I would like to stay in the loop and assist if this takes off. Good luck!
BryanPerson
03|Apr|2008 6

@Jeff: I wouldn’t term my switch from Bryper to BryanPerson as a reinvention so much as a personal brand shift. Using my full name is the right way for me to go at this point.

@Sarah: Watch this space (and Twitter) for any developments on the Dinner with Grandma front.

@Dan: Thanks for sharing Laurent’s wonderful idea!