and if we threw it all away...
Nov 15 '05
The Bottom Line New York City, Spring 2006 - Make Your Plans NOW.
It's all been said before in other reviews of this and other meet and greets, and I don't want to steal the thunder of the first timers who are posting their reviews right now, but it does bear repeating:
Meet and Greets are FUN -
that's "FUN", spelled g e t t o t h e n e x t o n e a n y w a y y o u c a n
Keep your calendar clear and start budgeting for a trip to New York City next spring. Let's make the next Epinions meet and greet the biggest, most successful party to date. Chicago set the bar high, and the after-party rocked...I'm itching to see what damage we can do in the Big Apple. Get there. Don't even think about it. Just GO.
And you might even win a prize as well... (my review of a cool black 2 GB Nano is on the way very soon)
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Like to Get To Know You Well...
The Music category rocks. Hope y'all don't mind while I brag a bit about my category, but I'm proud to say that Music made up the majority of the people who came to the event. And the cool thing is that we got a very nice cross section of the category too.
I finally got to meet madtheory, one of the Music Leads, and I really enjoyed discussing category issues and music with him. You'd never guess from all his hip-hop reviews that he also enjoys listening to Huey Lewis (sorry, Mad - couldn't leave that tidbit out), or that his wife is an opera singer here in Dallas. And his user pic doesn't adequately convey his presence - I bet he can dominate any room just by walking into it. Most of the music group gathered at the table with mad, and we all had a great time talking about our favorite artists, favorite writers, and the things we would like to see improved in Music and epinions in general.
I've really enjoyed pyfr's rock reviews since he joined the site last year, and from his style and the views he's expressed, I've always thought him something of a liberal rebel, and I wasn't sure how he and I would get along. Turns out that Bryan is exactly the kind of guy I want to hang out with - strongly opinionated and funny but never overbearing, a great guy who's game for an evening of karaoke and moderate quantities of beer. Equally interesting and intriguing is his wife Deborah - together, they are a couple that Amy and I would really love to spend time with, and I hope that we can make good on that thought soon.
Mike Holmes and Mark Stevens brought their knowledge of jazz and Latin music to the room - it's writers like these two that help to fill in the serious gaps in a category. Both of them are devoted to genres that don't get much attention in Music, and they are eager to discuss their beloved musical styles with anyone. I was pleased to meet Mike and his lovely wife Susan and to hear of his devotion to his radio show first hand. Mark is a real character, and I think that he and I share a similar sense of humor and wry amusement/frustration at some of the more idiotic things that can happen at epinions.
Blindsider is a shining light in the Music category. I have always been so impressed with her writing skills - of all our younger writers, Sheila is wonderfully literate, able to express herself so well in her reviews. There are many high school and college age writers in Music - I hope that they will all see Sheila as an example they should emulate. As I suspected, her personal presence is quiet and reserved - this was probably due to the simple fact that she was the youngest writer in a room full of people she'd never met personally - but when we did manage to steer the conversation your way, your intelligent insight was terrific. It was great to meet you, Sheila, and I am very glad that you came to the party.
hstisgod is a writer I've been watching for a while - in person, Brian is energetic and bold, full to bursting with thoughts and ideas about his various passions. Brian boldly engaged madtheory in a discussion of hip-hop and he held his own pretty well. I think that Brian doesn't do things in his life half-way, but it may be that we haven't yet seen his full potential as a music writer. Brian - I was serious when I said you NEED to tell us all those things you said about the Black Eyed Peas album. Those are really strong opinions that deserve to be heard, and I'd love nothing more than to see you unleash those sorts of thoughts in everything you write - let it out! and thanks for clueing me in on the meaning of your user name - now that I know what it means, I'm embarrassed to realize that I really should have been able to work it out on my own...
Equally energized was the newest writer in the room, hardcoreham. Matt is a longtime friend of Abraham (openroad - Outdoor Lead, and also in attendance), and he has written a few bike reviews so far, but he should be able to branch out in many different directions if he wishes to. Matt, thanks for letting me...ummm...permanently borrow the tracks from that Bloc Party CD, but I hope to read your review of it before I publish mine. (It'll be a while as I will need time to digest that album first - so you've got plenty of time to put the pressure on me...)
While I didn't spend a lot of time away from the madtheory/roheblius music roundtable, I did get a few minutes to talk with tchoate and her husband, as well as with pnutmom (cuuuute kid, her little peanut!) and with gracef as well.
Now, Grace and I had met before - she helped scout the Gameworks location one afternoon with Amy and I, and it was on that occassion that I really got to talk with her at length. And yes, she is tough. Yes, she is strict. Most importantly, she is doing everything she can to make the Books category better, and I challenge anyone to work harder at it than she does. Grace and I don't always agree on ratings or other interpretations of how epinions works, but whether she and I see eye to eye on everything epinions doesn't matter a bit - our differences are just minute detail compared to the concerns we both share for the overall well-being of the entire site.
I may as well just go for it here, seeing as how I've gone this far already. I know that a lot of you may have issues with not just Grace, but with other leads, top reviewers and advisors, and I won't deny you any of your long-held opinions of any of these people. But I do wish that you would reconsider them in the light of what I am about to say....
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Things Can Only Get Better
Most importantly, Meet and Greets are barrier breakers - there is a wall that separates each of us here in this community. We're separated by distance, by words that rarely seem to adquately convey what we meant to say, by assumptions and guesswork as to what each person is like. But until you can actually meet someone, there is simply no way you can fairly assess anyone on this site - meeting in person fills in all the gaps and questions in your mind, completing and correcting the picture you've held in your mind all along.
That's probably the most important thing I learned at both the Chicago and Dallas events - we need to remember that there is a real person on the other end of the epinion we're reading. Far too often, we reduce someone to nothing more than a username, a label that we associate with traits and patterns we observe in their writing. There would have been no way for me to know from our writings on epinions that kristinafh and I would find a such a strong common bond in the tragedies we have each experienced unless we had taken the opportunity to get together to fully express ourselves. I know that I would not have such an open mind regarding gay issues had I not spent a couple days with plorentz in Indianapolis, two days that showed me prejudices in my own heart and mind that I did not think were there. I consider both of them to be true friends, and now the distances between us, and the printed words we write without the context of being with each other in person are no barrier to our relationships. We can overcome misunderstanding because we truly care about each other now.
The printed word is strong, but it cannot replace a look, tone of voice or body language - these things are cues we all need and miss greatly here on epinions. Message boards and comment threads are no substitute for meeting someone for a real conversation...
I challenge everyone to do whatever they can to seek out other epinions members in their own regions, to find time to spend together so you may come to a better understanding of each other and the epinions community. Don't wait for epinions to bring the party to you - make the party happen on your own. Share an afternoon barbecue, an evening of karaoke, or a day at the park with family. Get to know those on the other side of your monitor - each one of them is more than a username.
Epinions is a community of people - not their opinions or beliefs.
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The people I met, and a few that, sadly, I did not
The Dallas Meet and Greet Epinions Crew
Andy
Christal
Garrett
Greg
The Dallas Meet and Greet People
Sheila
Andrew
ctmbw and family (did not get a chance to meet or greet)
Grace
Matt
Brian and date, Andy (I think I have that right)
Chidi
Mike and wife, Susan
Mark
Abraham
Amy
Missy and husband, Joe and the little peanut too...
Bryan and wife, Deborah
tchoate and husband (ack - I knew I'd forget someone's name - HELP!)
Jason
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Epinions.com ID:
bob_tomato
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Andrew
Location: Dallas Metroplex
Reviews written: 284
Trusted by: 211 members
About Me:
no more thhppptttt...
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