Long Live Epinions!Mar 27 '06 (Updated Apr 03 '06) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line This was an excellent event, and its something all members should try to attend in the future, even if only once.
It was 4:00am on Saturday morning, March 25, 2006. Most people would be fast asleep at this hour and if it was any other Saturday, I would be doing the same. But instead I was in my car, driving west on Interstate 40 through the middle of the night. My destination: The Nashville Tennessee Airport, where I would board American Airlines Flight 1088 on route to La Guardia Airport in New York City. In just a few hours, I will be attending my first ever Meet & Greet at the ESPN Zone. Getting There: Like most of the Meet & Greet functions, this one was held in the afternoon between the hours of 1pm and 4pm. When my flight landed around 10:30am, I felt like I would have plenty of time to go the hotel, get a morning snack, and walk to the train station. The hotel I stayed at was located within walking distance to the #7 train- exactly the one I needed to transport myself to the ESPN Zone. I boarded the Number Seven around 12:10pm. What I didn’t know at the time was that the train had to go the opposite direction first before it would travel west to Manhattan. This added a little more time to my trip, but it also gave me a chance to look out the windows and take in the scenery of the big city. Arrival: I walked into the ESPN Zone around 1:15pm- a little later than I had planned but still in plenty of time to meet other members and enjoy some good conversation. At this point, I was still sleepy (I slept only four hours the night before) but I was fueled by adrenaline. Walking into this restaurant for the first time, I was surprised at its size and equally surprised at how busy it was for this hour of the day. The restaurant itself has multiple levels and the Meet and Greet took place on one of the upper floors, in a private area. Some quick assistance from the ESPN Zone hostess and I was on my way in the direction of the elevator. Food, Beverages: I had already had a small amount to eat so I wasn’t as interested in the food at first. Instead, I made my way to the open bar where they were serving an assortment of drinks and four choices of beer: Heineken, Amstel Light, Budweiser, and Bud Light. In other words: Tolerable, Bland, Less than Tolerable, and OK. My better beer sensibilities were saved, however, when a certain member (see below) told me he had purchased a growler of oatmeal stout from nearby Heartland Brewery. He shared some of his stash with me and the others, helping to ease the level of beer dissatisfaction I felt when I was presented with four average to below average lagers. I finally did break down and eat some food (slows down the absorption of alcohol for longer partying duration) and it was quite tasty. I feasted on some roast beef, chicken, and garlic potatoes. I enjoyed the strawberry dessert, too, but I must admit it doesn’t go well with Heineken or Bud Light (Those food recommendations I make with my beer reviews really are useful). The People: Now, let’s talk about what matters most: Meeting the different members of the Epinions community. I have organized some regional Meet and Greet’s of my own and have already had the pleasure of meeting about fourteen different Epinions members. But now that I have attended an official Meet and Greet, that number has ballooned to near fifty. Some of the people in attendance were easily recognizable because they have their pictures posted in Epinions and (generally) they look the same way they do in their on- line photo. To help identify members, each person is given a name tag to wear that shows their Epinions name, Epinions photo (if one exists), Top Reviewer Hats, Advisor Hats, Overall Ranking (that new feature), and Category Lead title (where applicable). Since my RSVP didn’t get through like it should have, I did not have one of these fancy name tags to identify myself. Fortunately, I still have the same haircut I had when my Epinions photo was taken and since my real name and Epinions name are the same, most people had no problem recognizing me. The first person I spoke to when I walked through the doors was Garrett. He quickly introduced himself and talked about the confusion with the RSVP and problems with the Epinions server. In no time at all, my attention was taken away by Fuche_bu who quickly introduced himself and warned me about the weak selection of beer. He was drinking Heineken at the time but he informed me that he had some better beer stashed away that he would pull out in a few minutes for himself, me, and the other beer geeks to share. The beer was an oatmeal stout from the Heartland Brewery- a local operation. I accepted the fact that all they offered was four choices and all were lager and I began by popping open a cold Amstel from the open bar. George (fuche-bu) was someone I had always wanted to meet and he and I spent quite a bit of time during the evening talking about the site, about beer, about women, and about other important subjects. What were the other members like? Well, I tried to at least say hi to everyone, but there were some members whom I talked to more than others. Among my longer conversations, the Epinionators I talked to included: Jo.com- One thing I noticed right away about Jo is that she certainly takes care of herself. You know all of that exercise equipment that she reviews in the site? Well, she obviously uses all of it because she is in near- perfect physical shape. She is a little shorter than I imagined and she does have a Boston accent (neither of which are bad things, I just wanted to point them out). She and I talked at length about the site and life in general. I told her a few things that I hadn’t shared with many other people about my time with Epinions and some of the more unusual things that have happened to me. Popsrocks- What can I say? The guy who loves to read my book reviews and likes a good debate was right there, in a place where I could talk to him one- on- one and get him to see the light about the Bush administration and all of its evil deeds. Unfortunately, we spent so much time talking about other subjects that Phil and I didn’t get to have the lengthy political conversation that I know he was just dying to have. Maybe at a future Meet and Greet, we can pick up where we left off. Davidmanning- David is one of the many people whom I share a common interest with at Epinions and have always wanted to meet for that reason alone. The common interest is, of course, beer and David was as disappointed as I was with the selection at the event. Besides making some beer small talk, we spoke briefly about other members of the Epinions beer writing community; breweries we have visited and plan to visit; how we plan to educate our children about the importance of beer in their lives; etc, etc. I had not seen a picture of David before, so I didn’t know what to expect. Based on his writing, he shows a great deal of knowledge which made me assume he was a little older than he was. He is actually younger (or at least looks young) than I thought, but still possesses a vast degree of knowledge on all things made from malt and hops. Mike.Holmes- Meeting Mike was a pleasant surprise! I had not checked the message boards as frequently as I should have so I had no idea he had planned to attend. Considering he lives in Texas, he is one of the last people I expected to see at the ESPN Zone in New York City. Mike is basically exactly the type of person I expected: Intelligent and a good conversationalist. Right away, we started talking about books, politics, Republicans, and other like subjects. Tombarnes- The man of travel himself, Tom Barnes was another person who I knew well from his writing but had no idea what he looked like until this day. Tom shared a few interesting tidbits of information about himself and his relationships with other people in the site. I also learned that he not only enjoys travel- he works in the travel industry, just like me. Beckytcy- Becky is another Bostonian like Jo.com and she cornered me right away early at the event, wanting to know everything possible about Jay1051971. Jay and I are old friends and I introduced him to Epinions several years ago. “What is his status…..is he already seeing someone….where does he live…do I have a chance with him”? Beckytcy confessed her obsession with Jay in more ways than one. I told her I would relay the information, but I also told her she is one among a list of hundreds of women vying for Jay’s attention and affection. Candice923 and Dionne25- I list these two together because they are best friends and where you find one, you will likely find the other. Candice923 is just the type of women I expected her to be: Strong presence, strong willed, yet friendly, convivial, charming, and approachable. I had already had a phone encounter with Candice923 a few months ago when I was searching for a plane ticket to the Dallas Meet and Greet but she was unable to provide any assistance (See- had I used Expedia.com instead, I could have already attended one of these events). Her best bud Dionne is a little more reserved but was still a pleasure to meet in person for the first time. And she even brought her little boy with her, for everyone to meet. Kristinafh- Kristinafh is one of the many legends at Epinions. She joined the site only a few days before I did, back near the end of 1999. I had always wanted to meet her and finally got my chance on this cool, crisp early spring day. I didn’t get to say as much as I wanted, mainly because her attention was grabbed in so many different directions. Kristinafh is a known Epinions goddess and like any person of fame, her attention is demanded and her time is limited. Among the other members I got a chance to at least say hi to (and in some cases a little bit more), the list includes: Pvreditor Staceys1 Deenaf- (Who refused to reveal herself to me until the end of the event) Marytara Davidk93 Bob_Tomato Pyfr Speeddemon531 Voxpoptart Cascogirl Dizzybint Krissieliz Colonialpara Voxpoptart Aashok Joubert Ned1 Brendan2 Pearannoyed Javelina Ulysses I am probably leaving out several people, but these are the ones that come to mind. I got to meet some people whose names I didn’t even recognize, mainly because they are relatively new to the site. Final Thoughts: Attending an official Meet and Greet has been one of my goals for quite some time. I waited patiently for a M&G to be scheduled close to where I live and I watched the Epinions Member Center closely, hoping that Atlanta or some other nearby town would be selected as the location for the next gathering. It never happened, so I finally decided to break down and schedule a flight to the New York City meeting. I had not been to New York in about six years, so this seemed like a good way to experience the Big Apple while also getting to meet some of the people whom I have grown to know so well over the past six and one- half years since I submitted my first ever Epinion. It is very interesting when you meet someone from Epinions for the first time. These are people who I felt like I already knew. After all, we read each other’s reviews, we e-mail back and forth, we share our likes and dislikes, and occasionally we even reveal some personal facts to each other. For these reasons, I felt like I already knew many of the members before this event even began. I already knew quite a bit about many different people, as revealed through their daily reviews. But seeing someone in person and placing a real face with the Epinions personality makes everything complete. You then know, for a fact, what the member really looks like in the flesh and what they are really like as individuals. Even among those who display a picture, I still wondered what they would be like when I met them in person. A picture might tell a thousand words, but many of those words can be deceiving. A face to face encounter sets everything straight. I can’t really name anyone as standing out among the pack, but I will admit that it was fun to finally meet fellow beer snobs Fuche-bu and Davidmanning. And it was great to see Jo.com, Popsrocks, Tombarnes, and others. There was a certain degree of mystery with many people- not because they are amazingly complex, but just because, well, I didn’t really know what to expect. No one really knows, when they meet someone in person for the first time, what they will be like. It is a game of chance. You decide what you think someone will be like and then you hope for the best. And in the case of the members of the Epinions community, everyone was just as pleasant in person- if not more so- than I ever could have expected them to be. Besides the general gab about the site and its members, I also had the opportunity to share a few Epinions “secrets” with select people. I haven’t revealed these things to many members, but let’s just say that I have had some unusual moments during my tenure with Epinions that few are aware. Nothing earth- shattering or shocking, but unusual nonetheless. The reason almost no one knows these things is because I generally don’t bring attention to them when they occur. Bringing attention is what the other person wants, and I don’t want to give them that pleasure. Do I have any regrets about this Meet and Greet? I can think of only two: Not getting to say hi to everyone who was there and not getting to meet some specific people whom I thought would show up but didn’t. Members like Drdevience and Aliventiasylum are among those who I thought would show up. Drdevience made statements to the effect that she would be there and Patti, well, I assumed that since she was from New York that she would take advantage of the chance to visit friends and family. Neither one showed up, much to my disappointment. The next morning, Sunday, March 26, came much too quickly. It was time to head back to La Guardia Airport to catch the flight back to Nashville. I had to wake up early once again in order to make sure I made it on time for my flight. The two hours and twenty minutes on the plane gave me some time to reflect on what took place less than twenty- four hours earlier. I got to visit New York City for the first time since 9/11. I got to enjoy some good food and some free beer. I got to talk about this place we call Epinions and how it has affected me and thousands of others. But most important of all, I got to meet some incredible people; namely, each and every person who showed up to this entertaining event. Epinions has its politics like every community and there is some occasional friction among members. But when all is said and done, there is no place quite like Epinions.com. And the friendly people who contribute to the site are the main reason for its success and its continued appeal. Now, after a couple of years of waiting, I can finally say that I have attended a Meet & Greet. It was loads of fun, and it’s something I look forward to doing again when the opportunity comes around. Many people thought Epinions would go belly- up many years back, like so many other dotcoms. But Epinions has survived and thrived in the land of cyberspace, not because of the excellent product reviews, but because of the people who make the site what it has become today. You, too, can meet some of these people at one of the Meet & Greet functions. I recommend marking your calendar and making your reservations asap when the next event is scheduled. It’s an event every member should experience at least once. P.S: There was one more "event" that took place on the drive home. I got a very surprising phone call, asking me to pick up a certain “something” on my way back. A review of that certain “something” will come shortly.  |
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