Tech blog Gizmodo played host to a pack of rabid geeks much like myself this past Saturday at Hotel Sax (formerly the House of Blues Hotel). The event was informally announced through the Gizmodo website and, unfortunately, only one of the Gizmodo elite was in attendance. The whole purpose of going to this meetup was to get some free booze, meet some fellow nerds, and (I will never admit it) to compare it to the Digg meetup that was held not too long ago.
Unlike the Digg meetup which was held at the fun, albeit seedy Smart Bar, the Gizmodo folks opted for the wildly overrated Hotel Sax (you may remember it as the House of Blues Hotel). Hosted in the fourth floor conference room/media room/bar/surround theater, and attracted the usual crowd of geeks and sported free libations, o'douvres, and friendly Rock Band Competition – these three items usually add up to big fun, but Gizmodo got it all wrong.
The 4th Floor Party Room at Hotel Sax...
There was a general anti-social tone to the party, but I suspect that it may have been because it wasn't being held in a typical bar setting like the Digg meetup was. The mood was much more pretentious than you'd expect at a geek gathering. The environment simply wasn't conducive to socializing (I would recommend it for your next business meeting, however). I would also attribute some of the atmosphere to the fact that Gizmodo is not a social news site like Digg with a large amount of user interaction - Gizmodo just doesn't have the infrastructure built in from the beginning like Digg. So for that reason, I cannot blame them.
There are, however a couple things where the blame can be placed solely on Gizmodo's shoulders. Those things are: exectution, execution, booze, execution, booze, and execution. In that order.
Although I was impressed with the surroundings upon entering the party, the tone of the party was decidedly ho-hum. Other than the swank interior, the party screamed “Welcome to Dullsville”. Many people wouldn't complain about free booze at any party, but for some reason, complaining just felt right after waiting in line for 10 minutes for our first beer. Hint to the Giz folks: 2 bartenders are NOT ENOUGH for 150 people. Hell, we were only given one free drink at the Digg meetup, but at least more beer was within easy reach at any one of the normal pay bars. For many people, the party became a 'get a beer, wait for a beer' conundrum. We were there for a good hour before I had cracked my second beer – a spot where I should have been cracking into my fourth or fifth. Gizmodo should understand that waiting in line for beer all night is not many people's idea of a good time.
Us geeks would like to think that this is how the Hollywood Elite spend their time at parties...waiting for booze.
Fun was had, however, by the many geeks that participated in the Rock Band-offs that took place during the event. Uber-geeks were strutting their stuff on Rock Band in hopes of avoiding social interaction with something that didn't have processor or sound card. As far as fun goes, Rock Band was the only form of entertainment that was available at the event unless you count making fun of fellow nerds. As the description said, I was at least expecting a key-note of some sort or a tech demo, but neither was to be had. I thought maybe the Gizmodo writer that was in attendance would say something, but he didn't...it was very disappointing.
It reminds you of your fourth grade bithday party....only high-tech.
Many partygoers opted to take a snooze in the waterfall room...ZZZ.zZZZzzzZ.Z.zzZZ.ZzZ....
To Gizmodo's credit – the choice of venues was excellent, and the intentions of the event were great. There is no greater expression of appreciation than inviting friends over for free food and beer...for that, I thank you on behalf of the readership. I just wish that it hadn't been executed so poorly.
Maybe someone from your team could attend a Digg meetup and take some notes.
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Blake Schnitkey
As a graduate in Visual Communications Technology from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Blake was drawn into a love for technology via the biggest passion in his lif More
Comments
Haha, good write up. That's the nature of many geek meetups unfortunately. At least they are good for networking.
Rumor has it that Sony paid 60 hot girls to just BE at a recent party and actually do the partying if nobody else showed up dared to. That's one way of getting around it!
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