Let's get together.

It's lovely hearing from you both online and in person. I had a few recent encounters with folks I didn't realize were subscribers who asked about the return of the Nice Maker newsletter. I've been mulling over this thought for a while, and it's led me in a new/old direction. My decision will be essential for Nashville-area readers, but don't let that scare you off because I have plans for you, too. 

It's no secret how much I love connecting with people; I wrote a book about the topic. New Business Networking came because I spoke to a stranger at Jason's conference, and she became my publisher!

When I reflect on the sixteen years I've lived in Nashville, I think fondly of the memories of the people I've met from the events I've either organized or helped organize.

I co-founded BarCamp Nashville and PodCamp Nashville with Marcus Whitney, whom I worked with at Emma - my first job in Nashville. BarCamp planning led to meeting Mark Rowan, whom I worked for at Griffin, my second job in Nashville. Stasia Kudrez spoke at BarCamp, and that connection led to five years of speaking for Google. I founded Geek Breakfast to unite people between the events. I created Nashcocktail to connect the late risers who couldn't make breakfast. These two monthly networking events led to countless relationships with many wonderful people and rewarding opportunities for participants. 

I love you people! 

Nice people from Nashcocktail.

The truth is that 2023 has been a hell of a year for me professionally. I'm hearing similar feedback from many friends. Post-pandemic loneliness has been taking its toll on both our mental and physical health. Greedy algorithms and dodgy bots have hijacked our favorite social networking sites. Many of us work alone from our homes, talking more with ChatGPT than our friends, even when our loving families surround us.

The thing I crave most is human-to-human connection. The handshakes, high-fives, and hugs bring us together, and virtual reality hasn't replaced this and (hopefully) never will. I have a pretty decent track record of being this instigator, a misfit who loves getting nice people together. 

This is where you come in.

I've decided to start hosting events again. Most of these will be free, with some exceptions. One thing I've spun my wheels on is deciding whether I should start another breakfast thing, unconference, cocktail hour, a hiking group, a movie, or a comedy outing... and then I thought, screw it, why don't I do all of the above? Wouldn't this be a nice idea? 

And like the good old days of tweetups and meetups, why don't I organize similar events when traveling? Great things can happen at such get-togethers; just ask Merlene and Randy. 

And with this, I bring you the new and improved Nice Maker Substack newsletter. My goal is to communicate with you about upcoming events I'm hosting or attending. Sometimes, I will give you weeks' notice of an event; other times, I will invite you to join us for a hike in a few hours or a coffee that afternoon.

Of course, you don't have to commit to all the events I invite you to, but it is always nice to have you come along. I want to unite people again, and I hope you will join me.

NEXT STEPS…

Nice Makers, you are just three steps away from connection, collaboration, opportunities, friendships, and more... 

1. Subscribe to the newsletter and watch for each email.  

2. RSVP for an event. 

3. Show up for the event. Don't cancel at the last minute. 

I wish you a happy, healthy, and wealthy 2024! I hope to see you around.

Walkable Perspectives

(Originally written in June 2020)

Nashville’s unofficial bird is the crane. From where I’m sitting as I write this, I count eight cranes looming over Music City.

According to the Nashville Business Journal’s “Crane Watch”, as of May 2020, there are 34 tower cranes in the Nashville skies — a number that's held relatively steady, with one crane seeming to appear each time another is dismantled. The tally is nearly as many as Seattle, and more than Chicago, Denver, Portland, and Washington, D.C., according to the firm Rider Levett Bucknall.

We live in the suburbs. I usually cringe when I see the massive, metallic machines looming over the sky. I bitch to myself about how I don’t even recognize sections of the city anymore. I complain about the lack of affordable housing and how musicians can’t even live here anymore.

Since temporarily relocating into the upscale, Gulch neighborhood, I’ve started to rethink my negative attitude. Cranes are a sign of growth. New buildings certainly beat boarded-up ones due to closures, which is the case in many cities and towns across this country (even pre-pandemic).

I came to this realization today as we walked Peggy. We walked north along 11th all the way to Jefferson. We discovered a section of the Nashville Greenway we didn’t know existed.

It occurred to me, as we stood on the NE corner of Broadway and 12th, that this used to be a super sketchy corner. When we first moved to Nashville in 2007, I noticed the only people who walked around were occasional tourists and homeless people. I longed to live in a walkable city.

Walking Cities

One of my favorite parts of traveling is exploring cities on foot. I always make a point to arrive early or depart a little later, so I can have time to walk around. This has resulted in me discovering all sorts of cool places creating my own mental Altas Obscura. Some discoveries that come to mind from such adventures are the doors in Scottsdale, a punk rock shop in New Hope, and a wicked record shop in Tucson.

It is because of all of this construction in Nashville that new walkable areas of downtown areas are appearing. I noticed many people out strolling to work, walking dogs, and jogging. I marveled at how we were able to safely move through the area with ease along the sidewalks and walking paths. I wished the traffic lights would change without a need for pedestrians to press the button, but this was overshadowed by the progress.

Nashville still has a ways to go to become a fully walkable city. It scores 28 out of 100 from WalkScore.com. I looked up my hometown of Toronto and it has a score of 61. Not too shabby.

What’s your city’s walking score?

Geek Breakfast, again

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There are currently a few tickets remaining for Geek Breakfast in Nashville on Feb 15th. In order to explain why I decided to host such an event, I need to first explain what Geek Breakfast is.

If you have attended a conference that was an amazing experience, you suffered from conference blues when it was over. The buzz of connecting with so many people in person can’t be denied. The days after are usually a little sad when you return to work and life goes back to normal.

The conference blues are felt even more deeply when you are a conference organizer, or in my case an unconference organizer. You’re exhausted but soon crave that in-person connection and organized chaos again. This is what led me to create a monthly breakfast networking event called Geek Breakfast back in December of 2007.

I co-founded BarCamp Nashville and PodCamp Nashville. The buzz in Nashville during BarCamp was wonderful, but I missed all of my new friends and didn’t want to wait six months until the next gathering So, I created Geek Breakfast as a way we could all stay connected.

Attendees from elsewhere wanted to create their own local Geek Breakfast chapters. Friends like Chris Ennis and Nicholas Holland helped design the old site, so folks could quickly register their own chapters. No strings, no charge - just connection. Chapters sprung up across the US, Canada, South Africa, and Australia.

When I would attend conferences like Gnomedex in Seattle, SXSW in Austin, and New Media Expo in Las Vegas, I would either organize a Geek Breakfast or a tweet-up.

What’s Changed and What Hasn’t

A lot has changed since 2007. Social networks are now powered by algorithms designed to show us what it determines will resonate most - both on a personal and commercial level. We may not see the tweets or updates posted by friends because of this. There is much more noise on social networks now because the laggards have joined the party. Some early adopters have given up altogether. Good people on social networks who just want human connection are now competing with trolls, brands, and bots who are adding noise and creating digital clutter.

I became excited for social networking back in 2007. I was lonely living in a new city. I was craving connection. I used social networks to meet new friends. I used in-person events to meet those online friends in-person.

I’m currently pruning my social network connections for the first time in many years. I’m longing for that excitement and true connection I experienced in the early days of “new media”. I’m also craving in-person connection, so I’ve restarted Geek Breakfast (at least for one event) to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones in Nashville.

We all crave human connection. We still can’t deliver true hugs, high-fives, and handshakes online, so we might as well meet up in person, right?

In keeping with the spirit of supporting community. 100% of proceeds from Geek Breakfast tickets will go to SafeHaven. I hope to see you there on Feb 15th.

UPDATE:

Why Waiting is Wrong | Since I Suppose

I just enjoyed a remarkable theatrical experience from Oz Nashville. Since I Suppose is an immersive journey through Nashville, with sound, film, interactions and text from Shakespeare's Measure For Measure. You should check out Amy Stumpfl's excellent recap from her article in The Tennessean. Audience members set out on their adventures using a mobile device and headphones. They are sworn to secrecy to ensure they don't spoil the experience for others, so I have to be careful not to spill any beans here. 

What was especially wonderful was the fact that I got to spend time in nooks and crannies around the city. I was fascinated by the way the interactive performance flowed from location to location. A dark and mysterious soundtrack played in my ears, as I watched the videos on the device. I had to follow the character on the display and listen to her dialogue as I merged through crowds of people on the streets. I was surprised and shocked by some of the locations I wound up in. It truly was a brilliantly immersive experience. 

Afterward, I asked Rus Snelling, Oz Nashville's production manager, a few questions. I was curious what would happen if a regular person on the street interfered with an audience member as they were meandering through back alleys. For example, I remember going on a ghost tour of Edinburgh. We traveled at night by foot through a spooky cemetery as drunken vagrants yelled at us to get out. Nervous audience members awkwardly chuckled, thinking (and hoping) they were part of the performance. Russ assured me that the company had undercover actors following along the whole time to ensure the audience is safe. In fact, the team also use private, direct messages via Twitter with a Tweetdeck dashboard to communicate with each other. 

So why is this blog post entitled, Why Waiting Is Wrong? Good question.

I chose the title because of the reaction I got from my friends when I shared how wonderful the experience was. Each person said they had been thinking about getting a ticket, but guess what, it was already too late. The entire show is sold out. My friends regretted missing their chance to buy a ticket because they waited too long. All theater performances have limited runs. Some shows are made to lasting longer, but if not enough tickets are sold, they eventually close. 

All good things must come to an end.

I had the wonderful fortune of being marketing manager for the Toronto production of the Broadway musical, HAIRSPRAY. The show had a successful run, but after nearly one year there were not enough bums in seats to keep the show alive. After it closed, I heard from many friends who said they were disappointed because they didn't get to see it. I was too. They waited too long and assumed the show would always be there. All good things must come to an end, but they didn't consider this.

If you are in Nashville (or plan to visit), take a look at the other amazing performances planned by OZ Nashville. Stop waiting and buy a ticket now, before you miss another opportunity for an experience of a lifetime.

This is why waiting is wrong.