Reading Geek Night 

I'm (@JimAnning) planning to pull together a series of (probably monthly) Reading Geek Night events. If your interested in coming along, or in shaping how the event will work then sign up for an account and feel free to add / edit / comment etc.

The first Reading Geek Night is confirmed for Tuesday 10th November 8:00pm at Copa in reading town centre.

To help us get a rough idea of numbers, add your name here if you would be interested in attending / knowing more. We'll then contact you when we know what's happening.

Secondly add your thoughts / ideas / comments / whatever below.

What it is...

A free monthly event for developers / designers / & other interested tech types. Taking inspiration from oxford geek nights it will involve...

     - socialising

     - learning & sharing & collaborating

     - themed in some way (?) 

     - and other stuff we haven't thought of yet

Format Ideas

1. Simlilar Oxford Geek Night... 2 x 15 min presentations + number of 5 min slots
   • Pros: Proven formula / Gives less known people a chance to share / ADD MORE...
   • Cons: Repetitive for people who want to attend both / Might be difficult to get speakers at first / Would have to be sufficiently attractive and (in)frequent to attract 'regulars' / ADD MORE...
2. Theme the night around a 'case study' with the rest of the time for socialising/discussion.
   • Pros: more in depth session / more time for socialising / ADD MORE... 
   • Cons: potential repetition of topics / potential topic 'black list' / ADD MORE...
3. whilst 'geek' is the word, this should be space for related stuff, not just technology/ programming/ gaming. I'm thinking: design, entrepreneurial tales from tech world, popular maths and science, 'mind hacks', optical illusions, paradoxes, fun stuff. Don't want this to be a geek ghetto, (from @simoncobb)
4. There's a word I forget (and google isn't helping) for strictly timed presentations that get n amount of time per slide. Think it would be good to have what I'm calling 'elevator pitches', short bursts of info that folks can be invited back to expand on if sufficient interest. here's legendary cbbc Flash developer @swingpants doing one at Flash on the Beach 09 so you can see what I mean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLiKTdB89AA (from @simoncobb) - I think you mean Pecha Kucha (from @rickerbh)
5. Add more thoughts here...

I think that OGN suffers a little from too much hanging about (and in fact in being a bit too popular - the room's been a bit too full when I have been there). I think getting down to business can happen fairly early in the evening (assuming there's a speaker and a crowd of some kind) and that the rest of the evening can then be free for chatting.

I also think that one 15 min talk as the focus will do; we don't need to think of this as a big event. And like a barcamp it won't really matter too much if people miss the talk and get the social as the backchannel is probably as fertile for ideas and chat as the formal talk/s.

The key's probably getting a convenor/moderator with the guts to keep things moving…

Ben 

Topics / Presentations

Wish list (or offers) for talks / case studies etc...

1. Guest 'expert' speakers from various fields?
2. Google Wave live demo - assuming there's somebody in Reading who got an invite?
3. c etc
4.  

Stuff which would be good

• Venue with wifi
• A projector or at least a wall to project onto
• Central location - easy to get to
• Sponsorship for some drinks?

Stuff to avoid

• Expensive venue (i.e. drinks cost, etc...)

Venue ideas

AlanB: I know The Global Cafe/RISC have a decent room. Pretty central, good wifi (they finally fixed it), says they have a projector (but would cost extra). For community groups (do we count as that?), it's £9.80/hour for the 'Conference Hall'. Check out the photos and stuff at http://www.risc.org.uk/roomhire/index.html No idea if that night is available there, but I can ask if ppl want me to. Alternatively the main bar/cafe can be rented on Sunday and Monday evenings.

Marketing 

• Twitter: related tweets can be marked with the hashtag #rdggeek