The Meetup-whose-name-no-one-knows is over. And it was a cool tweetup. It was the first tweetup where the new people out numbered the regulars(except for the very first Cochin Tweetup(obviously(wow – several levels of nested brackets(what’s this? Lisp?(geek joke))))). One of the main reason provided was excessive partying the right before. 10 points to anyone who can guess who gave that excuse.
Attendees
Here are the guys you made it(let me know if I have forgotten anyone)…
Regulars
- @binnyva – Blogs at Binny V A
- @zeqox – Ranjith K Avarachan
- @frank_einstien
- @vivzy – Scribbles of a Loafer
First Timers
- @ManiKarthik – Daily SEO Blog (a regular for Cochin Blogger Meets – but technically a first timer in a Tweetup)
- @pranavashok – GetAudio
- @avgs – Idioteque
- @chickooiyer – Chickoos
- @JuwalBose – Juwal Bose Says
- @ArunBasilLal – Million Clues (side note – he has written an awesome introduction to twitter.)
- and of course, the ‘chief guest’ of the event – @amooma / Pena kathi (Pen knife).
We also have a couple of non Tweeters…
@maneshManesh- Jevan (@JuwalBose’s bother)
Regulars, we cannot let this tread continue. Please come for the upcoming tweetups. The good news is, at great personal cost, I have converted all the first timers into, well, non-first-timers. They won’t be a threat to us anymore. You’re welcome.
Pictures
Sorry – but we did not do a big group photo this time – this is the best we could manage…
- @JuwalBose Photos
- http://twitpic.com/7duga
- http://twitpic.com/7dui0
- http://twitpic.com/7duhr
- http://twitpic.com/7dujv
- http://twitpic.com/7dulg
Photo credit – @zeqox. Bad quality credit – @zeqox’s mobile.
Discussion
- No WiFi – once again.
- Strike one for Mr. Murphy.
- @amooma
- If you don’t know Amooma yet, here you go – Amooma Vs Sony Ericson. It was a huge hit on Twitter. Welcome to the gang Amooma.
- Paypal
- Flash vs HTML5
- Stuff of nightmares for @JuwalBose, a flash game developer.
- What to order
- Linux Vs Windows
- Happens at almost all Tweetups now. I has become a tradition for us.
- #Binny/MWM
- Another tradition. Started by an evil person I will leave unnamed *cough* @sid88 *cough*
- Wordpress
- Wordpress Plugins, Wordpress 2.8, Wordpress this, Wordpress that
- RSI, Ergonomics and Dvorak
- Qwerty #fail!
- The upcoming Russian Film Festival
- Many of us Cochin Tweeps will be attending.
- The upcoming raid
- #operationraidbinny for the uninitiated
- SEO, Bing
- ManiKarthik was with us. So its expected I guess.
- Much Much More…
- You should have attended to know the inside-circle secret stuff.
Abandon Barista?
First off, big kudos to @sid88 for getting us a reserved place at Barista – would would have been stuck without that.
But IMO, its time to abandon Barista as a meetup location – for many reasons…
- They cannot accommodate our numbers. Even if we get chairs from nearby tables its hard.
- Too noisy – lots of other people around.
- Really, really bad
musictunesoundnoise. - Its perhaps the most expensive joint in Cochin
The other possible locations are…
- Take one(my votes goes to this)
- Food Court, Bay Pride Mall
- Food Court, Oberon Mall
- Some open community space(the walk way behind Bay Pride Mall for example)
- Suggest your own location. I spent most of my time at home – I don’t know many outside-my-home places.
Please let us know your opion about this issue in the comments or on twitter.
Image credit – Darragh Sherwin
#1 by Anonymous for now - June 15th, 2009 at 00:41
Oberon Mall would be good.
The side walk cafe on the right of Woods Manor on MG Road would also be good if the chairs could be moved :\
#2 by Arun Basil Lal - June 15th, 2009 at 00:55
Aah.. there it goes. I broke my twirginty.. lol
though I handled the cam for some time, I forgot to take any pic, amooma is missing too.. She is gonna do a ’satyagraham’ for not taking her snap
I liked the couch of Barista.. though I struggled with the glass walls.. hmm..
but Barista is definetly katti and they do not accept paypal..
I dont know any places there, but the Food court is not a good option I guess, the smell stinks.. I experienced it the morning, maybe the corners are fine,still its not the best palce..
Had a great day, feels recharged
#3 by Arun Basil Lal - June 15th, 2009 at 01:01
oops, @ManiKarthik was also saying the same about the Food Court at Oberon mall..
(I forgot to add that, how could I miss such a big thumbs down for Food court..?)
#4 by Jesvin - June 15th, 2009 at 01:35
Yup. Barista seems a bad place for tweetups. Barista seems like daylight robbery, compared to CCD. Take One is still the best choice for reasonable prices and relaxed atmosphere.
#5 by TheAnand - June 15th, 2009 at 03:35
Maybe we should try getting our own venue for these events…an empty office or a homely terrace shud be more useful for ppl like us
#6 by Ranjith K Avarachan - June 15th, 2009 at 10:22
I second binny’s suggestion – Take one cafe
i dont think oberon or any food court would be a good choice.
another suggestion i can think of is the wellington island.. i’ve gone there once before.. pretty similar to the marinedrive walkway but you can count the total number of people there..
i guess that would be a good place.. but no WiFi
If you arent particular about WIFi the options are plenty..
Changampuzha park, subhash park etc are there..
then you can even think of fort kochi..
#7 by Arun Basil Lal - June 15th, 2009 at 11:19
I dont think Wifi is an issue. Now I know why catching up a tweetup sucks when you are at home..
Its not a organized meet, people are more interested in talking than tweeting (and thats what a offline meet is meant to be)
Also, hopefully by next tweetup, the technology to setup a wifi network with a USB hub would be out.
So any place that isnt noisy is awesome
#8 by Arun Basil Lal - June 15th, 2009 at 11:45
More tweetup pics from @JuwalBose’s cam:
http://tinyurl.com/l8syg8
Binny, please add it to the list, I am scared of editing the page, maybe I will mess up if I open what you did.. thats why.
#9 by Roshan - June 15th, 2009 at 12:41
Sorry I missed it. Fever is down a bit, cough is not gone. I suggest we try Take One next time but there’s no really great place to have a meeting on this scale. I think Food Courts are too crowded. CCD in Ravipuram will be too cramped. The only other place I go to other than CCD & Barista are Bars – which will make for violent Tweetups, but it could also be fun
#10 by neop26 - June 15th, 2009 at 23:27
Its so good to see you guys taking an initiative to have a tweetup and stuff.
I was supposed to come down to cochin this weekend because of a personal loss in the family but couldnt make it..
but going to come down soon and would love to catch up with you all and see how cochin has changed since the last time I had been home(4 years bck)
Keep it coming guys… and an awesome concept to keep a live page and your posts coming.
twitter.com/neop26
#11 by Arun Basil Lal - June 16th, 2009 at 00:38
Nice to meet you neop,
Thanks to binny for maintaining this blog so that we can keep our meetings organized…
Sorry to hear that you missed this one…
you got a cool profile pic, hopefully we will meet soon
#12 by neop26 - June 16th, 2009 at 00:48
Thanks Arun,
Yep bit difficult to pack bags and coming running down to India , I am based In New Zealand, but would come home anytime hahah.. I miss the following:-
1. Trivandrum Chicken House @ MG road
2. Chariot
3. Sridar(where I spend a better half of my 11th and 12th)
and basically cochin,,,
so ya its long overdue.
#13 by Arun Basil Lal - June 16th, 2009 at 00:51
Oh, so you came to cochin for a vacation I guess. will you be here for the next month or so..?
I will catch you on twitter
#14 by neop26 - June 16th, 2009 at 00:54
erm looking at this stage more towards Dec-Jan.
I work and study full time down here so getting time off is always tricky.
Sweet bro catch me on twitter but I m always blabbering blah blah something IT technical related most of the time…hopefully u wont get frustrated…!!!
Anyways nice to meet you to Arun!
#15 by Arun Basil Lal - June 16th, 2009 at 00:57
Ahh,. you are the one who is going to cry, ask the peeps what I do on twitter…
I just added you and I would never be talking tech, I always chat.. blah blah blah..
So are we competing ..? maybe you can try..
#16 by Priya Q - June 17th, 2009 at 14:58
hmm if people are ready to goto Oberon….then Amaara though a little way off can be a good and quiet place for tweetups….
oberon food court is crowded …so I wont vote for it…for that matter i wont vote for any food courts….
another way is to block the cafes like barista or quicky’s for an hour or 2 so that we have the whole place to ourselves…. they might want us to commit the sales to them …not sure someone will have to check
#17 by Arun Basil Lal - June 17th, 2009 at 20:42
with all respect, Blocking barista is not a good idea. Barista is a premium place, too expensive for a tweetup. maybe we should try somewhere we get cheaper coffee..
PriyaQ: Amooma missed your company this time, make sure you make it the next time..
#18 by Ranjith K Avarachan - June 26th, 2009 at 09:14
where is Amaara??
#19 by Priya Q - June 30th, 2009 at 14:52
Amaara is in maradu i guess…not sure of the area…been there …nice place