by akowitz on December 12, 2011
We want to thank the nearly 40 people who braved the nasty weather to join us last week for the inaugural DZone VIP Meetup at our Cary, NC headquarters. We hope you had a great time! We certainly did.
The overwhelming consensus from attendees was that we should organize another event soon, and we told them to count on it. Just take a look at the gallery of photos below and you’ll see that DZone sure knows how to throw a party! (Notice the Disco Ball?)
At the end of the night, everyone was sent home with a little DZone care package filled with our finest swag: Refcardz, stickers, magnets, and our custom-made DZone Meetup T-shirts.
Like we said in the initial meetup announcement, there was no presentation or topic focus for the meeing. Just a great group of tech professionals kickin’ back with some beer and pizza, talking about technology, and making connections. “Making connections” is our mantra for the DZone VIP Meetups and it’s an important theme for our company. We take pride in being a facilitator of developer interaction so that intelligent tech professionals can share ideas and gain insight into new ways of thinking.
So why not have a great DZone event in your hometown? Go to the DZone VIP Meetup page and start one now! And please don’t hesitate to reach out to the DZone team to help you spread the word, provide funds, or send swag.
by rick on November 29, 2011
It’s time to mobilize! Please help us get DZone VIP meetups off the ground by starting or attending a DZone meetup where you live. Let’s get tech professionals and together for good conversation and refreshments, and DZone will be glad to help out with free goodies like t-shirts, DZone Refcardz and books for door prizes as well as promotion and sponsorship assistance for refreshments.
Undoubtedly, most DZone members have been to a user group for one thing or another, but I’ve always wanted to have a get-together that was technically unbiased and more broadly open to people who simply share a passion for technology. Good things come from making connections with others whose skillsets and interests are slightly different from your own – it’s a technology version of “diversity is good!” It doesn’t matter if I carry an Apple laptop, I still think Windows and Linux machines are cool, too. Maybe I dig Java, but I’m certainly intrigued to know more about Python, Ruby and Scala. Let’s mix it all up and see what happens.
We’re not going to waste any time. The very first DZone VIP meetup will be at DZone HQ next Wednesday evening at 6:30PM, and I hope it becomes a regular ongoing event that attracts interesting folks in the NC Research Triangle for good conversation and outstanding beer and pizza! Mellow Mushroom, one of the best pizza joints in the area, just opened literally next-door to our new offices, so we figure it is time to get this party started. It is free, of course, and even if the first one is small it will certainly be interesting and fun. If you’re anywhere near Raleigh/Cary, then please join us.
It’s also exciting that DZone VIP meetups can happen all over the world! Already in less than 12 hours people have signed up to have DZone VIP meet ups in India, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria and the Philippines! We’re gratefully humbled by the global support and super-excited to help these pioneers get things off to a strong start. DZone will help you however we can – you’ve got a partner in the DZone team.
So, please think about getting involved. If there’s already a DZone VIP meetup near where you live, then please RSVP and show up for a good time. If not, then why not get one started? You’ll definitely get to meet some great folks and have a chance to hang out with others in a place where being a technology developer is what it’s all about. More is better – we’ll see you there!
