Thoughts After the First Ever Seattle Podcasters Guild Meeting.

Last night was the first meeting of the Seattle Podcasters Guild. So many awesome people showed up. I think we had about 20 people. We had a great range of people. Some have been podcasting for years. Some have just started podcasting. And we even had some folks just thinking about starting a podcast. Our event was hosted by the wonderful folks at Optimism Brewing here on Capital Hill. It was just so wonderful to meet all these creative folks. So many kind and encouraging people.

This morning I’ve been collecting my thoughts about the event. So, this post is just going to be my public digestion of the event. Some things I learned. Some stuff I would do differently. And anything else that comes to mind. So, I’ll apologize in advance for my rambling. It was a little awkward being the “organizer” of the group. I was worried that it would just be me sitting at the long table all alone. Folks started showing up right at 6 though and before I knew it there was a crowd forming. I am not the most outgoing person but I really tried last night. I tried to greet and shake hands with all the people that came for the event. I even shook hands and greeted some random person that had nothing to do with the event. Sorry if I missed you. We’ll have to be introduced next time.

Several people told me that they also had wanted to start a group like this. I think this is why the event was so popular. I didn’t have to try to convince anyone that a local meetup was a good idea. People thought it was a good idea because they themselves had the same idea. I think the Seattle podcasting community was ripe for an event like this. If I didn’t organize it, someone else would have. And if I turn out to not be that good at organizing this thing, someone else will probably take it over.

Optimism Brewing is a great place to host an event like this. They reserve a us a large long table for free! You also pay for beer and food when you order it. So, there are no check splitting issues. It is also close to mass transit. And the staff was super nice! I can’t thanks them enough. I’ll post thank you tweet and hopefully we can show them some social media love.

Despite our amazing turn out some people could not make it. The time of the meeting conflicted with some people’s work schedules. Also getting to Seattle from the eastside at 5pm is really tough. I’m not sure what to do about this. I don’t want to exclude anyone. I really want to include everyone. Unfortunately, an event like this can’t be perfect for everyone. If anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them. I thought about doing the next event on a weekend but getting a largish reserved space is really hard on the weekend. Some folks also said that they probably would not come on the weekend. There is just too much other stuff going on then. So, we will probably stick to this same kind of time and place. As for the eastside folks, we could do a supplemental event out there. If there are enough people and we can get a space reserved. Right now, I just don’t think there is enough demand for an eastside event.

This was a great opportunity for networking. And I mean real networking. Nobody was trying to sell anything or looking for prospects. Just people connecting over a shared interest. Those human connections are so valuable. Sounds corny but there really is a synergy that is created through successful networking. People connected can do so much more than people isolated. Some of the people that met for the first time tonight might go on to start a new show together. Others are just going to give each other encouragement and advice. Who knows what cool stuff could come from events like this.

I should have taken more pictures! I think almost every event organizer thinks this. Pictures are essential for the social media marketing of a group like this. Those pictures help show folks what to expect and show them what they missed out on. Next time I’ll take more pictures. Maybe I’ll take selfies with all the attendees!

Everyone said they wanted to do this again. So, I’m thinking about the next meetup. It will be at the same place and around the same time. I think I’ll bring name tags next time. If anyone has any ideas for next time, please let me know.

Originally published at seattlepodcasters.com.