Guest Post by Dave Troy of Beehive Baltimore Coworking
Filed under: Community Support, Education/Workshops, Events, coworking
On January 22nd, a delegation from Beehive Baltimore visited IndyHall — a trip we called “A Tale of Two Cities.” Baltimore and Philadelphia share many common characteristics: an amazing, eclectic workforce and arts community, a prominent position in the east coast corridor, and also many of the problems that plague many of our urban areas.
The idea for the trip came after I visited with Alex back in October and I wished I could “bottle” the energy and ideas behind IndyHall to share with my peers in Baltimore. Of course, I had already done this in one way; in 2008 my chance meeting of Alex Hillman at a wedding of a mutual friend is what led directly to the creation of Beehive Baltimore, our coworking community in Baltimore.
But I wanted to do more: to connect the members of our coworking community directly with like-minds in Philadelphia, to inoculate them with the knowledge that our two communities are linked by common values and also to raise the idea that coworking is a very powerful seed for urban renewal and economic growth. The founders of Beehive share something very important in common with Geoff and Alex: we want to change our cities for the better, and not just a little bit.
At first the trip was going to be a small carpool affair with 8-10 people. Pretty soon it turned into a bus trip with over 30 people registered. When we showed up on the doorstep at IndyHall, Alex and Geoff were a little surprised at the size of the crowd. But here’s the thing: show people a better way, a path forward that has room for hope in it, and people will rush to understand and be a part of it.
Our delegation was eager to learn what made the IndyHall community tick, and to compare notes from experiences in Baltimore. Some were our regular members, others were members of our community that want to drive change here. While we arguably gained a lot from a generous Q&A with Geoff and Alex, the real fun came in the Show & Tell and the extended lunch at National Mechanics. Many good new connections were made between the Baltimore and Philadelphia communities.
But, perhaps most importantly, the trip did one thing: show that we’re here for one another. Philadelphia and Baltimore both face staggering challenges in the years ahead. I, for one, am comforted by the knowledge that there are likeminded souls in a nearby city who will be working to understand these challenges alongside us, and I hope you feel the same way. We invite you to make a similar trip here to Baltimore sometime soon. Thanks for sharing with us. We all truly appreciate it and will be looking for ways to keep our communities growing together.
New Event Series! Meet the…
Filed under: Announcements, Education/Workshops, Events, Independents Hall
We’re kicking off December with a new monthly event series, “Meet the…”. A mashup demo and meetup event meant to get community members a chance to meet cool people working on cool things. Our show-and-tell events continue to be one of our most popular recurring events, and this is only a slight derivation from that.
Our first event happens to be tech, and the person you’ll meet happens to be a developer, but one of the things we pride ourselves on is the diversity at IndyHall. We’re looking for people to host “Meet the…” in the future from other disciplines. Business, music, education, architecture, authors… anything goes at IndyHall.
The first event, on December 1st at 6pm, will be presented by the VP of Engineering at Apstrata, a very exciting “cloud” technology. From the team,
Apstrata will present their Cloud-based Data Hub for the Realtime Web. The Apstrata Data Hub is a an easy and cost effective way to store application data in the Cloud. Easy because it offers a document-style database through a set of APIs that can be used from any Web or Mobile client. Cost effective because it eliminates the need for a custom application server. Apstrata has a unique set of rich features like integrated user management, field level security on document data and server side scripting that makes the Data Hub a perfect compliment to rich client environments like Javascript, Flash/Flex, iPhone and Android.
Ryan Murray, VP of Engineering at Apstrata, will give an overview of the Data Hub and dive into some code examples of how this can be used in practice. If you are a Web or Mobile developer you will find this session interesting, and a new approach to building applications.
An interesting sidenote is that Apstrata’s parent company, element^n Inc, is the company that our friends from New Work City actually shared space with for the last year at 200 Varick in Manhattan.
Please welcome them by coming to hang out, enjoy some food and beer at IndyHall on December 1st from 6pm-7pm. We’re asking for RSVP’s so we can plan food and beer.
IndyHall Town Hall 2
Filed under: Announcements, Community Support, Events, From the Business Side, Independents Hall
In last week’s newsletter (you are subscribed, right?) we announced our 2nd IndyHall Town Hall.
We held one of these back in March when we were first thinking about moving from our Strawberry St. office into something bigger. It proved to be an extremely valuable format for getting the community up to speed, introducing people, and seeing progress forward.
On Tuesday, October 27th, we’re doing it again. The first of what we hope to continue as quarterly Town Hall meetings will allow the entire community, not just the paying membership, to come together to find out about IndyHall’s progress & growth, and continue to be a part of the shared vision.
We’ll be hosting it at our office, 20 North 3rd St. It will begin at 5:30 sharp and we expect it to take 60-90 minutes.
The goals of the Town Hall format are twofold: first, to open up as much information as we can about the business and community operations. Second, to provide a proper sounding board for the fast growing community that inhabits our clubhouse.
Imagine a hybrid of a “state of the union” from some community leaders, as well as an opportunity for your voice to have an impact. Of course, with the same level of approachability and authenticity you’ve come to expect from IndyHall.
We have some exciting announcements. But don’t we always?
Attendance isn’t mandatory for members, but its’ strongly recommended. Also, as I mentioned, this is a COMMUNITY town hall, which means it is open to the public. Because of this, we’re asking people to RSVP to make sure we can plan/arrange the space appropriately.
In the past, we’ve had good response and a significant turnout, and we’re hoping for the same this time.
Please help spread the word to other community members and organizations that might want to attend, and encourage them to RSVP.
We look forward to seeing everyone on the 27th.
Show and Tell Next Thursday!
Filed under: Announcements, Community Support, Education/Workshops, Events, Independents Hall
Every month we gather for an adult version of “Show and Tell”! No, not the kind where we take off our clothes…the kind where we show off what we’ve been working on, what we’ve learned, and anything we might have to share with the group!
In the past people have demoed projects, shared new tools they’d discovered that make their lives easier, or told stories about events they’d attended recently.
Like a number of our other lunchtime events, these are open to the public and tend to be well attended.
We’ve still got a few presentation spots open, so if you’re interested in joining as a presenter or an audience member, please let Dana know!
IndyHall & Weblinc play FOOTBALL against I-SITE for charity!
Filed under: Announcements, Community Support, Events, Independents Hall, Indy Hall Fit Club
The European kind, of course. You know, with the round ball that’s black and white.
Big kudos to Johnny Bilotta for “running ahead” with this one, and putting together a KICK ASS team comprised of IndyHall community members and Weblinc employees. For those who don’t know, Weblinc is the web development/e-commerce company with many friends we’ve made through National Mechanics…mostly because Weblinc and National Mechanics are in the same building and have the same owners. Note that this competition is friendly and for a good cause. That doesn’t mean our team won’t stomp I-SITE’s. 
The game will be held at Chamounix North(map) field in Fairmount Park. We’ll kick off at 3pm, and then head for post match pints at 5pm @ National Mechanics. We’d love for you to join us at any point to cheer for us (or the opposing team, if you must). No RSVP necessary.
BONUS: Our long-time friend and community member Kevin Fitzpatrick is hosting a going-away happy hour at the same time at National Mechanics. He’s going to be working overseas for a few weeks (and potentially a few months) and we want to show him how much we’ll miss him by buying him rounds of free drinks. If you can’t make the game, we hope you can make that.
IgnitePhilly is TONIGHT!
Filed under: Announcements, Education/Workshops, Events
I know that not everybody is tuned in to the same channels for news and events, and while it’s been on the IndyHall Calendar, IgnitePhilly doesn’t have much description or meaning to lots of the newer folks.
Tonight is the 4th IgnitePhilly, an event co-organized by a number of awesome community members (including our own Geoff DiMasi).
What is Ignite? It’s a fast paced presentation format. In Philly, it’s REALLY fast. Rock show fast. Ignite takes over Johnny Brenda’s at Front and Gerard and have presenters from all corners of Philadelphia’s most exciting projects and gives them 5 minutes to share something special…without self-promoting.
5 minutes and 20 slides later, your mind has been blown. Go grab yourself another beer. There’s another presentation coming up.
I’m a huge fan of the quote from Brian James Kirk:
“Perhaps the most interesting thing about the evening was that these important players in Philly’s advancing creative communities didn’t get on stage to show off their resume and reel. They used the forum to talk about what others are doing to make a difference…The fundamental takeaway from IgnitePhilly is that that the ability to change the world is more real than ever.”
If you’ve never attended an Ignite, I highly encourage you to make it tonight. Presentations start at 8 but doors are at 7, and you REALLY need to get there early. We’ve sold out a 300+ person room every single time this has happened.
If you want to lock down your spot, there are still some $5 pre-sale tickets available.
All proceeds are going to the Philadelphia Food Trust, so Ignite doesn’t make a dime. Ignite has already raised over $500 in ticket pre-sales so far.
I hope to see lots of new faces tonight, the presenters list is full of some of the smartest people I’ve met, and plenty I can’t wait to meet.
Calling All Java Developers! November 1st, CodeRetreat @ IndyHall!
Filed under: Announcements, Community Support, Education/Workshops, Events, Independents Hall
At code retreat, we retreat from the world to advance in our craft. We sharpen our saws, together.
We retreat from production and business value to increase our production capacity, our quality, our velocity, our ability to produce business value.
We retreat from immersion in deep technology issues to advance in our ability to learn and adopt to any technology well.
We retreat from our fears, and embrace new practices and patterns.
We retreat from our local ponds and swim in a larger pool. We connect with other passionate coders who we seldom get to code with. We make new connections and learn new lessons.
At code retreat everything is about the journey and nothing about the destination.
Sebastian Hermida is organizing, and we are hosting, what sounds like a very exciting, interesting, and valuable event for the Philadelphia Java developer community. The iterative build/breakdown/discuss model of a “Code Retreat is explained rather well on his post about the event.
If you’re a Java developer in or near Philadelphia, I highly encourage you to register to attend the Code Retreat at IndyHall on Sunday, November 1st. They are requesting RSVPs, so please head to their sign up page if you plan to attend.
We love supporting events like this that are designed to bring people together for the sake of improving their craft. If you and your user group have plans for a similar event, please talk to us about hosting your event!
BREAKOUT! Festival comes to Philadelphia
Filed under: Community Support, Events, In The News, Independents Hall, coworking
When some of our friends from Manhattan’s New Work City told me about The Breakout! Festival, I was instantly on board. A group of people who wanted to take advantage of public places to create new, interesting, and stimulating work environments sounded like such a cool mission. Given the availability of power and internet, and the mobility of our workforce and their needs, this project is a beautiful expression of work no longer being about where, but HOW people do their jobs!
BREAKOUT! is a month long event where groups of people congregate in different places to work for a period of time, or discuss alternatives to work places. In many cases, it’s a “break out” session, encouraging usual cube-inhabitants to get out and meet some new people. Sound familiar?
Tomorrow (Monday, October 12th) the BREAKOUT! NYC group is going to “break out” of Manhattan and join us for a few hours in Philadelphia! They’ll be taking the Bolt Bus, an awesome wifi-enabled transport option between NYC and Philly, working for the two hour commute, then joining us at IndyHall for a bit. We’ll welcome their group and discuss mobile work alternatives, and weather permitting, head out to Washington Square Park for an outdoor brainstorming session.
The group, organized by Anthony Townsend (a researcher dedicated to working on the role of telecommunication in urban design and development), is providing an excellent opportunity not just to make for an interesting Monday morning, but a valuable opportunity to tie neighboring cities together. Philadelphia and New York are SO close, and the transportation is SO accessible, if you haven’t taken a day to work from each others’ coworking spaces you are missing out.
One of the biggest values of coworking is adjusting perspective for the sake of improving your own productivity. I hope you join us around 11:30-12 tomorrow, Monday the 12th, at IndyHall to welcome our friends from NYC and take part in BREAKOUT! NYC comes to Philadelphia.
Oh, and Anthony is bringing a BBC reporter, so as he suggested to me, “make sure you have your coworking sound-bites ready!”
Philly Startup Leaders “Hack Weekend”: October 17th and 18th
Filed under: Announcements, Events
This is an event that we’ve been talking about doing for a while but I’m thrilled to see PSL get one off the ground!
PSL 2.0 Weekend is an open hack on the technologies and communications that hold us together as a community. In one weekend, we are going to:
1. Redesign our web presence
2. Rewrite our core documents
3. Develop new communication and collaboration tools to bring the regional tech community even closer togetherNo one knows exactly what will come out of it. All we know for sure is that with so much brainpower and know-how in one room, it’s going to be awesome.
We want to see you there. If you’re a hacker, designer or writer, this is a great opportunity to meet and collaborate with your peers — all stars in the Philly scene — on a vision you dream up together. It’s also going to be blast. By day we’ll be cranking away on our projects, and by night we’ll be watching improv comedy and parading around Philly in a geek entourage that’s sure to turn heads.
When:
Sat 10/17 from 10AM-6:00 PM (with improv comedy and party to follow)
Sun 10/18 from 10AM-6:00 PM
Where:
Baiada Center @ Drexel – 3225 Arch Street, PhiladelphiaBring:
Your creativity, your laptop and your favorite t-shirt
I’m looking forward to this event, and hope that people come out to spend the weekend banging on their projects and producing some AMAZING stuff, while making new friends and meeting your peers.
Kudos to the PSL crew of putting together an awesome-sounding event! I hope that we can take away some great lessons and do something similar for the IndyHall community in coming months.
IndyHall joins the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours for their 10th year
Filed under: Announcements, Community Support, Events, Independents Hall
Philadelphia Open Studio Tours allows visitors to “Follow Art to the Source” by organizing & promoting artists (and now Indies) to open their spaces, show, and sell their work in a unique setting – their own. POST, now celebrating it’s 10th year as the largest annual tour of artist studios in Philadelphia features hundreds of artists during the first two weekends in October:
- East of Broad October 3-4
- West of Broad October 10-11.
This year, Indy Hall is participating in POST, a grassroots city wide event, as a Community Partner defined as “a way to build coalitions between professional artists, local businesses, community institutions, and arts organizations”. During the first weekend of October Indy Hall will showcase it’s space for the Artistic Community of Philadelphia, while introducing the Indy Community to fellow creatives and their colleagues.
A few ideas instantly came to mind, such as using the Front Conference room as a portfolio / gallery space, and potentially having workshops or demos in different areas of the Hall, but this is your time to shine. Bring us your best ideas for utilizing the space. Think of it as a Show and Tell on a larger scale. This is an open call for participation. Show us what you’ve got.
This is also an opportunity for people that can’t otherwise come to Indy Hall during the week to see the new space we moved into in May It’s an opportunity for you to show your friends & family what you do and where you do it. It is also a great opportunity to form professional relationships & possible collaborations with artists, creatives, and the people who support them. All kinds of people go on the tours, and this is a great way to reach out beyond the artistic community as well.
So come hang out for the first weekend of POST. It’s pretty much a guaranteed good time, with an excellent group of people, and of course snacks and beer, but that goes without saying. As an added bonus – Indy Hall is offering a Free Day Pass for October 3-4, just reserve your spot using the online reservation form to guarantee your space for the weekend.
