Matt Shampine

Since New Years it seems as if almost all of my conversations with others involved in New York tech somehow turn into a discussion on ways that we can both strengthen and grow the community after a productive 2010.

I’ve concluded that it’s actually because of the tremendous growth in NYC tech that it’s time to go small.  As wonderful as it is to see the New York Tech Meetup grow to the point where it’s sold out at 900 people, I know that I’m not alone in saying that it’s no longer the must attend event it used to be in the past.  As Spencer Fry mentioned in his interview on our site We Are NY Tech, the intimacy in those types of events, and thus its value, is gone.

I think the answer is to set up small events (maybe around 10 people) that revolve around an activity or common interest.  For instance, at the end of this month my friend Alex, who works at Aviary, and I are setting up a poker game at my office.  We’re both going to be responsible for inviting four people that work at other tech startups, which will hopefully guarantee that everyone in attendance will get to know at least one new person that night. 

See what we’re trying to do? 

The people we’re inviting are thinking that they’re coming to play poker and aren’t going to worry about how they’re going to introduce themselves to strangers like they would at the NYTM after-party (if you can get a programmer to do that at all).  Even more to the point, they will be sitting around the same table for hours drinking beer while bullshitting and discussing their ideas, work, side-projects, etc.

My point in the end is that we need to find ways to create real relationships/friendships and not just new ways to exchange business cards.  The key is laying the groundwork for future collaboration, which rarely happens between strangers.

So… anyone up for a game of poker?