We had the first meeting of the Cornwall Social Media Cafe on Thursday and were pleased to see somewhere close to 20 people turn up to share a drink and chat before the start of the long Easter weekend.
Held at Zafiro’s in Truro, guests started arriving just before 7 and continued chatting well into the evening with the last of us leaving just before 10.
There was no formal element to the evening, instead opting for a relaxed informal celebration before the bank holiday. Some guests originally booked in for the event were unable to make the event due to family descending upon them for the Easter break or illness.
Those present at the first event included (if I’ve missed anyone please let me know):
Me (Aren Grimshaw)
Toby Parkins
Shelly Fletcher
Tim Warren
Peter Graves
Fiona Crump
Zak Stanley
Jesse Cochran
John Merlin
David McGuire
Tom Nash
Annie Moore
Jon Baker
Olly Brand
Fiona Campbell-Howes
Simon Elliott
Those sending apologies:
Laura McKay
Jo Wood
Rob Edlin
Adrian Taylor
Andy Coote
Rosie Halloran
Rachel Picken
Mark Picken
Kate Gibson
Richard Collett
Claire Hawke
We are now looking to establish a date for the next event (May) and I would propose running with the same Thursday (the 2nd of the month) which would give us a date of the 14th of May. This is by no means a decision – I welcome comments and discussion of the best date. Once agreed I will create an EventBrite listing so that we can guage potential numbers.
As well as setting a date for the next event we need to decide on a location and format. There was original discussion about moving around Cornwall i.e different town each month – what do people think? Likewise, I have heard two camps on the format: one looking for a speaker (20mins at the start) and one liking the informal / no speaker format employed at the first event.
In all cases please leave your feedback as a comment below or add suggestions to the Facebook / LinkedIn walls or Tweet your suggestions to @cornwallsmc or use Hashtag #CSMC in your tweet.
Once again it was great to meet everyone. It was a really enjoyable evening and I look forward to many more to come.
All the best, Aren.
I have just noticed that my suggested date of the 14th clashes with the Cornwall Business Awards Ceremony. As such, it may be worth looking at another day as many guests will be unable to attend.
I could do the Tuesday 12th as a suggestion but will see what others think.
Aren
Hi Aren
I was just about to post about the Business Awards; but you beat me to it!
Thanks for a great event… I know there were others who opposed having any structured content, but from my point of view it would be nice if there was some particular purpose to the night – other than meeting up with good people for a pint, of course!
Hi Aren, thanks once again for organising the event on Thursday, I enjoyed it a lot and it was great to meet some new people.
Personally I’m in favour of having speakers for at least some of these events, it’s always good to learn about something new from an expert in the field (whatever that field might be). But if others aren’t so keen I’m equally happy with it just being informal drinks.
Location-wise, I’m probably going to limit myself to attending events in Truro and Falmouth, but I’ve no objection to the evening itself moving around the county.
Thanks again,
Fiona
The following comment was sent as a message via Facebook:
Aren
Really pleased that the event was a success.
I like the idea of some kind of speaker but also agree that whilst in its early stages the informal event approach might be more suitable.
Just checked my diary I can do the Thursday 14th May but not the Tuesday as I am at Plymouth University involved with MA stuff on the 12th.
Best regards,
David George
Creative & Media dip. Line Leader (South East Cornwall Consortium)
I personally find Thursdays really difficult. As most people will find one particular day of the week difficult, why not alternate the day each month? This means that a wider number of people will get a chance to attend. It does mean that people will need to watch out for which day next, but, there should be enough media to communicate this through!!
Hi Aren,
It was a nice evening, and a pleasure to put a face to so many twitter names too. I’ll be pretty keen to come along to other events if it becomes regular, not always available on Thursdays but its as good as any other.
Keep up the good work!
Pete