i65 NMD… Leaves Meetup, Now a Ning Community

A NEW PLACE

A few months ago, I began wondering why I was paying out $10 a month to host a monthly Meetup when no one was interested enough to come.  So, I decided to look for a venue where I could still offer and build a meeting base, with a more favorable financial investment .. ie, something Free!

Then Ning Communities reappeared ont my radar… again!  I say, reappeared again, because I first signed up for a Ning account a year ago.  Yes, it only took me a year to move.  Brontosaurus reaction time!  Such is the plague of too many irons-in-the-fire and only two hands to juggle them all.  Too many get dropped.  Sometimes you get burned, too!

So I decided to give the Ning Community a whirl.

I like it. I hope the rest of you will, too. Once the i65Ning is fully up and running: filled in with data, projects, ideas and activity: I believe everyone will look forward to being involved.

Construction on the Ning Community: i65 NewMedia, continues daily.  It’s by no means complete, but it’s very usable.  Besides, what’s ‘complete’ in site building?  404!

EXPANDED MISSION

i65Ning will serve as the core online location for members of i65 NewMedia to come together for communicating and doing. Be sure to register to join the fun.  Remember, if you have a Ning ID, use that ID to enter i65Ning.

i65Ning will link back to this WordPress blog to provide complete coverage of digital development and experimentation within the worldwide audience we already have and want to expand.

The last 3 weeks having been incredibly busy,  resulted my biffing the setup of the Ning sites’ Calendar.  As a result no one knew there was a meeting this month and I ended up doing a ’solo meeting’.  My apologies to the group for the fumble.

I’ve now added a calendar of events on the Ning site; with a link from here as well. So all meeting times/dates are posted so there should not be any confusion in the future.

Be sure to READ both the Blog and i65 Ning.  They compliment, not duplicate each other.

OK .. I’m outta here for now.  See you in  the digital feeds among the i65 NewMedia outlets.

i65nmd

 

Meeting Time Change

Something had to change.  No one was showing up.  I couldn’t believe none of those who signed up for the i65 New Media meetup would just avoid coming to a meeting.  So, following a few queries I found that most of the membership just could not make the Wednesday meeting time.  OK.  That’s easy, I’ll change it.

So, beginning with the April meeting i65 New Media goes to a 3rd Monday of each month meeting frame. Thus the April meeting will be April 14 at 6:30PM.  Our meeting location will remain the same for now, Panera Bread @ Wabash Landing, West Lafayette.  I say ‘for now’ because I really like the convenience of the meeting area, food, beverage and free WiFi – but I must admit that their choice of ambiance music leaves much to be desired!  It stinks!   For now, we’ll see how many people come and what the desires are for the group.

I hope this day change will work for a lot of the membership and we start having  a good showing at the meetings.

Thanks for your input and I look forward to seeing many of you at the April meeting.

i65nmd

 

Why Meetup Works …

I’m getting this piece out late, my apologies up front. I have been busy. This is a good thing. Busy is good. But, busy and making money is even better.

Making these seemingly divergent poles come together – often enough to be a profitable entity – is the key to keeping the home fires burning, the ideas flowing and being so excited about getting back in the saddle each day.

We all need incentives to get us going at times; more than at others. And most people – even those like myself, who really enjoy working in the shadows, listening to my own brand of music while I write, design and plan – need to get out and have contact with others of the same interests.

Creativity in a vacuum just becomes stale after a while.

And the designer – no matter how big, influential, successful and all the other adjectives used to describe some of our ‘elites – who says they work without ‘contact’ with others, is fooling themselves; but not other designers. There is no such thing as a vacuum. We are all influenced by outside influences. Granted, some people need more human contact (aka: support) than others. Regardless, we all need contact.

This is where Meetup comes to play.

Meetup offers a convenient platform, in a friendly, warm atmosphere that is relaxed and – hopefully – conducive to flow.

Meetup offers a chance to meet new people; new ideas; new opportunities. New people are new ears and new conversations. New people mean new excitement.

Meetup offers the opportunity to take your work, efforts and plans to another level. To try out ideas and concepts that have just been waiting for an opportunity to burst forth. All they need is the opportunity.

It was for this very reason that I started the i65 New Media series of Meetups. I saw a need for a public platform, covering two areas of interest, where I work and thoroughly enjoy: Graphic Design and Digital Photography.

Today we have seen the marriage of these two areas into what is called, New Media. That New Media designation entails all that is visually creative and the technologies to conceive, create, develop, distribute and enjoy them – as in no other way or time – in the history of mankind. And we have access to it here, now and in full-tow!

An i65 New Media Meetup meeting allows interested parties a common platform to share, learn and network within their own field of expertise, interest and need. i65 New Media offers new channels to share and learn, among the myriad of paths between the multiple disciplines found in the New Media.

This is, to me, the most exciting part of an i65 New Media Meetup meeting: finding new paths and making new connections.

So, I encourage all members of i65 New Media to come out for the meetings – to see who else is in your ‘neighborhood’ with shared interests. You never know until you step out and see.

I also invite all those who read this (in the Mid-North Indiana I-65 corridor) – and are not currently members of Meetup or i65 New Media, to come check us out. Your first visit to i65 New Media is ‘on-the-house’. See if i65 New Media is a good fit for you.

We feel that no matter your status, professional or rank amateur, if you have an interest in New Media, you will find i65 New Media, engaging and worth your time. You’ll never know, though, until you ‘check us out’.

So … Step Out and Take a Look. Attend the Meetup Meetings … today!

i65NMD

 

i65 NewMedia/Design blog opens its doors on WordPress

Hello …

this is the inagural post of the i65 NewMedia/Design blog. i65 NewMedia/Design is an active Meetup.com group located in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. [MAP} i65 NewMedia/Design is devoted to bringing together individuals interested in NewMedia and the various elements that make up the Design aspect of bringing the NewMedias to life.

i65 NewMedia/Design seeks to service an area that surrounds the Interstate 65 corridor through NW Indiana; hence the name, i65. Our effective area is only limited by the distance individuals will be willing to drive. We can expect individuals to show up, from time-to-time, who will hail from as far to the northwest as Chicago, IL and from the northeast as far away as Ft. Wayne, IN. We can expect visits from as far away as Indianpolis, IN to the south, Terre Haute to the southeast and possibly Richmond, IN to the east.

i65 NewMedia/Design welcomes anyone who wishes to attend for the purpose of networking, collaboration and research. i65 NewMedia/Design is not a jobs clearing house, or employment service. There will by virtue of the nature of ‘doing business’, opportunities arise for those inside and out of the i65 NewMedia/Design group. However, it must be understood, this is NOT the main purpose this group holds as charter.

i65 NewMedia/Design group meets on the 3rd THURSDAY of the month, at the Wabash Landing, Panera Bread. An early mixer is held from 5:45PM-6:30PM at the front-end of each meeting. The ‘official meeting begins at 6:30PM and will run until 8:00PM.

The purpose of i65 NewMedia/Design Meetup will be to provide a platform, for those interested in the development, planning, creation and development of New Media and Design, to discuss their interests, passion, projects and efforts with those of like minded pursuits and abilities. The i65 NewMedia/Design group also offers a great opportunity for business – as well as technical – networking, with the potential for business-for-profit activity.

So, if you’re interested in getting together with people who share your interest in NewMedia/Design, the drop by one of our meetings. The first visit is on us (i65 NewMedia/Design). We think you’ll find your time beneficial and productive enough for you to realize the benefit of attending and become a full-fledged member. See the member page for details.

Best regards – live long and prosper, but not before you taste the sweetness of becoming enveloped in your passion.

J. Leslie Booth
Creative Information Architect
Organizer: i65 NewMedia/Design Meetup Group
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