Neonjade

Huntsville bloggers and want-to-be bloggers rejoice. There’s a new event just for us that demands we mix business with pleasure. It’s a rough life, but someone’s got to live it!

Huntsville organizer Thom Rigsby is a laid-back, social sort of fellow and he has some great ideas for the weekly Tuesday get-togethers at the West End Grill on Old Madison Pike. Thom is building a chapter of Beer & Blog, an international network of bloggers that was started by Justin Kistner as a small group out of Portland, Oregon. You have to admit that the premise is sound. What blogger would want to resist the concept of “a weekly meet up based on bloggers helping bloggers over beers?”

The Beer & Blog network is all about socializing while networking. Dave and I attended yesterday’s meet up, the Huntsville chapter’s third such event. There was only a handful of attendees, but we look forward to being able to say, “Remember back when we only took up three tables?” There was great energy, curiosity and a willingness to brainstorm present that can’t help but attract others.

While the agenda was open for the last meeting, and may remain so for the next, Thom hopes to bring some partial structure to future get-togethers. Members agreed that building on the 5-Minute Presentation format for the first 20 minutes would make for an interesting and entertaining start. Thom will be coordinating presenters and topics on the Huntsville Beer & Blog website.

Members present this week included local bloggers representing sevendead.com, segwayne.com, strages.net, entirelyadequate.com, and Thom’s jtrigsby.com. One attendee isn’t attached to a blog yet, and it certainly isn’t a requirement, but he’s hoping that attending the meetings will provide that extra push he needs to start one up. Topics discussed ranged from blogging history and goals, to Twitter tools and approaches, to WordPress nuts and bolts.

If you’re a blogger or would-like-to-be blogger in the Huntsville, Alabama area, stop by West End Grill any Tuesday between 5pm and 7pm and join in. The bartender will know what part of the Grill they are set up in, or just look for the laptops. You’re bound to meet a diverse group of friendly folks looking forward to sharing their successes and challenges with you over a cold one (tea drinkers are allowed too – they let me in!)