[wplug-plan] Summer Slam V

[Michael Semcheski]

Brian Sammon wrote:
> Has anyone ever been to one of the Summer Slam events? Judging from
> the descriptions I've seen, it sounds like Geek Night, but with more
> people wearing ties.

I went to one 4 or 5 years ago.  It was mostly just a prearranged
meeting.  There was no agenda, no tables, nothing more formal than a few
door prizes (I won an x-box, someone else won a Cobalt, I think.) 

It was like Geek Night, but less hectic.  Fewer people, less of the
crazy atmosphere.


> Do participating organizations/groups set up tables with literature
> or something like that?  I've never been to Margarita Mama's--I'm not
> even sure if that sort of thing is feasible there.

The sponsors of the one I went to (which at the time, was just the
dot-net user's group and PittJUG so it was just MS and Sun really)
contributed schwag (t-shirts and coffee mugs, both of which were nice)
and door prizes.

Basically, if you wanted to network a bit and talk to people, you
could.  It was low key.  The thing that really sucked, and is why I
haven't gone back is, there were hardly any programmers there.  I mean,
this was the Western PA dot-net user's group, and the Pittsburgh Java
Users Group.  How many people use dot net and java but don't program? 
Or have some kind of direct-IT job.  But there were a lot of salesmen of
'solutions'.  And there were a bunch of hangers on types (you're not in
IT, you're a Merril Lynch salesman!)  I guess that when the meeting
place is a bar, the barrier to entry is low too.  Maybe its changed,
maybe I should lower my expectations.

Mike