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As a celebration of ourselves, it was OK. As a networking event, it fell flat.
We just received an email for a SurveyMonkey about a new LA green networking event we attended a couple weeks back. It’s hosted by Opportunity Green and branded as Room 367. It was promoted as a hip alternative for 20- and 30-somethings…a demo we’re still clinging to, but the door is closing fast. The space was a museum in LA’s museum district, and here’s the Flickr photostream.
The event leaned heavily on promoting Discovery’s Planet Green channel and Good magazine, which was a sponsor. The editor (and/or founder) of Good delivered a monotone speech about how he found his way to green (at least that’s how it started). The boringness was palpable as the din of the crowd escalated with each passing line. It’s nothing personal and we mean no offense, but we thought we were there to network. Felt like a bait and switch in many ways. As for giving speeches, whether it’s about being green or a wedding toast, here’s a simple bit of advice: don’t make it about you. Because it’s not. We also noticed a trend that could soon prove problematic. As social media tools become easier to use and everyone becomes a real-time news creator, who’s going to be left to participate in actual events? It seemed like there were just as many people there covering the event as there were participants, which makes it seem like th purpose was to produce media about a networking event and not the actual networking. Indeed, we’re now writing about the people who were covering the event. That’s what it’s come to. Suffice it to say, we did not meet anyone interesting. A psychic gave us a post card printed with psychedelic graphics to put under our pillow. It’s supposed to induce good dreams. She claims to keep posters of the stuff under her bed. Seriously.
In terms of hosting networking events, we also have a few suggestions about the setup. Museums need a lot of light for the artwork, but a hundred watts of Halogen in your face is not conducive to meeting new people. One might also consider a way to encourage networking. Give out some green stars with which to tag people you’ve met. Give us an excuse to engage and interact (when people aren’t giving speeches). Those with no tags can be cast out for their anti-social behavior.
If you’re looking for pure green networking, we recommend any one of the hundreds of mixers happening all over the planet from Green Drinks.
If you’ve had a similar experience at organized networking events, let us know with a comment.
1 response so far ↓
1 Max Gladwell Lifestream | Max Gladwell // May 24, 2008 at 12:25 pm
[...] we’ve put off getting them as a result of discovering rmbrME. We tested it at the recent Room 367 green networking event. We met 10 people at the event and texted them our rmbrME contact. Of those, [...]
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