Silicon Valley Tweetup: Jobs Are Available In Comments

Just got back from the Silicon Valley Tweetup (135 said they would come, 226 people saved it), last time this year, Tweetups were just about a dozen people or less, but the growth of the service has really demonstrated it’s popularity, I estimate 150-200 folks there. Unlike blogs, microblogs can have a greater rate of adoption as the barriers to entry than blogs as it’s easier to get started, and the ubiquitous mobile device makes it easy.

Some of my friends who came desired a more intimate setting split off to private dinners, and that’s fine too, the event is relatively organic, and we certainly want to keep it that way.

Tonight was a success, and I’m pretty sure we were able to connect people to network and find jobs in this tough economy. Thanks for coming out, the #svtweetup became a ‘trending topic’ on twitter search, suggesting it was a top used tag for the evening.I polled the audience and asked folks to raise their hands if they were hiring, and about a third of them were hiring. I encouraged those who were hiring to stand near the bar, there candidates could quickly get their business card, and perhaps buy them a drink. There were a lot of folks looking for jobs, and quite a few people who were consulting, and a few who just were recently laid off. Strangely, there were people that came that never even heard of Twitter, which demonstrates how viral the event was –people passed the invite around on email.

Had a few offers to get the event sponsored, something I’ll have to think about, but I’m generally steering away from that as this is testament that a community can self-organize without institutional influence. On a more social note, we did entertain each other by singing karaoke, seriously, what is more ‘social’ and ‘media’ than that? Joel Postman awarded his latest book SocialCorp to those who could really belt it out best.

Was asked several times when the next one is going to be held, and saw similar queries on Twitter. How often do you think we should hold such a community event? I’m sure folks will create smaller ones from time to time, but I’m thinking of other ways to help people that are seeking jobs connect with employers.

If you’re hiring in Silicon Valley, please leave a comment
Normally, I direct brands that are hiring to post on my job board, (A new job was posted for Vice President DialogueMedia MWW Group, NY) but given the state of the industry, I’m going to suggest that if you’re hiring (or seeking work) to leave a comment below with a brief description to your job post. Don’t post the whole job req (I’ll remove it) instead just give a summary and link to the job posting.

Thanks for being part of the community, I’m happy to serve the community that I cover, you can read my commitments to the industry.

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Antonio Altamirano, (who’s a web strategist at Accenture) took pictures, you can see we really filled up the place. (@antoniocapo)

Thanks to Ida Rose who helped organized the name badges, and was very supportive.

Stella Yu provided me with various location and venue suggestions, now we have to find a larger space, or ask BBC to take out the tables