19 September 2010

Roundtable... success

Well I'm still on a high from the two hours or so on line chatting with you all.

I personally thought it was a great success and I will admit to sitting back with a big smile on my face when you all started to get to know each other and in a lot of cases this was the first time you had chatted to each other, although I had chatted to a few of you one to one in the last year. As more people came on they got 'dropped' in to the voice chat.

A few folks didn't have microphones so they were only able to listen in to the chatter and banter!  Hopefully people will be able to get themselves equipped with a microphone or headset for next time.

If anything today's chat was how I imagined it would be when I had the idea for the first one back in April this year. But this one is only the third time we have run it and it has got better each time.

Today we had about eight people in the chat most of the time. A quick count of about 12-13 people over the whole time. Some people had to disappear early for whatever reason. A couple of people had their arms twisted in to joining even though they were not in their peak of health and fitness (and I thank you for joining in).

For those of you that didn't mange to join in or listen in, the topics were quite varied, yes Filofax was discussed extensively, but that wasn't the only topic of conversation, so we might be enthusiastic about the brand and the products... but I wouldn't say we are fanatics and that was the only thing we talked about.. I lost count of the number of times for instance that 'Malden' got mentioned! It was more like a bunch of friends meeting up for coffee and exchanging views and information and getting to know each other a little better.

For me it was very enjoyable, we interact a lot already via the comments, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter, but to sit back and listen to you all chatting away like you have 'known' each other for years did bring a smile to my face.

There were several 'firsts' including the first time the three contributors (Nan, Laurie and myself) had all 'met up' to chat.

I managed to jot down a few notes and ideas that will become future posts, things get mentioned and they trigger ideas for posts....brilliant!!

For the techie's amongst you, here is a screen grab of what I was looking at, click on the picture to see it full size.


There is one window that isn't show, which is the voice conference window; this was hiding most of the time behind the Twitter window. And if you are curious as to what my desktop picture is, here it is without the other windows in front of it.. George the cat!!


Like last time I learnt a few things about running the conference and messaging at the same time. There might be a couple of minor tweaks next time, but no major differences. 

I'm not sure yet when we will have hold the next 'round table' chats, hopefully before Christmas. Is the time of the day and day of the week suited to every one? 

I would be interested in your feedback in the comments both positive and negative, I want to make the next one even better than this one and the more we do the more we learn I guess.

Again thank you to everyone who took part no matter how small your contribution was.
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8 comments:

  1. Steve - Great job running the round table! I'm glad I joined in even if my mind wasn't as sharp as it would have been if I felt my best. It was great to hear everyone's voices, especially those people I've been chatting with via the blog, Twitter, Facebook for some time now. It truly was like having coffee with a great group of friends. Looking forward to the next one!

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  2. And the screen shot was amazing - I don't know how you kept it all straight. And George! Handsome George. =)

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  3. Thanks everyone for the lovely opportunity of meeting you.
    Thank you Steve for organizing and running the meeting.

    Maybe next time we can use the last version of Skype, which includes image.

    Cheers, Giovani di Gesù

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  4. I had a GREAT time talking to everyone, and it was wonderful to put voices with the names I've seen so often! I was sorry I couldn't stay longer and talk to the people who were just coming on as I left. Next time!!

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  5. Really sorry again that I couldn't make it! Hope you all had a great time - I definitely need to be involved in the next one!

    Jess x

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  6. Thanks for all your work putting it together Steve! It was great fun and wonderful to get to know everyone a bit more : )

    Can't wait until the next one!!

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  7. I only got to hear your voices, but couldn't talk myself. Still I enjoyed hearing everyones real-life-voice! Who was Tat btw? Was it Oni? And which lady had that wonderful "Scottish" accent? At least it sounded Scottish to me, correct me if I'm wrong. LOVED to listen to it!
    Will try to figure out the microphone-problem for next time.

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  8. Hi Judith,
    Yes Tat is Oni...

    Scottish accent, must be Laurie ok she has only been there about 3-4 weeks I guess but it must be rubbing off on her already !!! ;-)

    I was the one and only guy/bloke/man...which ever you prefer!

    Steve

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