Wouldn't That Be…..So Let's Talk About 'That.'

I recently read Hubert Sawyers lll guest blog post on Nikki Stephan’s site, Essential Elements, and I highly recommend this reading to you as well . It can be found here.     This post inspired me to think of all that has happened in the Detroit area over the last few years and take a even closer look at where we go from here. This was a boo-rattling moment I must say. Many folks have kept chugging along in their endeavors and have not paid heed to the shock of it all. Still others, as Hubert Sawyers mentioned, have hindered rather than help the process of progression. Now more than ever, we need passion and determination from each and every person. A special report, “American Now: City of Heartbreak and Hope.” which aired on Dateline NBC  Arpil 18th, 2010 showed the world just how hard we have been hit here in the ‘D’. Simply focusing on individual efforts is no longer an acceptable option when our city needs us so desperately. If we are new to the arena of rebuilding Detroit, we need to be able to be taught, to  listen and to learn. If we are seasoned in our profession, we need to pool our resources as well as teach others. We ARE this community and we are ALL responsible for what happens to it as well as what happens to our neighbors. Every individual needs to step up and share in the efforts of rebuilding our community, strengthening our sense of unity and solidifying our determination to grow this great city again.

The time for finger wagging is over and the time to move is upon us. We could spend hours determining how, what or who got us here, but we are here in this situation at this point in time. The good news is we absolutely can and will make a strong comeback! There is already an important grass roots movement picking up speed in and around the Detroit Metro area. This movement was created by professional and entrepreneurial men and women in the social media field who are actively taking a stand for the city they love and call home. These folks are not worried about being in the lead to see who can finish the race, they are welcoming all who want to contribute to the goal of revitalizing Detroit. Check out their website tweetea.com and see for yourself. This is just one of many great resources available to get started, others include Regional News Hub Detroit (Detroit Unspun) which you can find on Facebook, Social Media Club – Detroit on Facebook, Refresh Detroit, Twitter, the Detroit Chamber of Commerce on Facebook, and iDetroit .  iDetroit was, “Created by active members of Detroit’s new media and tech space, iDetroit is the driving force behind Metro Detroit’s shift from industrial to interactive.”

Some of you reading this probably already know of these rich sources of information, which is wonderful and I encourage you to let us know of any more you may think of. For those of you who are looking for ways to get in the loop though, these are great places to start. Check out the folks who are already connected with these sites and pages and ask questions, get information and get involved. Your talent is needed and welcome in the Detroit social media scene. Help to grow Detroit  folks!

There are some things one wouldn’t, or maybe couldn’t, possibly think of mixing together. And, until last night, I ascribed to the belief that technologically advanced Einstein’s and karaoke would be akin to peanut butter on Chow Mein. It just was not fathomable to me that people who possessed extreem tech talent  could also belt out some serious vocals. Well look who just got knocked off her erroneous belief! Yes, that’s right, I’m talkin’ ’bout me. I love technology, and I admire those who have mad computer bending skills, I just didn’t think them the type to tear up the stage and get a major groove on. I was guilty of stereotyping and extend my humblest apologies to every techno geek out there.

I'm Sorry.

So last night my husband and I went to Ferndale and met up with a group at Dino’s for ‘Tech Karaoke.’  I was pretty anxious to witness the events which were about to unfold before me and eagerly looked for our like minded, would be new friends. It wasn’t too difficult to spot the ‘Tech Karaoke’ people as they started arriving. Tech savvy people have a certain look about them, usually they fall into one of two categories. The first is the crisp, well groomed, not a hair out of place group. They are squeaky clean, perfectly manicured in all visible areas, have brilliant smiles and maintain an aire of well deserved confidence.The second category consists of what I like to refer to as ‘Hippie Smellgoods.’ Come on, we have all known at least one hardcore hippie in our lives and, let’s face it, sometimes they just straight up stink! But not the techno hippies. Nope, they are true to the hippie roots of beards, long stringy hair or mussed up pixie cuts, Birkenstocks and t-shirts. However, these hippies actually keep themselves in an equally well groomed state as the first group of techies and smell damn good. ‘Hippie Smellgoods’ endearingly wear their well deserved confidence like they wear their hair; “It’s mine. I like it.”

The amount of talent filling that bar was astounding.  There were marketing geniuses, social media experts, web developing masters and computer guru’s as far as the eye could see. My husband was loving the opportunity to talk about the latest and greatest with people who shared his talents and I was looking forward to possibly learning a new trick or two in the marketing arena. The night quickly kicked off with beers flowing freely, laughter and singing….not just any old singing though, this was some seriously damn good tunage! And yes, I was completely sober, well in the beginning anyway. I was lucky last night because I met an incredibly interesting person who not only has crazy tech skills, but also loves basketball. Oh ya, I was happy!  Through the course of drinking, singing (which neither my new friend nor I were able to do), and basketball talk, he also managed to pimp my new Droid Incredible. Does it get any better than that, honestly?? No, it really doesn’t This guy was one of those people you just like being around.

I was surprised and had a terrific time at ‘Tech Karaoke.’ These tech people really know how to have a great time and are just plain fun. Last night was filled with many cool people, good times and much alcohol. Am I simply rambling on? Probably, I’m hungover this morning and still a bit giddy from last nights adventures. My point in explaining last night would be this: Networking is awesome, it truly is, but really hanging out with a group of people who could take over the world if they wanted to and enjoying time together is guaranteed to be one of the best experiences a person could have in life.

The moral of this post is: Tech Geeks Can Sing!