Cave Markings 

It’s that time again. The ever-awesome CodeStock is coming to Knoxville again this week. This is the third year for this technology community event and this is sure to be the best event yet!

CodeStock is at a new venue in the heart of Knoxville this year, with walking access to hotels, restaurants and downtown nightlife. The event will be held at the University of Tennessee Conference Center with the keynote held Friday evening at the historic Bijou Theater. This will be an excellent opportunity for people to experience authentic Knoxville culture. Can you tell I’m jazzed about the location change?

Another change this year is an expansion of the CodeStock program. CodeStock has always offered content for software developers and Open Space for attendee directed content. Last year the program expanded to include entrepreneur content. This year will include all of the above and include content specific for IT professionals. If you are interested in technology or business, then CodeStock has something for you.

Because I live in Knoxville and I’m active in the technology community, people often assume that I am involved in organizing CodeStock. That assumption is false. Michael Neel works year round along with his wife Cicelie to make CodeStock happen. They deserve the credit for bringing this terrific event to Knoxville. If you haven’t registered, there’s still time.

My primary responsibility at CodeStock is to facilitate the Open Space. This role has proven personally fulfilling. Feedback from participants in the Open Space has been positive as well. If you have never experienced an Open Space, then this is a great opportunity to get involved.

My secondary, and totally unofficial, responsibility around CodeStock is community social organizer. In this capacity, I host a get together the night before the event for people to gather and meet when they arrive in town. CodeStock is all about community and we don’t discriminate between speakers and attendees. There is no exclusive speakers dinner.

This year we will be gathering at The Downtown Grill & Brewery on Gay Street. We’ll meet upstairs in the banquet room Thursday evening from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Please note that you can check in for your CodeStock registration at the Hilton Thursday evening from 4:00-8:00 pm. Please check in first, then head over to the brewery. We’ll most likely migrate downstairs or to another downtown location after 8:00. You can join us even if you don’t get in until late. Just check Twitter to see where we are and what’s going on at the moment.

The other community social event that I organize around CodeStock is an “after-party.” It isn’t really an after party, since it isn’t part of the official event, but with so many friends and potential new friends in town, I can’t pass up the opportunity to extend our time together. PostStock is held at my home and is hosted by my lovely wife Michele and myself. It is not officially associated with CodeStock or East Tennessee .Net Users Group, Inc. Got it?

Anyone still in town on Saturday night is invited over to my house from 7:00 pm until ??? If you didn’t attend the conference, but you are interested in meeting some of these incredible people, then you are invited too. Michele and I will provide light finger food and a location. Please bring your own beverage of choice. We will have the ping pong table set up, the fire pit burning and the acoustic guitars tuned up. If you can’t figure out where I live, then feel free to contact me for details. We live on a narrow street so please park in the school parking lot behind our house and enter the yard from the rear.

This will, without a doubt, be the best CodeStock yet. I look forward to seeing everyone here in Knox Vegas later this week!

++Alan

Next Monday, October 5, 2009 at 6:00pm, I'll be enjoying some pizza and a couple of pints at The Pizza Kitchen and I'd love your company. I can promise you’ll experience friendly service, tasty pizza and a funky atmosphere full of Elvis memorabilia.

The reason for my friendly invitation is that I need to remind myself that it is perfectly ok for me to share my experiences using social media. I read a couple of articles this week about a lawsuit against the owner of The Pizza Kitchen because he shared on FaceBook and Twitter that he was unhappy with the service he got from a vendor. You can read the details for yourself, but I’ve pulled out my favorite quotes below.

Robyn Askew, the attorney representing The Pizza Kitchen, said, "We are responding appropriately to a lawsuit that we consider to be without merit."
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/sep/30/facebook-posts-lead-to-2m-suit/

It may not be apparent now, but one day in the history books you might find this story where an advertising agency sued their client, because their client seemed to be able to get a message out using social media more efficiently than the ad agency could counter with traditional means.
http://www.tribbleagency.com/?p=5884

I lived behind The Pizza Kitchen for five years, in the Farmington neighborhood. I had many delicious pizzas from that friendly establishment. I have many pleasant memories of evenings spent on the patio of TPK with friends. The owner, Travis, isn't a personal friend but I interacted with him and his staff regularly for five years. My impressions are 100% positive. Personally, I don't think Travis would say anything about a vendor if he didn't believe it to be true.

I am not an attorney, and such speech may well be illegal under contract law for all I know, but that isn't what's important to me. What I care about is that this, seemingly petty, lawsuit not have a chilling effect on speech in our nascent social network community here in Knoxville and elsewhere.

I get lots of useful consumer info from Twitter such as current deals and new bands I want to listen to. I also get other info such as warning of a highway patrolman on I-40 with a radar gun. I value all this information and I don't want to see people stop sharing information because they fear legal retribution.

Just yesterday, on Twitter, I heard about an extremely positive experience with Sears extended warranty service. I have a fairly low opinion of Sears and there is no way that Sears could have raised my opinion that quickly with traditional marketing. I now have a positive concept about the company that was put there by a trusted source: a social network friend.

The irony in The Pizza Kitchen situation, is that they are being sued by a marketing firm. Do you see the irony? The marketing firm is spreading Travis's message that they are douche bags for him.

There are currently 1471 people following my semi-random comments on Twitter. All those people have people following them etc. Vendors and customers are equals now. It's a different world and a different business landscape than before. We all get to express our opinions.

Peace out,

++Alan