Yesterday I hosted the first blockchain meetup for a local network I run. Both newcomers and old-timers came to debate various topics. It was exciting to see anyone at all show up, let alone people who were genuinely interested in networking in the blockchain space.
Around 10 attendees besides myself showed up at the space on the first floor of a café, I had booked. It is a totally new network, and I have only just begun reaching out to people, so I am quite happy with the turnout, especially since I feared less than half of that would show.
I started out by introducing the network, and how I would love to host talks and seminars in the future, once I have the right people along, and then I gave a few ideas for topics to discuss. Everyone started out looking at me, so I told all to tell their interests in blockchain to the one by their side, and instantly they talking started.
Organically we ended out with a sort of Q&A where I started answering general questions on various projects. One of the experienced guests chimed in with his knowledge on the topics and it made for a good back and forth between all the quests one at a time. We discussed ICO's, Civic verification systems, Steemit and a bunch of other things.
Before ending the day, I took requests for topics that people would like to hear more about and discuss, and I agreed to do talks on these topics. In the future, I will be looking for smarter minds than me to do talks or seminars on blockchain subjects.
Finally, I thanked everyone for coming. Attendees told me, that they were happy with the initiative and it seemed like everybody wanted to attend another meetup. The event was scheduled to last a maximum of three hours but four attendees stayed in the café 'till later.
I am glad, I did this. It is great to see support for this crypto-world from my local community and it honestly feels good to be part of a small new beginning.