LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
So last night I went to my first Sporting KC game and of course my first visit to LIVESTRONG Sporting Park where SportingKC plays.
It's an awesome stadium with a great atmosphere. I highly recommend you check it out!
Here are some pics I shot while I was there.
Around KC: Startup Weekend April 15th – 17th
Its that time again! Time for Startup Weekend in Kansas City. This is a really kool event that brings out some very smart and creative peeps as well as some kool startup ideas.
Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. The weekend brings together people with different skillsets - primarily software developers, graphics designers and business people - to build applications and develop a commercial case around them.
The event starts at 6pm on April 15th and will be located at Bizperc / Think Big Partners which is located at 1800 Baltimore in Kansas City, MO.
For more information hit up the website and jump over and purchase your ticket for the event.
Free State Social : Local Panel
This post is my first in a couple featuring Free State Social the social media conference which took place this last week in Lawrence, KS
I was able to get video of some of the panels and I also want to share my thoughts so be on the lookout over the next few days as my stuff starts hitting the blog.
Another good place to get some good video action from the event is from t-rave who is one of my fellow vloggers/geeks.
So onto the panel. This was a panel highlighting some of local talent from the area and there thoughts on the local scene. You had Zena Weist, Shea Sylvia, Ramsey Mohsen, and Tony Botello.
I know I was really looking forward to hearing what Tony had to say and to meet him in person for the first time. He was very professional and I enjoyed hearing his insight. One thing I will say is this panel was TOO SHORT. Maybe next year they will have a longer one or maybe a couple.
Enjoy!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Checking Out Make: KC Tonight
So tonight I have decided to check out Make:KC which I have heard about from my fellow kc tweeter/geek Vince or as he is known on twitter someoneknows.
Now what is Make:KC you ask? Are you familiar with Make which is a site/blog/magazine/ect dedicated to people making things (a wide range of things) and of course it is right up a geeks alley.
Now I dont claim to be someone who can just make something or is any good at it (yet) but hey I am always up for learning new things and who knows maybe someday I will be a Make Ninja or something...a geek can dream!
So anyways if you are interested in checking it out the Show and Tell they are having tonight is at the H.M.S. Beagle store in Parkville, MO (180 english landing drive) and it is from 6 to 8pm so hey if you got some time tonight maybe come check it out!
KC Runs On Dunkin Nov 12th!!!
You heard it right Nov 12th Dunkin Donuts opens once again in the Kansas City area and the first store will be located at 7720 West 151st Street in Overland Park. I myself plan to be there when they open the doors at 5am to get me some munchkins!
For the opening day they plan to have a collection for Harvesters as well as Kansas City Legend George Brett will be in attendance. For more information on the big day you can follow DDinKC or check out the site cupofkc. You can also follow Dunkin Donuts on twitter for general information.
So who else is planning to be there for the grand opening? Maybe we can get a tweetup for the big day.
Kansas City KiteUp Nov 3rd : Burgers, Brews & Brightkite!
So I just heard the news that Kansas City will be having its 2nd Brightkite meetup known as a KiteUp and it will be Tuesday Nov 3rd at the Westport Flea Market! Now the last event was awesome and I met some of the great people in our local Brightkite community and this one from the sound of it should be off the charts...a dont miss event.
Here are the details.....
When : Tuesday November 3rd, 2009
Time : 5pm to 10pm
Where : Westport Flea Market Bar and Grill (817 Westport Rd)
Cost : Canned or boxed food donation for Harvesters Community Food Network.
We have a goal of 300 pounds of food for Harvesters. If everyone brings just 4 cans, we'll be over the top!
We've got a team working to make this party something special. I've heard rumor that there will be NEW BrightKite Tshirts! We're also gathering donations from some great Kansas City businesses for a raffle...more details to come on that.
So, grab a bag, thin your pantry and join us for Burgers, Brews and BrightKite!
Also note that the full menu will be available and Tuesdays are 2fer burger night so come hungry!
This like the last event will be a lot of fun and I hope to see you all there.
StartupKC Happy Hour Tonight
Dont forget tonight is StartupKC Happy Hour (takes place every 2nd wed of the month) at the Velvet Dog. Everyone is welcome and there is always some good discussion. Hope to see you there! Its from 5:30p to whenever.
To find out about other events going on here in Kansas City make sure to check out the KC Tech Cal which is your source to all the tech/social media events in the city.
Zombies Roaming Kansas City A Good Thing?
I guess when I think of Zombies roaming the streets of Kansas City I don't think hey that is kool but in the case of this coming Saturday October 10th it will be a good thing for a good cause in Uplift which helps the homeless of Kansas City.
So the details on the zombie walk are as follows....meet at the JC Nichols Fountain at 2pm on Saturday October 10th and bring 5 non-perishable items to participate. Then all you have to do is have a good time and give to a great cause. Pretty simple huh?
Never actually been to a zombie walk and wonder what to expect? Well here is a video I took at the last zombie walk that took place in the crossroads district:
I also grabbed some video of a little zombie action helping to promote the walk the other night in the P&L disctrict while catching the movie Zombieland (check out my review).
zombies invade downtown kc on 12seconds.tv
zombies in downtown kc on 12seconds.tv
So there you have it! Hope to see you down at the zombie walk for what is sure to be a good time seeing all the great zombies as well as peoples reactions to a group of zombies walking down the streets of Kansas City.
For more information on the walk check out kczombiewalk4hunger.com
[side note]
There will also be a zombie prom of the dead in the evening starting at 7pm at the Alcott Arts Center (180 South 18th st. - kcks 66102). They will be taking donations at the door.
Zombie Walk 2009 – Kansas City
Last night in the Crossroads district in Kansas City was the event that has taken place a couple times already known as the zombie walk. This is all done for fun as well as collecting food for the needy.
I had always wanted to check this out as past events seemed really kool....so this time I grabbed Allison and my camera and we headed down to take some video to share with everyone.
As expected it was a great time with a DJ down at First Fridays playing Thriller as the zombies walked by on one street and even an appearnce by the mayor of Kansas City!!
So check out the video and maybe we will see you at the next zombie walk.
Also thanks to Zach and Simon for making guest appearances in the filming. 
Night Ranger Tweetup In KC
If you are in the Kansas City area and are looking for a tweetup there is gonna be one at the Night Ranger concert at Old Shawnee Days...now what says tweetup more then Night Ranger!!
The event takes place this Saturday night from 7pm to 10pm. For more details check out the facebook event page. Looks like right now there are about 33 coming with another 61 maybes so could turn out to be a pretty nice group.
Let me know if you plan to attend. I think I will be able to make it out.
Join Team Twitter For The AHA Heart Walk
The American Heart Association is committed to fighting heart disease and stroke and raising awareness of these diseases. As part of our mission, we focus on specific causes designed to help people achieve a heart-healthy lifestyle. Each of our cause initiatives reaches out to the public with resources and information to help them take positive action.
Me and my buddy Jeremy (aka vivid13) last year did the Heart Walk here in Kansas City and had a blast....so this year we decided to have our own team and try to raise even more money so with that I am proud to announce the launch of the Kansas City Twitter Team.
Are you interested in walking with us? The Heart Walk this year is May 30th and it is at Theis Park in Kansas City. Not sure of the exact time but it is in the morning for sure.
If you have any questions about joining the team please feel free to contact myself or Jeremy and if you want to help but do not want to walk you can always go to my donations page and pledge a little money....even a small amount goes a long way!
[my donation page] - help support me in my walk and the American Heart Association in its quest to help others.
Thanks for all of your friendship and support!
My KC Twestival Promo Video
Put a little promo video together this afternoon to talk about twestival coming to Kansas City and the world Friday Feb 12th. Check it out and hope to see you at the event!
KC Twestival : Having Fun For A Good Cause
On Friday Feburary 12th Kansas City has a chance to be part of a global cause to help millions even billions of people around the world who dont have access to an essential item in clean water. The event - Kansas City Twestival 2009.
What the twestival is aiming for is to raise 4 thousand dollars at the KC event to help the organization charity: water.
why water?
Right now, 1.1 billion people on the planet don't have access to safe, clean drinking water. That's one in six of us.
who is charity : water?
charity: water is a non profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. We give 100% of the money raised to direct project costs, funding sustainable clean water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person in a developing nation clean water for 20 years.
So whats the 411 on the Kansas City event?
You can now buy your Kansas City Twestival Tickets and 100% of your ticket price goes directly to Charity: Water.
The Kansas City Twestival offers a night of socializing, complete with live music and food/beverages! There will be more announcements about this event in the days to come!
What: Kansas City Twestival - joining over 185 cities around the world to raise funds and awareness for Charity: water.
Where: Tower Tavern - 401 E. 31st St., Kansas City, MO
When: February 12, 2009
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Why: We want this event to be a time for all of you to come together to socialize, eat, drink, listen to live music, and have fun all while supporting a great cause.
So what exactly is a twestival suppose to be?
175+ cities around the world will be hosting Twestivals which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness.
By rallying together globally, under short timescales, for a single aim on the same day, the twestival hopes to bring awareness to this global crisis.
A video I found about twestival
(jeff)isageek tv : talking about startup weekend KC
Talking about Startup Weekend Kansas City which is April 24th thru April 26th. Hope to see ya there!
Tickets On Sale Now For Startup Weekend KC
The other day I blogged about Startup Weekend which will be coming to Kansas City April 24th thru the 26th and now I am happy to report that tickets are on sale for the event as we speak.
From what I have heard they are capping the attendance at 75 and with such a kool idea and the buzz going around about this you know those are gonna go fast!
Tweetups, Meetups, And More! Oh My! – Join The Fun
This week I have a couple of events I will be attending here in the KC area and would love to meet some fellow twitter users, readers of my blog, new peeps in general.
First we have the SMCKC meetup thursday night at Nicholson Kovac where the topic of discussion will be using twitter/social media with business and yours truly will be on the panel to discuss this topic...now I know you are saying I really don't have any experience in that area but hey I do have experience with twitter and using for my own personal branding as (jeff)isageek as well as you first need to understand twitter/social media tools in order to use them for your business needs so I think I will fit in nicely there. Should be a good time and a great discussion.
Second we have the tweetup/meetup/calling all geeks for the pool hall tweetup at Side Pockets in Lenexa Saturday night. This is just a come and hang out, meet some fellow social media/twitter/blogger/brightkite ect ect. types.
Both events should be a blast and if you get a chance drop on by. Hope to see you all there!
Help Bring Jonathan Coulton To Kansas City
Are you a fan of Jonathan Coulton? Would you like to see him here in Kansas City? A while back a request on the service Eventful was created to let Jonathan know he is wanted in KC.
Eventful is a collection of events happening everywhere that also has a feature that allows you to demand something in your area...maybe you want to see an artist or a celeb in your town? With Eventful you can let the community voice be heard as well as find out about events coming to your area.
So back to Mr. Coulton...at the time of this blog post the demand was upto 124 people in the area demanding he come here and while I am not sure what the magical number is to get him here the more we get the better the chances are I am sure.
so feel free to click on the widget below and demand Jonathan Coulton in KC
Highlight Midwest : The Midwest Is More Then Flyover States
This past week I had a chance to go to the first Highlight Midwest (and sure not to be the last) here in Kansas City which highlighted developers, entrepreneurs, social media, new media, ect. in the Midwest (mainly KC, Omaha, and Des Moines) in an effort to bring the community together and show the midwest is more the just a bunch of flyover states for the east and west coast.
The end result was it was a total 100% success....I met all kinds of great people from throughout the region getting to see some great projects in the works, ideas of the future, and was able to network and add some new people to follow throughout the interweb.
As I had mentioned early this is clearly an event that will happen again and you can bet I will be there...already there is some great media out there highlighting the events of the day including pictures, video, and blogs. I thought I would highlight some of them here in the post as well as I plan to post some videos up here on the site of some of the presentations I went to as well for you to enjoy. I hope to get my hands of the video from the panel at the evening session and share atleast a link if not the video embedded (keep your eyes out for that).
Blog posts about Highlight Midwest
Highlight Midwest - by Christina Maki
What I Learned At Highlight Midwest - Troy Rutter
Highlight Midwest Flickr stream
Pics or it didnt happen - pics of the evening panel by Christina Maki
Check out the recorded live stream by LiveCrunch
Another kool part of the evening session was some suprise videos from a few familiar faces....
Sarah Lacy's Highlight Midwest Introduction from Highlight Midwest on Vimeo.
Chris Pirillo's Highlight Midwest Introduction from Highlight Midwest on Vimeo.
Gary Vaynerchuck's Highlight Midwest Introduction from Highlight Midwest on Vimeo.
In closing I just want to thank everyone who was in charge of the planning of this event, thank you to all those who came not only from the kc area but for those who traveled from omaha and des moines, and thank you to all those who are out there in those cities and others in the midwest showing that the midwest is a place where tech/social media can be born and can have the same impact of those from both coasts!
After all the events were over and we were all traveling back to our homes and such the question was asked where do we go from here? What do we do to keep this great thing called Highlight Midwest going? How do we help it grow even more?
We’re following each other on twitter now, let’s take that a step further and start reading each other’s blogs. Do a little exploring on people’s twitter profiles and find blogs/sites that interest you. Add at least a few of the people from each city to your RSS reader.
1. Don’t just subscribe, but commit to reading their blogs.
2. Don’t just read, take it up a notch by commenting on their blogs.
3. Don’t just comment, share their blogs with your network by tweeting about their posts.
4. Don’t just talk up their blogs, ask them to do a guest post on your blog.
5. Shake it well, repeat.
What can you do to help the midwest tech community grow and become even better!
Think about it.
Highlight Midwest – October 29th in Kansas City
There is a HUGE event coming to the Kansas City area Wednesday October 29th in Kansas City, MO. called Highlight Midwest. What exactly is Highlight Midwest you ask?
Highlight Midwest showcases the entrepreneurs, innovators, and early-adopters using web technology to grow their businesses, advance their careers, and enrich the regional economy in new ways.
Three of the area’s up and coming social media strategists will present an overview on how the web is changing their cities for the better and how new opportunities for innovation are expanding the importance of web-based technology in the Midwest.
Focused highlights: 9:00am - 4:00pm at the Record Bar Some of the region’s finest entrepreneurs, technologists, social media experts, and new media success stories presenting.
I am really excited for this event as it is a great way to find out some of the great projects going on in our area, meet some of the people behind those projects, network, and overall just meet others that have similar likes and interests in the tech community.
Talking to some of the organizers of the event they are wanting to get some social media exposure at the event as well so if you are interested in maybe talking about a project you have in the works or just wanna talk about the social media landscape here in the midwest or all over definately feel free to contact the gang over at the Highlight Midwest site.
For me events like this are just great ways to mingle and learn about different aspects in our area from develpment types, social media types, and pretty much hanging with the geeks from around the midwest. I will say it is looking like I will probably be doing some video stuff for the event, live blogging/twittering, and of course geeking out hehe.
I hope everyone is able to attend and by all means lets get some great discussions going while we are there about new technologies, new services you are really into, the emerging mobile web, social media topics, ect. the ideas are endless and stuff like that will just enhance the event.
Below is a little information on the event to give you an idea of what is going on at this time. I hear there is more and more stuff being added as planning continues upto the 29th.
Reasons for having Hightlight Midwest
* To highlight the best and the brightest web-related success stories in the Midwest
* To connect nearby communities
* To demonstrate local innovation in a rapidly changing economic landscape
Focused highlights include (more to be added soon)
The region’s [Kansas City, Omaha, and Des Moines] finest entrepreneurs, technologists, social media experts, and new media success stories.
* Fresh Ideas, Sharp Angles, Zachary Cobb
* Infegy’s Social Radar, Adam Coomes
* Leveraging Amazon’s FPS, Jon Crawford
* A Better City Web Site, Dusty Davidson
* Myriad Tech for the Enterprise, Ryan Flannagan
* Sustainable Giving through Real Estate, Joe Frost
* The Formulator’s Search Engine, Bruce Ianni
* Comics on Rails, Scott Kahler
* Introducing Urbata, Dan Melton
* Humanoid Robotic Demonstration, Mike Overstreet
* Bringing a Japanese Phenomenon West, Elissa Rose
* Sojern Demonstration, Matt Secoske
* Scalability from the Start, Matt Secoske
* Tiovivo, Pete Thomas
Where can I check out all these great presentations and network with everyone?
** Reception: 5pm-8pm
Kauffman Conference Center
dinner and cocktails provided
4801 Rockhill Rd
Kansas City, MO 64110
Get Directions
(816) 932-1000
[View Map]
======================================
** Focused Highlights: 9am-4pm
lunch provided
The Record Bar
1020 Westport Rd
Kansas City, MO 64111
Get Directions
(816) 753-5207
[View Map]
Updates on Highlight Midwest on the Interweb
REGISTER : Make sure you register for both events to ensure you have a seat available
So do you plan to attend? Maybe you are doing a presentation or discussion? Let me know your thoughts on the event or what you might like to see added. Comment away and see you there!
Social Media Club KC Gets Social
Recently I have been working with others locally here in Kansas City who are in the Social Media Scene to work on getting a Social Media Club setup here in the area. Basically the idea behind the club is just bringing different people togather to share and socialize together.
This past Wed night we had our first meetup and it was awesome...if you are interested in the social media scene this is the group for you but that is not what I am writing this about.
This morning we had our meetup where we discuss future events and ideas we have for the group and I brought up the idea of putting togather either a blog or a social network together using a service like ning or something.....well to make a long story short we decided to go with ning and when I got home I started hacking away at it.
I am proud to announce the site is live and if you want to join up you are more then welcome to jump over to http://socialmediaclubkc.ning.com/ sign up and start meeting new people out here in the KC and surrounding areas.
With the site you have the ability to find others with common interests, find out about future events coming up in the area, as well as join in the forum discussions and let you voice be heard.
Social Media KC Meetup
This morning we had the 2nd meetup for SocialMediaKC which is a meetup for anyone in the Kansas City area who are interested in any aspect of the social media scene which as you get to look into it has a wide range of subjects/topics/areas.
Right now the group is growing and contacts are being made. This month we talked about possible locations for future events so that others maybe not close to the Overland Park area can attend as well as thoughts on special guests and subjects that could be presented at future events.
If you are someone who is the social media arena, has a product related to social media and would love to come speak with the group please feel free to contact ed roberts or zena weist and they can speak with you on getting something setup.
Interested in the format of the meetups or the environment? Here is a little video I took to kinda give you an idea:
Attendees this month
edroberts
zenaweist
duckman1221
thewebdawg
seanbot2000
techguytom
banky (not binky)
wrytir
(jeff)isgeek
silverzippo
ruthi (who is not on twitter...can you believe that!!!)
Next Meetup
Friday August 29th at 7:30am
Broadway Cafe in Westport
4106 broadway
kansas city, missouri 64111
(816) 531 2432
[map]
SocialMediaKC Wiki
socialmediakc.com
WarGames : 25 Years Later
This Thursday night I will be going to the movies to relive a movie that I consider one of the key factor's in me becoming a geek. This is the 25th anniversary year of the movie "WarGames" a 1983 film staring Matthew Broderick playing a young hacker who thinks he is playing a war simulation with a computer but soon finds out it is a real military system putting us on the brink of WWIII.
Fathom and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios are proud to present WarGames back on the big screen after 25 years. Don’t miss this one-night-only event in select movie theatres nationwide on Thursday, July 24th at 7:30PM (local).
The event will include never-before-seen interviews with cast and crew on how the movie was ahead of its time and its relevance today. Additionally, only at this one night event, get a sneak peek at the making of the sequel – WarGames: The Dead Code.
What are some movies you credit with helping mold you into the geek you are today? Wanna know if the film is showing in your area this thursday check here on the Fathom Events page for the anniversary.
Note : If you are in the KC area and planning to attend let me know as I know a few people who will be there and would love to meet some of my fellow readers/geeks.
Twitter Meetup : Batman Style?
The other night I decided I should go ahead and purchase my ticket for the the Batman movie "Dark Knight" which will have a midnight showing next week which I will be attending at the AMC 30 here in Olathe,KS.
Thats when I thought you know what would be kool is find out if anyone else is gonna be there who might follow me on twitter, my blog, or the other handful of services I am on these days and do a little meetup...maybe there will be a bunch of people or maybe there will only be a few but in any case it would be great to meet everyone and what better time then at a geeky event like the premiere of "Dark Knight".
So my question to everyone out there....will you be at the midnight showing (and of course at the Olathe 30) and would you be interested in a little meetup? Let me know.
The First Rule Of Social Media Club Is….
Sorry couldnt resist the Fight Club reference for a subject but the first rule of Social Media Club is to spread the word about Social Media Club.
This morning I met with some local (kansas city metro area) bloggers, tweeters, developers, and overall geeks to discuss getting a Social Media Club started in the Kansas City area to help promote everything from the social side of the web, the tech industry in the area, developers, and the list goes on and on.
Just from the small group we had for the first meeting to discuss just ideas and thoughts I have to say I am really excited to see the idea grow and of course meet all the geeks who would attend the events.
If you are in the KC area make sure you keep checking out socialmediakc.com for news of events and links to resources for the area.
I Demand Jonathan Coulton…And So Should You!
Sitting at the KC Social Media Meetup today someone had mentioned trying to have an event that would be around the same time as say getting someone like Jonathan Coulton into town for a concert....which sounds totally awesome!!!
Don't know who Jonathan Coulton is? Who better to describe him then himself The following is from his website :
My name is Jonathan Coulton and I’m a musician, a singer-songwriter and an internet superstar.
Here is Jonathan performing one of his songs "Codemonkey"
Now how do we get him to the Kansas City Area? That is where the site Eventful comes in. With Eventful you can demand someone to come perform or visit your area (at the time of my writing this demand for JoCo in KC was upto 82 people). So by everyone in KC demanding Jonathan to visit it shows there is a demand and the chances of seeing a great show increase.
Demand Jonathan Coulton in KC here
Lets make it happen everyone
catch me on the interwebs:
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