Cory Collier

First, let me publicly announce something: SXSW was worth my time, and I did love going. I learned a few things about myself though, that I’ll remember for a long time to come.

First, while I love people, I cannot hang out with anyone for very long. This isn’t to say that I don’t love my friends who I hung out with at SXSW. I have some amazing friends, who likely saw an uglier side of me in Texas. That’s a shame, and I cannot express my apologies to them enough.

Second, celebrity fawning is just as much of an issue in tech circles as it is anywhere else. The very things I despise about Hollywood culture are very prevalent in the Valley culture as well. Anyone that knows me, knows how I absolutely despise treating people as anything more than that.

A funny thing happened while I was there however. Continue reading »

I had the opportunity tonight to hang out with everyone at the Crooked Bayou for Florida Creatives . Most of the regulars showed, plus some newer folks, and some not-so-new but not-so-veteran peeps as well. It’s usually pretty easy to have a good time at the Bayou, but Florida Creatives is really awesome.

It’s funny how I started going to networking events a while back in order to meet people to further my career. I suppose that’s still a possibility, but these days I go because I geniuinely enjoy the company of the characters I get to talk to. I can’t say enough good things about all the guys I get to see every couple weeks.

I can try however:

So, I’d like to buy a beer for Chis , Erik , Gregg , Al , Ryan , John , Greg , and yes, even Bender. I should buy a beer for a few more of y’all, but those are the first few honkies I can think of.

I also had the oppotunity to meet a few guys from a really young startup, Dyverse . It’s neat to see the ambition of people who are willing to lay a lot on the line, to get where they want to be. John looks a lot like a younger version of Sterling, which might be a good thing for him.

Speaking of startups, I had the great opportunity to meet Gabriel Chapman, CEO for the locally started Talent Database . Talent Database is a great idea with tons of potential. I was thoroughly impressed with the humble nature of a man behind something with such promise. I guess it reinforces my egalitarian view of what the world should be.

So, this being the ‘Thanksgiving’ edition of Florida Creatives, I suppose I should mention what I’m grateful for: Having a Florida Creatives to go to. Thanks to all of you who keep it going.

Last night, Bender and I went down to the Crooked Bayou for the Florida Creatives event over there. I couldn’t stay long, but I still had a good time. I was able to talk to a lot of friends, and meet some new people

I spent some time talking to my buddy Greg about business. I’ve always felt a certain level of camradre with Greg. Both he and I don’t come from CS backgrounds. We both work out a lot, and we both drink lots of beer. Greg has some interesting ideas up his sleeve. That guy’s a businessman, through and through.

I had the opportunity to talk with Jason of Rails Envy , about the hillarious videos they keep putting out. I’ve never really had the opportunity to talk to Jason before. I’ve met Gregg a few times, and he’s a nice guy. However, it was really good to meet the other side of that effort. If you haven’t seen what those guys are up to, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

Erik Hersman was there as well. Erik’s a strategy guy, who has made a living on predicting where web trends will go, and advising businesses how to capitalize on them. Erik can shame the best of geeks with his industry knowledge. So, I had to ask him a few quick thoughts about my upcoming side project. Erik was understandably brief (we were at a bar, and there was loud music playing), but he gave me some tips I’ll take to heart.

Much of the rest of the time, I was getting phone calls from clients. It figures I suppose. I shouldn’t be upset about it. They’re paying my bills, and right now, I could use the extra cash.

A few other attendees that I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to: Alex Rudloff, Etan Horowitz, Chris Scott, Ryan Price, Meagan Fisher , and a multitude of others that I can’t remember.

Good times.

I went to the local likemind.us event this morning. It’s run by Alex and Ryan, though I’m not sure if I met him. I’ve met Alex before today. I met a few other people there, and all I can say is wow.

I sat in a sort of star-struck gaze as I listened to what these guys were talking about.

Erik and Alex were both talking about things I could barely keep a handle on. I’m incredibly impressed by the in depth knowledge these guys have not about coding, but business. Alex is a well established software developer, So I wasn’t surprised to hear him talk about that. but the things those two, plus some others (I forgot the names already. I know I’m a bastard, but I can’t remember anyones name unless I’ve spoke it at least 10 times. I only know Erik’s name because I’m looking at his card).

Oh yeah, Al & Erik got me turned on to Bon Echo. It’s a Firefox derivation (a version of the web browser, Firefox). It’s the “longhorn” version of Firefox. It’s pretty neat. Most of you probably don’t have any reason to use it. But, if your a web developer, it’s not a bad idea to test your client side stuff out on what will eventually become the next big browser.

FYI – Alex and some of his ilk have created emurse.com. It’a resume hosting an job searching site. It’s very nice. They already have a substantial base and they’re growing. I’d be seriously remiss to not mention it. It’s very much worth your time!

So, in short, I’d just like to say thanks for humoring me, and letting me learn a thing or two.

Muchos Gracias