Well, the summer is over, I'm back from a great vacation and Third Tuesday is back on. If you don't know what Third Tuesday is, then you're missing out. You can probably find a pretty good explanation about it on Joe Thornley's blog (I've heard him referred to as the Third Tuesday "Grand Poobah," and it's probably an accurate description). Or you can join the Facebook group. Or you can take a look at the MeetUp website for Third Tuesday events in Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa. Or I can just tell you that it the event is billed as 'Canada's Social Media Meet Up' and that it certainly doesn't disappoint. I first found out about Third Tuesday Toronto last January when I first moved to this city. Down and out, sleeping on a friend's couch, and feeling miserable in the cold weather, I was fortunate enough to be invited to one of these meet-ups by Paull Young. I'd met him in Australia a few months before, and he was in town as part of his world journey.
'This is good shit,' I thought to myself after meeting some great people, and I attended the next event. Armed with resumes and a freshly-pressed shirt, I met the woman who would become my boss, as well as heaps of other great people who have made me feel welcome in both Toronto and in the social media community.*
Six months later and I'm super stoked that the company I work for, CNW Group, is going to be sponsoring Third Tuesday events in all three cities. I'm excited because I'm working at a job where I'm involved in social media on a daily basis, and where I get to help out with such an an awesome event. If, as Joe Thornley writes, it allows Third Tuesday to concentrate more time on attracting top-notch speakers, then I'm glad that CNW Group can help out as a sponsor. **
The next event is going to be in Toronto on October 15 and will feature Darren Barefoot, a solid blogger and my competition in Buzz Canuck's 1% Army Competition. I look forward to meeting him, and I know that he'll have lots of good stuff to say about our social media world.
I hope to see you all there. If not, try and make it to one of the other Third Tuesday events!
-Parker
*Gratuitous link-love to all those folks I met during the first few Third Tuesday events and whom I'm happy to still be interacting with: Martin Hofmann, David Jones, Terry Fallis, Chris Clarke (congrats on the new job, buddy!), Michael O'Connor-Clarke, Donna Papacosta, Sean Moffitt, Cathy Kurzbock, and Scotty Macdonald.
**DISCLOSURE: As mentioned above, I work for CNW Group. However, this blog is a personal blog and may not reflect the opinions or position of my company.