Today I spent a good bit of time up at the Utah CodeAway at Wasatch Wingz in Salt Lake. It was amazing.
What is CodeAway you ask? Well, essentially, its another social channel (read disparate tech group) to get together. In this case, its great to get together if you are a software dev or interested in improving your skill. People with all types of coding skillz are there and can help (and learn). The mood here is playful and fun, but if you want to code, there are plenty of little nooks to hide and burn out a bunch of code. If you cant figure out a piece of code, just ask, you’re bound to find an answer with this many experts in the building.
The wings were amazing, and Wayne (sp?) was quite a friendly fellow. He and another business partner run this little eclectic wing shop / internet cafe / hang out. Its a very intriguing ideal and I was glad to chat for a few minutes before the crowd really showed. Wayne explained that Wasatch Wingz really likes the idea of having people come in an hang out on their computers as they bear down on a dozen awesome wings. I had the “voodoo” wings, which were tasty with a bit of spice, quite good. Wayne has outdone himself here and if his hospitality and food are any indication, Wasatch Wingz are to be a huge hit.
Back to the event and some thoughts.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I showed up today, but after spending a few minutes talking with Laura Moncur, I felt right at ease. She’s an amazing lady! During our discussion, I discovered her desire for this sort of thing was because at one point she was so desperate to spend time with others of like mind. It reminds me so much of UTOS, just slightly different in focus.
After talking, I realized we had so much in common and its clear that there are likely tens of groups who are just like CodeAway and UTOS out there. And that the more we find ourselves in these groups, there are another hundred who are looking for this sort of thing. And to that end (and if I have anything to do with it), we’ll see some combined efforts to provide facilities and opportunities for those interested to get involved. I wouldn’t even be surprised to see advertising become more prevalent and attendance to these sorts of events sky rocket.
It appears the next event will be February 23 from noon to 6pm (also at Wasatch Wingz) so I’d recommend getting there early and getting a good seat.
See you all there!
Cheers,
Clint Savage