A postcard after sunrise
Digital Connections
Posted Friday, February 9, 2007 - 1 comment
A few weeks ago, I wanted to see what type of digital connections were possible in this area. So, I checked out some groups on meetup.com and I decided to try out a wine meet-up in Kansas City.
We met the group's founder, Ute, at the Classic Cup. It's in the heart of the Country Plaza. After a brief e-mail exchange, we met face-to-face over a nice bottle of wine and some roasted goat cheese, garlic and olive oil bruschetta. The savory cheese tasted amazing on the toasted bread points. Very yummy food and interesting conversation.
As a heavy user of search engines and social networks, meeting people online is natural for me. In San Francisco, Chicago, D.C. and London, I've used services like Craiglist for a lot of things. I've found deals on hardware, apartments, parties and more. Through a Google search, my honey and I had several cool experiences with an urban adventure group in San Francisco; like a thrift store scavenger hunt and a Thai brunch at a Buddhist temple. Another Google search introduced us to a UFO group who met weekly at a pub just outside of London.
Good times.
I know some folks are worried about running into a stalker situation with online social networks. However, there are ways to ensure you don't become another MySpace casualty.
1. Pick a public location: make sure someone knows where you're going. I tend to drag my honey along to first-time meet-ups. We watch each other's backs and are able to offer an excuse to bail if we simply don't mesh with the group.
2. Phone buddies: If I'm going on my own, I arrange with a friend to call up in the middle of a meeting. We have a code to assure her I'm OK or to offer an excuse to bail if I'm not having a good time.
3. Be realistic: 99.9% of the time, you're not going to meet your soul mate on these first-time meetings. Be aware of how much information you're sharing and other people's comfort level. Sometimes people who enjoy LOL at a bawdy joke over IM are not as comfortable with that risque behavior in public.
4. Instincts and Common Sense: Use them. Despite the bad press, there are normal people online. Try being open to new experiences. Then again, if something doesn't feel right, feel free to leave. Oh yeah....and watch the booze intake, especially if you can't hold your liquor. Since I drag my honey to meet-ups, we have a DD for the evening.
At the Classic Cup, we had a lovely bottle of the Beaulieu Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon. It helped to let the bottle breathe for a bit. I enjoyed the rich flavor of the wine and the smooth aftertaste. It went nicely with our Canadian mussels.
Ute's originally from Germany and it was fascinating to hear her thoughts on the EU and German politics. She's said surprised Merkel is so popular with German voters. She's into a Chianti phase now and we also covered some ground on favored Cali brands. My honey and I would definitely go to another one of her meet-ups in the future.
In other news....
Our news operation turned one years old this week.
Happy Birthday 49 News!
This is a shot of our news set under construction (Dec. 2005). I'm amazed at how much we've accomplished in a year. It's been fun being on the cutting edge of broadcast news. We've used new technology and dogged reporting to bring our viewers some illuminating stories.
A year ago, I wrote that this blog would be about my "culinary and aural adventures in Kansas." Hopefully, I've been able to do that so far.
This morning, I'm raising my cocktail and toasting another year of working hard and playing harder.
Cheers.
Comments
Feb. 10, 2007 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)hope9999 (anonymous)
Congratulations KVP and to all of uou at 49!! All of you are doing a good job.
Thanks for all the yummy goodies and tons of information in your blog.
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