DIGG Chicago Meetup Brings Fans & Questions Why So Dark? No Snacks? Do You Have a Signal?

(video, what I can make of it, will be coming soon)

At 6:15, a line formed down Clark Street.  The DIGG fans were out in full force and patiently waited to get in to see Kevin, Jay and the rest of the DIGG crew.  I had the pleasure of having lunch with DIGG's marketing manager earlier in the day. By the time I got to the basement of SmartBar, I was thankful for the 'quality' time the two of us spent at lunch. Aubrey is one of those women that I could talk to all day long.  A fellow Midwesterner, her dot com path took her to Google, Ask.com and DIGG.

I don't know who chose this particular meetup locale, but confused faces began to form as soon as we got into the space. SmartBar is typically a dark place. I think some DIGG folks requested a few lights to be turned on, which helped a bit. It was still difficult to see people, however, moving to another room made conversation and keeping track of friends easier.

pictured, Leah Jones, Aubrey Sabala, me

Keep in mind, many folks came to the event right after work.  As the DIGG users and fans gathered by the DJ booth to see Kevin, get some initial autographs, etc. the DIGG crew went behind the velvet ropes and ate pizza. I found this visual a bit comical. Here we were (I was full from lunch and ate a snack at home before I left) at an event hosted by a major tech company, right after work and they were eating in front of everyone.  Meanwhile, I was hearing grumbles amongst the crowd of 'Do we get snacks?' 'I didn't know we should have eaten before hand' 'Who wants to go to McDonald's'.  Now before you think this was done on purpose, let's review:

• The DIGG crew may not realize that folks in Chicago eat right after work
• Budgets may have been tight for DIGG to supply snacks
• It is difficult to gauge how many people will attend an event like this...the NYC event had 1,000 people

I also heard folks asking about name tags and wondering there were no name tags.

Kevin was a terrific 'floater'. He made time to talk to his fans, sign things, pose for pictures and supplied a nice rundown of what was coming up on the site. He was joined by CEO Jay Adelson on stage. It was also funny when Kevin was able to sneak in a plug for DIGGnation, along with throwing out tshirts for the show. It's funny because DIGG is its own brand and likes to separate itself a bit from DIGGnation, yet Kevin did his best to promote both.

During Jay and Kevin's opening comments, a woman in the crowd behind me said a comment that was so out of line that it made me turn around and snap at her. Jay mentioned he was from Detroit, which is also my hometown. A girl in the crowd said, 'You're white, you're not from Detroit. Oakland County maybe'. I was shocked, then again, the DIGG crowd tends to be a bit overzealous and may not have the best manners. Ms. Rude Girl, I lived in Detroit and I'm white. Your stupid comment is the very thing that keeps people in this country at odds. Ok, I moved to a suburb of Detroit when I was six months old,  but that's because my father was approached at gun point - by a caucasian male.

Anyway, back to the event. Videos were taken of the guests, dancing took place on the dance floor and Jay and Kevin met with their fans. If you ask me, Chicago was a terrific place to have a DIGG meetup - better access to the fellas. I do think another bar would work better.

My favorite part of the night was seeing local buddies in the space. Sachin, Rod, Rachel, Leah, Scott, John, Erin, Britain, Jeff, Phil, Dan and Jack - I had a ball catching up. And yes, we will be having a karaoke meetup soon!

Takeaways from the DIGG meetup:

• a DIGG store is coming soon
• DIGG is probably going to have an event in or around Detroit
• DIGG may be coming back to Chicago for something 'bigger'
• If you have a meetup in Chicago at 6 pm, either tell folks they should eat ahead of time or provide some basic munchies
• If you have a tech meetup in Chicago, choose a bar that is more well lit and allows for conversation and...the ability to email and Twitter

Other thoughts and observations...
Leah
Windy Citizen

Comments

[Matt]

Hey I had a signal:) Blackjack user here but the signal reception in the basement that is called Smartbar is a mote point since twitter was down for almost the whole duration of the Digg Meetup.

[CTR]

Good point, Matt! But even using the DM function via text messaging was out...'twas only a small point, but something I wanted to relay on the post on behalf of the crew there.

[Matt M.]

Too bad there weren't name tags, I'd like to know who was talkin smack on the D. That kind of shit is unacceptable. Keep me on the list for the karaoke meetup, I know the whle Neil Diamond cannon by heart.

[Rachel]

Awesome write up! If they do a Detroit event we should see if some Chicago folk want to rent a party bus and head up there.

Similar to your Ms. Rude experience, I had a strange moment too. A super pretty girl was in the bathroom all upset because she got turned down by Kevin Rose. I felt kind of bad for her. She had a friend there who was trying to console her and I tried to make her feel better by telling her the rumors of Kevin Rose being a player in the past and the rumors that he has a girlfriend now. But it was just one of many very random moments from the night.

[Mr. Smith]

Weird, I had perfect reception the whole time. (I'm on Verizon with a Q.)