The pros and cons of video conferencing.

Tonight was the night for a code4pizza meeting in Belfast.  Now I’m fairly settled with the idea that I’m in the minority when it comes to location.  So Matt and I tried Skype video from my house to Core Belfast.

The Pros

Well I was certainly there and I could say hello to folk.  I got the majority of the conversations which is the main point of the night.  I didn’t have to stay there all night, I could break off into a group of one if I wanted to but it wouldn’t have been much fun.

The Cons

Laptop microphones are the main issue as they are designed for one to one conversations and not a public forum.  I kept a chat window open just in case I needed to type something.  Luckily the good folk in Belfast gave me space to speak when I needed to.

The only other real drag was that I couldn’t have pizza.  I’ll have to go back to the drawing board on that one.

You’re only as good as your network says you are.

I think it’s fair to say, in reflection, that 2009 was basically spent trying to find my centre of gravity. Towards November I was starting to sound like a bit of a personal pity party so something had to change.  Thanks to my network, finding out the technology landscape and talking to good people I could put myself in the right place at the right time.

There were a few things that happened that did help it along.

Open Coffee and other network meetings do work

You can’t beat face to face networking.  There was a time when I didn’t have to do this, the work was streaming in during the boom times.  Skills are plentiful and it’s a case of being able to sell yourself.  From Open Coffee I’ve managed to show my face once at XCake as well.  On the online side I keep up with Digital Circle and the usual stream of info on Twitter.

Speaking

I don’t think it does anyone any harm to publicly speak once in a while.  I loved doing Barcamp Derry last October.  Prospective customers, investors, employers and collaborators can instantly see what you are like and what drives you.  From the Barcamp experience I would really like to do some more speaking in 2010.

You’re friends

Considering that I moved to Northern Ireland in 2004 it’s taken a good five years to find my networking feet.  There’s a couple of factors in that, partially to do with the existence of technology like Twitter.  I always had a LinkedIn account but I did my searches by sector, not location.

Through the likes of Open Coffee I’ve met some great people.  Even better that most have them have become good friends and are on speed dial if I really need them.  The help, advice and provision that these people are willing to give is also available to you, all you have to do is to make yourself available and willing to show your face.

Write

I have an “articles” section on this site.  These aren’t articles that I just wrote for the fun of it, they are important networking tools to prove your knowledge.  The likes of Java Developer’s Journal, IBM developerWorks and the Belfast Telegraph have given me the opening to write articles on a wide range of technology subjects over the last nine years.

So, to summarise, with this mix of activities I’m just starting to shape and form what 2010 is going to look like, I’m really excited for 2010.  There’s some big things to happen.

New Article: Belfast Telegraph – Jobs are scarce, so it’s time to go online and make it happen.

As this week is entrepreneurship week my Web Watch article is about starting up. You can read it here.