[Phpwm] [OT] intro, hello, etc.

[Darren Beale]

Hi Matt,

> So what are your thoughts on West Mids New Media as an entity? I was
> really hoping that when I made a claim that it didn't exist I'd get shot
down
> in </flame>'s, but does my claim actually have some credence?

Whilst there's no doubt in my mind that the WM has its fair share of quality
companies doing great things with the Interweb I'd agree that compared to
Brighton or Bristol there's not such a broad community. I put it down to two
things:

a) Both Bristol and Brighton have a single, long established mailing list
where the subscribers work in all facets of the industry and where
everything from hardcore tech to random OT rants are aired. The signal to
noise ratio is high, but that's fine.
 
b) A large percentage of the attendees to any given geeky* meet-up/seminar
can have a few beers and walk, cycle, bus home whereas "The West Midlands"
covers a pretty huge area with most people having to drive up to an hour to
attend a meeting which also tend to be in changing venues in order to be
fair to the other geographically disparate members of the group. This
doesn't stop those meetings happening but it does increase the barrier to
entry somewhat.

As you mention in your post this list and The Multipack forum seem to be the
best there is with The Multipack having a broader user base but discussion
is tied to a website which, for me at least, is a real turnoff. They also
seem to have their meetings on a Saturday which generally rules me out due
to family commitments. Apparently the various LUGs are quite active as are
the Birmingham perl bods, not that I've ever attended an event.

Interesting subject, thanks for posting.

Cheers

db

*design, frontend, backend, IA, usability, gamers, whatever