Last night was the first meetup I organized since I moved back to my home area. I was honored to have the opportunity to get the entire side room at one of my favorite beer gardens in the Oakland area. The evening was filled with such emotion despite it being a cold and rainy night. A handful of my friends came through as well as some new faces. I spent around 45 minutes discussing mostly entry level information such as what is bitcoin, how do I obtain it, how do I store it, etc. I was happy to see that many of the attendees were very aware of bitcoin. Most of them were able to follow along with the information I was presenting to them with a few questions here and there. After the presentation, my aim was to get the attendees to chat with each other. Having done meetups in the past, I have found that a presentation plus an open discussion is a good formula for a successful meetup. Overall the turnout must have been 20 to 25 heads, which in my opinion is an excellent amount to start off with for a new meetup group. At the end of the night many people were coming and telling me how much they would love to learn more and if I had plans to continue hosting more of them, which automatically my answer was "Yes". Teaching others about technology that can liberate them is probably one of the most fulfilling things I can do at this time. Which I will be more than happy to keep doing until I cannot anymore.
