OK, so the headline is pretty poor and I have heard from some journalism friends that trying to be too witty with headlines is usually a recipe for disaster. I guess they were right. That said, I am really excited about a new facet we’re going to trial at TECH cocktail Chicago 8 (RSVP now – 350 people already have and space is limited plus it’s free!).
We’re going to try embedding a SIG (Special Interest Group) into TECH cocktail 8. No, this isn’t the kind of special interest group you hear about from the political pundits. This SIG is simply one where birds of a feather can get together during the event at a certain place in the room to talk shop.
The first SIG we are going to run is one for IT Security ISVs. Why you ask. Well, for one our friends at Athena Security came up with the idea of SIGs embedded in TECH cocktail events and they offered to run one for IT Security ISVs. Simple right? We like simple.
We recognize that industry associations for security professionals exist (ISSA, ISACA, for instance); and these are great venues for topic-oriented discussions. That said, we think there is an opportunity for a SIG to share ideas about trends, personal achievements and even market frustrations in a social, friendly and informal environment (i.e. within TECH cocktail).
If you are a security professional and want to check out the Security SIG inside TECH cocktail 8 please e-mail Jed Abernethy (jabernethy [at] athenasecurity [DOT] net) letting him know that you’ll be dropping by the Security SIG table at the event.
We’d love to hear feedback on this idea and if you have an idea for a SIG that should be held at the next event please let us know. If this one is successful we’ll want to do it at other events and with other industries.
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I think it’s a great idea – with 500+ people in the room every time, I’ve sometimes found it tough to make the most of my time there. I’d love to know that there was a place/time to get together with folks with similar interests and talents (although my talents consist mainly of being an idiot.)