The Meetup That Changed My Life

Friday. December 20, 2024 - 2 mins

Yesterday was the last ever Plymouth Meetup. I, and the rest of the group, are sad to see it go but really glad to have had it be a part of our lives over the years.

Personally, it has a very special place in my heart. It was the first community of developers that I became a part of whilst a student. Over the years, the people I met there and at other similar gatherings became friends, colleagues, and business partners. We’ve shared knowledge, laughs, drinks, dinner, and offered a few hours of geeky escape from the ups and downs of life.

It was also the first place I gave a meaningful talk. One that evolved into a vehicle for taking me around Europe, delivering it at a bunch of conferences before the tour was cut short by the Covid pandemic. . . and a torn vocal cord at its last outing. Without the test bed to try it out amongst friends, there wouldn’t have been the follow-on opportunities. It’s a talk that is still taking me on tour to this day!

For the follow-on talk, it again offered the perfect test bed. The friendly group was once again an opportunity to try out a wacky idea. The group embraced a tech talk focused around the intersection between birds and midi. Without that, again, the following opportunities wouldn’t have popped up in my life.

The loss of the group, whilst sad, does offer the opportunity for the next generation to put their stamp on the meetup scene. The pandemic has caused a refresh in the events and meetup world. Only a handful of the old faces are still around. We’ve moved on in our careers, had kids, relocated, and got used to the fact that in person events are deemed less important to career progress than they used to be. That said, they’re still the best way to meet your future colleagues in my opinion.

Thanks to Becky and Cookie for bringing us together for all these years 👥

Thanks to the community for all the memories 🎉

And thanks in advance to whoever takes the group over 🤞