I think there is room for different kinds of groups in Toronto, and other cities like it. At one time, Toronto Interacts (UPA), TorCHI (ACM SIGCHI) and the Toronto UXIrregulars all co-existed I believe. I've been to events here where 30-40 people in the industry showed up -- it's all about finding the topics people want to discuss, and the right format to discuss them in. There are more people out here than you think!
As for groups in the city, Toronto Interacts seems to have fallen off the radar, and TorCHI has all but done the same (and isn't doing itself any favours by advertising its events a mere two days in advance, sadly). Then there's UXIrregulars, which is great, but the get-togethers are by natural very informal -- they seem to be friends catching up with each other and gabbing about the industry. (I haven't been able to make it out for quite some time though, so if I'm wrong someone please correct me!) The group has its place, and I would come out more if I could, but I feel there's room for more. My point is that I completely agree with Dave. I feel a connection to IXDA, more than any other organization I've been a part of, and I'm interested in extending that into a face-to-face discussion. Perhaps it could be something slightly more formal and organized than UXIrregulars, but less organized and academic than TorCHI, which generally presents in a lecture format where people barely even speak to each other. I'm interested in the formats other IXDA F2Fs have been using -- do you just chat over drinks about random things, have a round-table discussion about a particular topic, or have a lecturer present on a topic? I haven't paid much attention so far because I knew I couldn't attend! Meredith > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:discuss- > [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Malouf > Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 5:46 PM > To: Matthew Nish-Lapidus > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] IxDA Toronto > > Totally viable ... Let's see how it falls out. Reach out to the original > poster. Put him/her in touch w/ Irregulars, etc. > > What I personally (not speaking as a board member) feel is that UX != IxD > and thus if someone wants a specialized IxDA group it probably means they > agree with that. > > BTW, there are so many software companies in Toronto and agencies, etc. It > is the largest city in Canada, no? I mean if Chicago (a comparable sized > city) can have 4 or 5 groups then so should Toronto. > > - dave > > > On 10/22/07, Matthew Nish-Lapidus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > I agree that an IxDA specific group is a great idea ... and in some > > cities there are probably enough people interested to support multiple > > groups, but so far in Toronto I haven't seen it. The one existing > > group isn't very big, and I think the overlap between it and an IxDA > > group would be 100%. > > > > I'm not sure the Toronto IxD/UX community is large enough to support > > multiple groups... unless I'm just totally out of the loop. > > > > Now, maybe the existing UXIrregulars group could become the local IxDA > > outpost ... > > > > > > On Mon, 22 Oct 2007 14:09:46, David Malouf <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I hear this a lot, "why start a new IxDA group in [my town]? there is > > > already [this org]." > > > > > > Most large cities already have some sort of UX group. What that > > > phrase doesn't take into account is that one of the primary reasons > > > for a face-to-face group to exist is to bring the virtual into the > > > real. > > [snip] > > > I have tremendous respect for good organizations on the ground in all > > > the cities of the world, but after now 4 solid years of existence, I > > > feel confident that every city that wants one should and could have > > > its own local face-to-face organization and that does not mean that > > > it intrinsically is competing. It is just doing what is the next > > > natural step. Being real and true to itself. > > > > -- > > Matt Nish-Lapidus > > email/gtalk: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > ++ > > LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mattnl > > Home: http://www.nishlapidus.com > > > > > > -- > David Malouf > http://synapticburn.com/ > http://ixda.org/ > http://motorola.com/ > ________________________________________________________________ > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Unsubscribe ................ http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines ............ http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .................. http://gamma.ixda.org/help > ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://gamma.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://gamma.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://gamma.ixda.org/help
