I’ll be at Refresh Phoenix tonight. Sean Tierney from Grid7 will be speaking (he’s a cool guy and he’s stopped by the Tornado office a few times). I’ve not yet mentioned Refresh Phoenix on BrainFuel but it’s a project by Aaron Post (also a cool guy) and the gang at 30 Second Rule. I posted some photos from the last Refresh Phoenix on my coffee blog.

I’m not sure how many of you Phoenix readers know about AZIPA? Well, in 1998 – 1999 they had events which began much like Refresh Phoenix. The first AZIPA meeting I ever went to was held in an office building and there were about 50 people. The organizers had difficulty handling the events after they balooned in size to several hundred people and scouts had to be sent to find new locations that could handle the crowd. Like a lot of things from that period, AZIPA peaked and all that remains today is a fabulous email list (with about a thousand people subscribed).

Back to Refresh Phoenix: What I like about these events are the formal introductions around the room (this was something that AZIPA did as well). I also like the speakers and organized nature of the event (I’d say AZIPA failed in this area since it was more about socializing). Plus I can’t complain that it’s held at a great coffee shop.

Anyways, if you’re there tonight, say hello.