Remember when Atlanta networking events actually had coffee?

I went to a tech mixer in Midtown last week and the coffee station was just an empty urn with a sticky note that said 'out of order'. Ngl, it kind of set the tone for the whole night. Half the people were just standing around on their phones instead of talking to each other. I ended up chatting with one guy by the fire exit who had the same complaint about how these events used to feel more genuine. Back in 2018 I swear you could get real connections, not just business card drops. Has anyone else noticed the vibe shifting at these local meetups or is it just me?

3 comments

3 Comments

milesbarnes2d agoMost Upvoted

@the_rowan is right about those smaller meetups, heard the same from a dev friend last week.

the_rowan2d ago

Bring your own coffee in a thermos, honestly. That note might as well say 'we gave up on hospitality.' Try hitting up the smaller weekly meetups instead of the big ones. The Saturday morning coding cooperative in East Atlanta has a real pot going and people actually talk without staring at their phones.

troyc172d ago

The Saturday morning coding cooperative in East Atlanta has a REAL POT going? That's WILD to me. I thought those small group things were basically dead after 2020. I need to get down there because I am SO tired of the big meetups where everyone just phones it in. Seriously, how does a standard pot of coffee feel like a luxury now? I'm shocked that place actually puts effort into hospitality when everyone else treats it like an afterthought. Count me in for next Saturday, I'll bring a bag of beans from that roastery on Memorial Drive just to test the waters.