<number>My name is Gavin Heaton and I sort of host a weekly coffee morning for advertising, marketing and strategic planning people at the Single Origin Café in Reservoir Street Surry Hills. I say, sort of, because it’s not really me. There are a whole number of factors that combine to make our coffee mornings a unique, energising and dare I say it, exciting, way of networking. <number>
Where did it begin? I would like to say, it began with coffee … but really that was the excuse. In fact, it began online.<number>
In October 2006, Emily Reed suggested that we should all meet for coffee. After all, we had been reading and commenting on each other’s blogs for some time. But meeting someone in a café is very different from “meeting them” online.<number>
The most pervasive aspect of living in an online, socially connected world is not identity –- but the traces of our identity that we leave with every click of the mouse. For every time we visit a website, download a PDF, leave a comment, buy a song or write a blog post, we leave something of ourselves behind.In the 1960s, Jacques Derrida described a trace as the “mark of the absence of a presence” – which is precisely what happens to our digital “selves”. <number>
But a strange thing happens when we connect with others online. There is a tranformation. The more we interact online and the more involved our interactions become, the greater our desire is to meet face-to-face.Here you can see that we use Twitter – a micro blogging service – to keep in contact with each other. We have a lot of people in our network – and if they all show up for coffee, we will certainly be in trouble.<number>
So we gave in – put our personal terrors aside and decided to meet.<number>
For some it was an unexpected reunion.<number>
While for others it was just a chance to get away from the desk and the computer and spend some time with smart people with lots of ideas. It was great, and we all resolved to meet again the next week. Which we did. But then things grew difficult. People change jobs. Life steps in. And the half dozen or so people who regularly meet drop down to one or two.<number>
We changed venues to be closer to where people worked, but winter makes for cold conversation.<number>
Gavin, from Single Origin, however goes out of his way to make us welcome. He brings good coffee. When it is cold he brings blankets. <number>
And because summer is very bright, Katie got us all to bring our spare sunglasses in and donate them to the caf
And eventually coffee mornings became less about this.<number>
And more about this.<number>
By regularly meeting – every Friday at 8am – we allowed people to start to think about attending. It started to seep into their consciousness. And of course, everyone is friendly – or is that sleepy?<number>
And we began to grow.<number>
Each week there are rampant discussions between one<number>
Or many<number>
Sometimes we know everyone at the table<number>
And sometimes, someone visiting from overseas makes Coffee Morning part of their experience of our country. This is Libby Anderson who was coming to Sydney from Austin. She had heard about our coffee mornings on Twitter and decided that she simply must come along. She thought the affogato – coffee with ice cream – was the perfect start to the day.<number>
But the most amazing thing about Coffee Mornings, apart from the shoes<number>
Is the amazing thing that takes place when we “recognise” the people we have been chatting with online.<number>
We realise they look different when they are not pictured in a small square on a computer screen.<number>
They have families …<number>
A sense of humour<number>
And legs.<number>
They bring us books to read and share<number>
Tell interesting stories<number>
And make for great company<number>
And even if they do wear green jackets at 8am<number>
We find we have much more in common – beyond work<number>
Because we are constantly building our connected lives one experience at a timeAnd that’s what it is all about.<number>
