Have you been served? An RFC for door64 members.

Door64 has been invaluable to me as a source of friends, information and jobs/contracts. The social gatherings have been very rewarding. Door64 sent me to SXSW one year, which was remarkable in itself.

Recently, Matt Genovese of Door64.com came and talked to a "Drupal Retreat" I had at the UT ACTLab and the folks assembled there got a rare behind the scenes insight into the the thought process and work that go in to a site like Door64.com. This is just another example of the type of outreach Matt and Door64.com does to inform, educate, and help assist the Austin community.

Paul Terry Walhus
web developer and host
1800 Lavaca Street
Austin, Texas 78701
512-699-4000 mobile
Blog: http://austincast.com/blog/
Website: http://spring.net
Twitter: http://twitter.com/springnet
del.icio.us: http://del.icio.us/springnet
Skype

In my current job search, I have used the door64 newsletter and community as primary input for technical events, discussions and news. Events such as the tech fairs have enabled new connections with companies I otherwise would not have met with. I am confident I will have a success story soon and will post more then.

Rob Putney
Engineering & Operations Manager
512-255-9406
rob.putney@sbcglobal.net

It gets hard to track, aside from the friendship I've developed with Matt (which is in itself invaluable), I know there are contacts I've made through the events that have been worthwhile, but it's hard to remember which event, I met which person at.

I do know that I got a RackSpace interview last year at the career fair. It didn't turn into a job, but clearly that still qualifies.

The picture I use for my avatar these days was cropped out of a picture taken at a door64 event.

I use the calendar to identify events, but it's not the only calendar I use and most events get cross-posted elsewhere.

I have certainly deepened relationships at door64 events.

I have enjoyed a boost in attendance at our technical seminars thoughout Central Texas, and new we are now on the door64 techmap!

www.inxi.com
www.inxevents.com

Riley

The Door64 calendar is the first place I look every Monday morning in my job search for networking events.

Made a good hire.
I represented my company at the Door64 tech fair, gathered a ton of resumes, and made one excellent hire from among those resumes. This developer has been with us for several months now, and has been a great addition to the company.

"Yes," to following:

• Found a job opportunity that you had not found anywhere else (via networking at our events, or via the door64 job board).

• Found a new client/customer for your company through networking online or at door64 events.

William W. (Woody) Williams
Project Management Consultant
| Blog | Twitter |
w3src Consulting

During the release of our Alpha, Door64.com was key in helping us get the word out to the local High Tech community. Matt is a natural connector and Door64.com is the best way to share information with Austin's techies. I have increasingly begun to use and read the blog board and other features of the site beyond just having a profile and would recommend everyone do the same. If you want to connect with Tech, Door64.com is the place to do it.

In answer to your list, none of the above.

However, I feel like the additional information you and others post, your events, your notice of other events, put me in a better position to find the next job. At work, people are plugged into what's going on technically thru their company or co-workers. Door64 gives me this technical connection while I am unemployed, which is invaluable.

Thank you.

I've just recently joined the group, and I have found job postings that I haven't seen elsewhere, but I can't say that the group has been very beneficial yet. I think the group is a great idea, and I can tell that people are active, but I'll be satisfied when I'm employed.

Thanks!

Posting our meeting notices on door64 has been a great benefit to the Austin SPIN. At every meeting, we have new members who have found us through door64. Those members are able to find others who share their interests -- and they often connect with people who either have job openings or need new employees. Thanks for what you do to connect the community!

When you are laid off and looking for a job, the job search process can be very depressing. Door64 has been an inspiration and the necessary swift kick to continue the job search and get out and interact with people. When attending the events, I can talk work on my interview skills and get job leads and ideas.
Janice Veteran
Semiconductor Device Engineer
512-278-0092

Door64 has been more important than I would have expected.

I found out about and then attended Paul Young's Product Camp after learning about it here.

I joined the current class of TechRanch Austin (who's leaders were at Product Camp) through my exposure to the group here at Door 64. Interestingly, Paul Young is in my E2E class there.

I have a meeting with a currently unemployed woman whose marketing experience might help both of us. I met her at the last Door 64 networking meet-up.

Two staff members just signed up for InnoTech after reading about it here this morning.

One of my guys attended Lone Star Ruby Conference after the Door 64 indicated that registration was open. Funny thing was, I'd been periodically reviewing the site, and I might not have known about it without Door 64.

Not too bad a list, Matt! Keep up the great effort; your work is important to me!

Dawn Green
Thunder Data Systems, Inc.
Twitter
Blog

Door64 has been my gateway to Austin. Have I made money or done business as a result of my involvement with door64? Not yet, but I fully expect to do so.

I have met a number of people who I know I can count on for advice and assistance when I need it. I have no doubt that within the door64 community, there are talent and skilled engineers and technical people, as well as program managers, who, when the time is right for my company, I will be able to consider for full and part time spots on the team (I knew this to be fact when one of the members here understood a technical challenge that my company will hopefully soon face and he said, "I think those are fun algorithms.").

I have met some very good friends from my involvement on door64 (they know who they are), and frankly, I have felt very good about some of the things I contributed to the community via the blog posts.

I think that the best is yet to come. I and many of my colleagues in San Antonio see door64 playing a very important role in the future our two cities.

It is already a valuable asset to the Austin technology community, but as time passes, door64 will evolve and become much more than it is today. Matt G. laid the foundation and each day, members of the community add to its value.

The door64.com calendar is absolutely essential in knowing which events that I will actively participate in Austin. Also, the newsletter is invaluable and has helped me become more aware of both the breath and depth of the local tech scene.

--
Elizabeth Quintanilla

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethquintanilla

Twitter: http://twitter.com/equintanilla

Blog: http://elizabeth-quintanilla.com/site/blog

I have to agree with Janice Veteran. I'm also a laid off engineer, and whenever I find a group or forum in which I can pull just an iota of some inspiration, it's worth it.

I don't know how you quantify that positive energy vibe, unless maybe collect the mean time it takes for Door64 'in-between-job' types to get their next job. If it's below the national average, maybe that's saying something for this group.

I just joined. And I'm glad to be here.

I didn't really participate much with door64. I even forget where I heard about it. I just joined, and found myself browsing the forums one day... I noticed a thread where a number of people where discussing a job posting from somewhere else, and decided to reserve judgment and check it out. It lead to permanent salaried employment that I've had for about a year and a half now. I never even made it to a single gathering. Perhaps that defeats the purpose of what you are looking for, but then again, I never had such an experience with the Launchpad/TWC group. I can't really vouch for what makes door64 different, in my case, but none the less, door64 did play a pivotal role for me, in finding the opportunity.

Door64 was the single most helpful resource for me to learn about Austin (and central Texas at large) technology community and job market.

I have applied and successfully interviewed for a couple of positions posted on Door64. While I ended up taking a different opportunity, these early interviews were very helpful.

I have also recommended door64 to other people who I knew were looking for work in Austin.

Jane Prusakova
Senior Consultant at Improving Enterprises
Door64 blog

Great community and events, and help with hiring when we needed it.

Hi Matt,

Door64 has brought me clients for social media workshops (especially those workshops focused on LinkedIn) and has helped to get the word out about Jelly Coworking Round Rock. Attendees to both workshops and Jelly have told me that they heard about it on Door64.

Thanks for everything you're doing.

Sheila Scarborough

Family Travel Logue on BootsnAll
Sheila's Guide to the Good Stuff (Tourism and the social Web)

Not helped me find a job but being able to post jobs I know has helped others locate good opportunities. Also, have networked with really talented people to get input and help with the start ups I am working with or starting.

I first met my current business partners, TechRanch Austin, at a Door64 event. This was an essential to helping get Zehicle launched.

Rob
Zehicle.com

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I appreciate the time you took to reply.

I am hopeful this information will helpful to the TWC as they report on the state of technology and entrepreneurship in Texas.

Met, recruited, and hired from one of the Door64 mixers. As we are constantly looking for talent, we will not miss another mixer. They have become a must goto for our recruiting and hiring process. Thanks for all you do.

Glad to hear it, Joe! Makes my day when someone finds a job through door64.

Door64 has been more or less another door. It's a unique door. It's a valuable door. It has a unique place amongst many other doors to which I have memberships.

The problem, not unique to door64, is that has not opened. The door itself is not the problem. It's not as if the door is locked. It's more like the door is unhinged. The door itself is perfectly useful. But it hasn't actually opened, for me.

Based on other's responses, Door64 has demonstrable success. It has been proven that Door64 can open and reveal opportunities to folks at all spectrums of the tech market. Knowing that it works is really great.

Door64 is predominately about community. Some get the community vibe at mixers. Mixers never appealed to me. Community is also established on this site, through the blogs, wiki, etc. You post Matt and the response is a perfect example of the community.

I have been contacted by recruiters who noticed my information on Door64. I even had an interview with AMD. In many respects, it was a bad experience. This was not the fault of Door64, rather the hiring manager and the recruiter. I was awesome, for the record. But not hired.

My response to the TWC economist would be to ask how TWC measures it success. Is it related to # of UI claims per week? Jobs opened and closed exclusively on workintexas.com? TWC does alot of great stuff. I wouldn't say they are good at hooking up tech folks though. I would say that the state of the Texas technology employment in Texas is weak.

Another place to look for quantifiable data is with someone like Angelo Angelos (sp?). The TWC economist should probably dose up on tylenol before calling Angelo. I'm now taking Tylenol w/Codiene when I attend his presentations.

I've been to a few of the get-togethers at the Triumph Cafe and visit the Door64 website regularly, and I look forward to my participation.

Door 64 is probably a cut above similar networking organizations that are out there, given the fact that it is now serving as an excellent complementary tool to Launchpad and its many networking affiliates.

Austin in general, I believe, is ahead of the curve on meeting the challenge of the economic downturn. It offers many dynamic networking and job training resources, to help get professionals ahead of the game.

And Door64 is a key part of that overall effort. The fact that recruiters and hiring people are showing up to the events attests to its effectiveness.

To Matt, I say, keep it up!
Jim