Next month there will be a gathering of the social media gods of Houston. Peanut Butter Media, PopLabs, and Startup Houston are sponsoring a conference designed to help business owners take advantage of current offerings in social media.

What is social media? Glad you asked!

Social Media is about People - Not Technology.*

Here is a link to their agenda.

* Erica O’Grady - http://gotsocialmedia.com/

Get your geek on bigger and better than ever. The second BarCamp Houston kicks off Saturday the 25th and it is a veritable who’s who of Houston area technologists. Those of you who joined me at BarCamp Houston last year might be shocked to hear that as of this blog post there are 144 attendees signed up and growing.

For a complete wiki on what a BarCamp is click here

As far as the details of Saturdays event:
Date: August 25, 2007
Time: 9:00 A.M.
Location: Houston Technology Center
Cost: Always free!
Format: Presentations, development projects, and demos
Estimated Attendance: 150

Sign up and if you attend, make sure you pull me aside to say “Howdy!”

Are you a SXSW junkie? Will you be getting your geek on during the Interactive conference? Or perhaps rocking your proverbial socks off at the music fest is more your speed? Then you should know this (via the Austin Metblog):

I just got the text message from SXSW.

Waterloo Records (NW corner of 6th and Lamar) is selling SXSW wristbands as of right now. 2 per person. Cash or credit cards.

Don’t kill anyone on the way down there.

Check out the SXSW 2007 bands here. Some of the Houston Metblog kids will be attending the Interactive festival. Let us know if you’ll be there and we’ll drink beer together!

Houston is full of interesting stories, people and places and none of those places is less interesting than the 5th Ward. Until recently, I didn’t realize what a rich history it has - populated by newly freed slaves after the Civil War, birthplace of many distinguished Houstonians and now the home of major social renovation projects.

Tomorrow night at 7pm, Kathy Payton of the Houston 5th Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation is going to be chatting with the non profit technology NetSquared group at Stag’s Head Pub (2128 Portsmouth St.).

Kathy will tell us about her experiences working to re-vitalize the 5th Ward community through community building, job training and economic development. She’ll also touch on the importance of making technology a priority in the non-profit sector, how she has used technology to advance her organization’s goals and where she sees things going in the future.

This will be a great little gathering for technology geeks, social activists and any Houstonian who would like to learn a little more about our city and how people are trying to make it an even better place. Come for the beer and munchies, stay for the conversation and laidback vibe.

Technology Bytes is a weekly call-in radio show at KPFT every Wednesday evening (available via podcast in case you forget), and they typically hold a monthly Geek Gathering at hangouts around town here there is feasting, fun, and WiFi merriment.

They used to regularly hang out at Kaveh Kanes for Geek Gatherings, but Kaven Kanes is no more. So for November, they have selected Tropioca as the site of the Geek Gathering:

This Friday November 3rd is the monthly Technology Bytes Geek Gathering. We’ll be at Tropioca @ 2808 Milam, just South of Downtown. Tropioca specializes in bubble tea, coffee and smoothies. They also serve up desserts and free WiFi. For those not in the know, a Geek Gathering is exactly what is sounds like. The geeks from this show as well as a bunch of our listeners all descend upon a single location and geek out over gadgets, technology and the latest geek humor.

This month’s fun activity is to count the number of metal objects that Barrett has pierced his flesh with. You’ll never think of Barrett Time the same way ever again. (No cheating! No magnets!)

I may actually be there, since I’m not about to spend two hours in a dark room with people that would actually go out to see a Kyle Henry film.

Technology Bytes is a weekly call-in radio show at KPFT every Wednesday evening (available via podcast in case you forget), and they typically hold a monthly Geek Gathering at hangouts around town here there is feasting, fun, and WiFi merriment.

They used to regularly hang out at Kaveh Kanes for Geek Gatherings, but Kaven Kanes is no more. So for May, they have selected Tropioca as the site of the Geek Gathering:

This Friday October 6th is the monthly Technology Bytes Geek Gathering. We’ll be at Tropioca @ 2808 Milam, just South of Downtown. Tropioca specializes in bubble tea, coffee and smoothies. They also serve up desserts and free WiFi. For those not in the know, a Geek Gathering is exactly what is sounds like. The geeks from this show as well as a bunch of our listeners all descend upon a single location and geek out over gadgets, technology and the latest geek humor.

If you have not experienced in person the greatness of the throbbing vein in “Fighting” Jay Lee’s forehead as he repeats the mantra of “Spyware!” you have not yet lived. You want to live, don’t you?

I may actually be there since Jennifer the Intern plans on bringing her USB fishtank. I will bring mine, and we will have USB fishtank fights.

Technology Bytes is a weekly call-in radio show at KPFT every Wednesday evening (available via podcast in case you forget), and they typically hold a monthly Geek Gathering at hangouts around town here there is feasting, fun, and WiFi merriment.

They used to regularly hang out at Kaveh Kanes for Geek Gatherings, but Kaven Kanes is no more. So for May, they have selected Tropioca as the site of the Geek Gathering:

This Friday August 4th is the monthly Technology Bytes Geek Gathering. We’ll be at Tropioca @ 2808 Milam, just South of Downtown. Tropioca specializes in bubble tea, coffee and smoothies. They also serve up desserts and free WiFi. For those not in the know, a Geek Gathering is exactly what is sounds like. The geeks from this show as well as a bunch of our listeners all descend upon a single location and geek out over gadgets, technology and the latest geek humor.

If you have not experienced in person the greatness of the throbbing vein in “Fighting” Jay Lee’s forehead as he repeats the mantra of “Spyware!” you have not yet lived. You want to live, don’t you?

I myself will not be there, so that’s added incentive to attend. I will be busy feasting on bread, garlic, brie, and the inevitable stench that follows (ie. The Astros playing the Mets.)

Lone Star Times is holding a BrewHaHa™ gathering this upcoming Friday:

It’s that time again, folks, time for the LST Bayou City Barblogging Tour to continue. I’ve tallied the votes, and August’s stop will be at Coaches this Friday, August 11. It’ll start at 6:00 p.m. and end whenever they toss me into the gutter.

Coaches is located on U.S. Highway 290 near Jones Road, on the outbound side of the freeway. Here’s a map.

That’s me: your source of gatherings and meetups I don’t end up attending for some reason or other.

(I’m working on a Wheel Of Excuses)

Technology Bytes is a weekly call-in radio show at KPFT every Wednesday evening (available via podcast in case you forget), and they typically hold a monthly Geek Gathering at hangouts around town here there is feasting, fun, and WiFi merriment.

They used to regularly hang out at Kaveh Kanes for Geek Gatherings, but Kaven Kanes is no more. So for May, they have selected Tropioca as the site of the Geek Gathering:

This Friday August 4th is the monthly Technology Bytes Geek Gathering. We’ll be at Tropioca @ 2808 Milam, just South of Downtown. Tropioca specializes in bubble tea, coffee and smoothies. They also serve up desserts and free WiFi. For those not in the know, a Geek Gathering is exactly what is sounds like. The geeks from this show as well as a bunch of our listeners all descend upon a single location and geek out over gadgets, technology and the latest geek humor.

If you have not experienced in person the greatness of the throbbing vein in “Fighting” Jay Lee’s forehead as he repeats the mantra of “Spyware!” you have not yet lived. Socrates even said something about it, and that was thousands of years ago. How’s them apples?

I myself will try to be there, bringing an example of Parmesan Garlic Bread for y’all to paw over and covet. Unless I don’t bake it the night before, which would be a tragedy.

Houstonist is having a meetup:

We’re working under the assumption that you haven’t made plans for after work Wednesday, Aug. 2, yet (and that if you have, you’re about to change them). Houstonist will be having our first happy hour that day — we’re calling it “Happyist,” because that’s how we roll — and you’re invited. Did we mention we’re buying you drinks?

So, the details: Come by Poison Girl between about 6ish and 8ish, have a drink on our tab (until the tab runs out, that is) and meet us Houstonists. We’ve been woefully slow in getting official Houstonist schwag, but we think we still have a couple of highly coveted Houstonist pinewood derby T-shirts and an orange vinyl Astodome coin purse we can give away. Uh, anyone wanna help us out with some prizes?

Houstonist Happyist
6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 2
Poison Girl
1641 Westheimer Road

Perhaps if folks from Houston Metroblogs, the Chron.Commons, the Geeks Who Gather, BlogHouston, and Lone Star Times show up and ply him with much of a muchness of alcohol, he might be convinced to link to other local blogs a bit more often and build up the Bayousphere.