You are invited to the first South Bay IA/UE Cocktail Hour at 6:30 PM on
February 4th on the Netscape campus in Mountain View!

What is it?
The South Bay IA/UE Cocktail Hour will be a monthly gathering of
professionals in the information architecture and user experience fields.

Why should I come to these meetings?
Well, first off, there will be libations (mostly beer, wine, and
softdrinks) and munchies. Secondly, you will be able to meet and mingle
with other professionals in your field. Thirdly, we will have one or two
topics for presentation and discussion at each meeting.

What will happen at the first meeting?
We will devote the first meeting to networking and gathering eveyone's
ideas for topics they would like to see covered in future meetings. We
will also be looking for volunteers to lead the discussion for the topics
we come up with.

When is the first meeting?
February 4th, at 6:30 PM. Future meetings will generally be right at the
beginning of the month.

Where will it be?
AOL (thanks to Erin Malone) has graciously agreed to host this first
meeting in the Cafe in Building 22 on the Netscape campus. Directions are
below.

What do I need to bring?
A beverage to share and /or some sort of snack. Oh, and bring whatever
brains you have left at the end of the day.

Why is it called a "cocktail hour" if no one is making cocktails?
Well, this group is modeled on the highly successful San Francisco IA
Cocktail Hour, which flourishes under the guidance of Christina Wodtke and
Peter Merholz. A couple of us at a San Francisco meeting were whining
about having to drive to San Francisco, and decided to take matters into
our own hands and, with Christina's and Peter's blessing, start our own
local branch. Here is Christina's web page on this group:
http://carboniq.com/events/cocktailhour/

Who is behind this dastardly plot?
Just a bunch of interested people: Lisa Chan, Dora Futterman, Sue Lachance,
Erin Malone, Virginia Moschetta, Janet Vratny.

Do I need to RSVP?
No, just come. And bring your friends who are in the information
architecture, user experience design fields.

Here is a photomap of the location

Here are directions to the Cafe (Building 22) on the Netscape Campus:

Highway 101 from San Jose and San Francisco:
From San Jose: Take the Ellis Street exit. Turn left at the end of the off
ramp.
From San Francisco: Take the Ellis Street exit and veer to the right at the
end of the off ramp.
Continue down Ellis Street
Building 22 is located on your right (on Ellis)
Turn right onto the campus main driveway (before the Veritas buildings) and
follow the signs to Building 22 Cafetorium. Building 22 is the third
building on the right.

Comments

Cool! Good luck on the event and do remember to let the rest of us know how it all turns out.

I've added it to the IAwiki, where you'll find a directory of other IA Cocktail Hours.

Bummer, I won't be able to make it. I hope it goes well, and I look forward to the next one!

I've got at least three other IA friends who worked with me in Santa Cruz who would love to attend the next one.

Won't be able to make it. Last minute meeting takes precedence - Don't frown, next month I'll bring two bottles of wine.

I would, however, like to propose a topic for a future meeting discussion: Interface design for voice applications - how people almost never mean what they say.