Two weeks and a half before the event, just over 25 people are registered to be present at the event. Even though Going Solo aims to be an intimate event, I don’t consider it is fair towards the attendees, sponsors and speakers to run it with such a thin crowd.

There were 60 people in Lausanne, which made for a good audience. A conference with 25 people present is not the event I designed and advertised — and not what people paid for.

I have to say that In my opinion the price was just too high, £150 - £350 for a ticket, I think with the venue (Leeds Met) and the current student climate changing the pricing structure a little would have been less profitable but had a much bigger attendance… It’s a real shame however

SoloCamp is the replacement which I guess is a freelance / Barcamp mashup

so I guess we have our first entry into the northhub news deadpool

The site is owned and operated by Louth based Peter Cooper, famous for the previously mentioned website, writing a book and wearing ruby shoes..

I think its fair game to point out that a news portal about RUBY is running on a content management system called WORDPRESS.. which is written in ……….PHP.. ha!

In all seriousness, Well done Peter the design looks smashing and I hope that one day you have as many readers as this news site has..

Pie Fighter, is a mobile game you play in the real world.

When another Pie Fighter is near by you have to act fast and aim your pie, failure to do so could leave you with a face full of custard.

At the end of each month the “lord of the pies” is awarded (with cash prizes to be won), plus you earn free beer (yes real beer) by playing the game.

The service based in Sheffield, is due to go into a local beta early September and will be available for Sony Ericsson and Nokia based models (with an iPhone and Windows mobile version coming shortly).

The team have also got agreements with local bars and clubs to pass on offers and information based on your usage in the premises, they are working on their privacy policy.

The event is aimed at people working with, or wanting to work with, PHP in the north of England. We’ll have a selection of sessions, with the technical content intended to be accessible to a whole range of audiences - it will also be multi-track so there’s sure to be plenty of material to interest you, whatever your background.

So November 22nd (which is about a week after my Birthday (hint hint) ), at Manchester Central, if your looking for something to do in the meantime, join the mailing list or they are on freenode in #phpnw.

August 15th : 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Casual get-together for Northern UK bloggers to chat and plan a more comprehensive all-day affair.

Thats all the details we have at the moment.. See you there!

This site is different from other fan sites, being the only site to provide you with match reports and reflections on the latest news via our podcast, broadcast after every home match.

I’ve also been asked to pass along the message that “WE NEED YOUR HELP”

Going Solo is looking for an enthusiastic salesperson to negotiate and finalise sponsorship deals. After a very successful first event in Lausanne, Switzerland, the conference is taking place again in Leeds, UK, on September 12th. There are plans to produce the event elsewhere in Europe and in the US.

Availability: as soon as possible
Remuneration: 20% commission on cash sponsorships
Profile: skilled in negotiating and closing sponsorship deals, knowledge of the tech/freelancing world a plus.

What we provide:

• leads (past sponsors and fresh contacts)
• sponsorship materials

What we expect:

• discuss and amend existing sponsorship offerings
• follow through to closure on provided leads
• other leads can also be explored freely.

If you’re interested or would like more information, get in touch with Stephanie Booth (steph@going-solo.net, @stephtara, or steph-booth on skype).

Have Fun Guys..

here’s the run down:

8:00 Registration | coffee, tea, orange juice and some croissants
9:00 Stephanie Booth: Introduction
9:30 Laura Fitton: You Only Get What You Give (Marketing and taking care of one’s social capital)
10:15 Break
10:50 Dennis Howlett: The Joys of Tax and Finance
11:20 Panel moderated by Suw Charman: Setting Rates and Negotiating with
Clients (Martin Roell, Stowe Boyd, Dennis Howlett)
12:30 Lunch
14:30 Suw Charman: When Passion Becomes Profession (Balancing Work and Life)
15:20 Martin Roell: Self-Organisation for Effectiveness: Tools and Methods to Get Things Done
16:00 Break
16:30 Panel moderated by Stephanie Booth: Solo in a Networked World (Laura
Fitton, Linda Broughton, Stephanie Troeth)
17:20 Stowe Boyd: From The Far Side To The Dark Side: A Crash Course In
Business Realities For Soloists
18:00 end of Going Solo Conference

Prices : Currently having an early bird special with tickets just £150, then they go up to £220 or, if you’re really, really late £300.. sign up at expectnation

Anything Northy is a Drupal installation that the Drupal Users Group have to play with - we can do anything we like with it, try out applications, new ways of connecting, re-purposing, sharing data (to this end, all content will be under one of the creative commons licenses - we still have to decide on this - but basically open and free) or anything else we come across or think of. The idea is we go through the developments in the meetings and hopefully all learn a thing or two in the process. This has already worked well in one meeting where we looked at themes; the response was positive - people like the idea.

At the moment it has some reasturant reviews, a very PINK theme and some big ideas, a list of wifi spots in the north (one of the hubs we were planning to implement none the less!), Keep your eye on this site ladies and gents, those Drupal guys are a determined bunch and hopefully I’ll be able to get to one of the meetups next month.

There are only 50 places and quite a few have gone so far so you’d better get there quick ( http://openstreetmapleeds.eventwax.com/2nd-leeds-openstreetmap-mapping-party/)

If you’re wondering what OpenStreetMap is, OpenStreetMap is a free editable map of the whole world made by people like you.

OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.

A lot was mapped at the last map party and I’ve heard that it was a pretty good laugh (and there was breakfast included?), any questions email tim@geothings.net