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Current Events Meetups Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events list (Monday, September 23 – Sunday, September 29, 2024)

Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, September 23 through Sunday, September 29, 2024! This list includes both in-person and online events.

Note that each item in the list includes:

✅ When the event will take place

✅ What the event is

✅ Where the event will take place

✅ Who is holding the event

This week’s events

Monday, September 23

Event name and location Group Time
InfoSec World
Disney Coronado Springs Resort
Tampa Bay InfraGard Meetup Group Monday, September 23, 2024 at 7:00 AM to Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 6:00 PM EDT
Business Networking Meeting
Online
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Downtown St. Pete Business Networking Connection Lunch~ All Welcome< JOIN In!
The Sourdough Co.
RGA Networking Professional Business Networking 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Intro to Mobile Videography (FREE for Hillsborough County residents)
TBCN Media Center
Tampa Bay Community Network 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Radiant Ridge Toastmasters
Central Ridge Library
Toastmasters Division G 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Speakeasy Toastmasters #4698
Online
Toastmasters District 48 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Casual Pokemon League at Nerdy Needs
Nerdy Needs
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Root w/Advanced Setup
Anson on Palmer Ranch
Sarasota Strategy Board Game League 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Monday Weekly Board Game Night! (Lazy Moon Colonial Location)
Lazy Moon Pizza
Board Game Meetup: Board Game Boxcar 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
MTG: Commander Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Monday Feast & Game Night
Village Inn
Tampa Bay Tabletoppers 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
FREE Bar Poker at Gators Dockside Highland City
Gators Dockside -Highland City
Polk County Poker & Social Group 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Three Bridges Brewing Trivia Night with the Smartphone Trivia Game Show
Three bridges brewing
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Entrepreneur Book Club Weekly Meetup – Live Reading & Elaboration
Online
Business Owners and Professionals 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Monday Chess! At Driftwood Kava and Roastery
Driftwood Kava & Roastery St. Pete
TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Hidden Gems Night, Presented by A Duck!
Online
Nerdbrew Events 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Virtual Event: Hiawassee Book Club
Online
Library Book Clubs – OCLS 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
ONLINE: Stoicism and Ontology, Part 2
Online
Orlando Stoics 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
DigiMondays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Day 14 – Express.js – Full Stack Web Dev Bootcamp
Online
Florida Software School 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Weekly General Meetup
Online
Beginning Web Development 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Where is Bitcoin Going?
Online
Bitcoiners of Southwest Florida 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Return to the top of the list

Tuesday, September 24

Event name and location Group Time
v-Lean Coffee
Online
Tampa Bay Agile 7:30 AM to 8:30 AM EDT
NPI St. Pete Business Builders Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
St Petersburg Yacht Club
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI) 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Venice Area Toastmasters Club #5486
Online
Toastmasters District 48 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
E-Commerce Growth Strategies: Interactive Store Reviews and Real-Time Feedback
Online
Orlando Shopify Meetup 8:00 AM to 8:45 AM EDT
Landing Job Opportunities Through Community
Online
Tampa Cybersecurity Training 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Immersive Worlds: The Intersection of Spatial Computing, Entertainment & Gaming
Embarc Collective
Tampa XR 5:15 PM to 7:15 PM EDT
Happy Hour: Sips Wine Bar – Safety Harbor
Sips Wine Bar
Bay Area Social Events (BASE) 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Coffee and ML
Buddy Brew Coffee
Tampa Machine Learning 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Weekly Open Make Night
4931 W Nassau St
Tampa Hackerspace 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Spanglish Toastmasters Club 7703731
Online
Toastmasters Division G 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Bartow Toastmasters HYBRID Meeting
2250 S Floral Ave
Toastmasters Division E 6:00 PM to 7:15 PM EDT
Disney Lorcana Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Pinellas Writers and Authors Weekly Meeting (Online/Zoom)
Online
Pinellas Writers Group 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Rotary Laser Engraving
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
COMPLIMENTARY WEBINAR: Virtual Networking | Create More Virtual Connections
Online
Beast Mode Networking Orlando 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Loner Seekers Euchre – Tampa
Gaspars Patio Bar & Grille
Loner Seekers Euchre – Tampa 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Central Florida Computer Society TechSIG (Please join us!!)
Online
Central Florida Computer Society 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Pythonic Monthly Meeting
Online
The Orlando Python User Group 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Dunedin Toastmasters – Guests Welcome
Unity Community Church
Dunedin Toastmasters 2166 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Trivia Night – Moose Lodge 2117 Smartphone Trivia Game Show
Moose Lodge
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Trivia Night with Trivia Nation
Irish 31 Pub House & Eatery
Trivia Night at Irish 31 Seminole 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
St. Pete Beers ‘n Board Games Meetup for Young Adults
Pinellas Ale Works Brewery
St. Pete Beers ‘n Board Games for Young Adults 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
AMA – Ask Me Anything Related to Photography, Computers and Software
O’Keefe’s Family Restaurant
Florida Center for Creative Photography 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Boards & Bones
SpookEasy Lounge
Nerd Night Out 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Nic At Nite – Weekly Movie Night
Online
Nerdbrew Events 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write on Zoom
Online
Shut Up & Write!® Tampa 7:45 PM to 9:15 PM EDT
Return to the top of the list

Wednesday, September 25

Event name and location Group Time
World Toasters Hybrid Meeting
Disney University
Toastmasters Division E 7:05 AM to 8:00 AM EDT
NPI Profit Partners Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
Panera Bread
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI) 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Grow Your Business with focused Referral Networking
Sons of Italy Lodge
BNI Tampa -Referral based networking 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Lunch Hour Meetup
Online
Sarasota Web Development Meetup Group 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Heart of Agile MONTHLY Coffee Corner
Online
Heart of Agile St. Pete – Tampa – Orlando 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM EDT
No Fear Speaking Webinar and Meetup
Online
Tampa Fear of Public Speaking Meetup Group 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
Inspiring Authors & Book Immersion Meetup
Online
Lady Lake Memoir Writing Meetup Group 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
Future Home Buyers Social @ COPA – Stop by for a couple of drinks on us
Copa
The Pinellas County Young “Professionals” 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Wednesday Night Gaming
Nerdy Needs
Brandon Boardgamers 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Bay pines toastmaster’s hybrid meeting
C. W. Bill Young VA Medical Center
Bay Pines Toastmasters 5:15 PM to 6:30 PM EDT
Securing AI and AI-Powered Security with Google Cloud
Entrepreneur Collaborative Center (ECC)
Tampa Bay Google Cloud User Group 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Wednesday Board Game Night
Bridge Center
Tampa Gaming Guild 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Felicitous Game Night w/Heritage Dim Sum
Felicitous (on 42nd)
Tampa Game Nights 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Adult Dungeons & Dragons Wednesdays
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Hobby Night – Minis Painting Tips & Tricks at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Board Game Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Great Big Trivia Wednesdays @ Terra Ceia Bay Country Club Palmetto 6-8PM
Terra Ceia Bay Country Club
South Florida Poker, Music & Entertainment Group 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
CRITICAL THINKERS SUPPER AT AMOB LANDSIDE IN PRIVATE ROOM
Anna Maria Oyster Bar Landside
Suncoast Critical Thinking Discussion Group 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Inventors Council – www.tbic.us bi-monthly Meetup
Online
Tampa Bay Inventors Council – www.TampaBayInventors.org 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Game Night!
Southern Lights Brewing Company
Drunk’n Meeples the Social Tabletop (Board) Gamers 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – FINAL
Inner Compass Brewing Company
The Weirder Things Book Club 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Tampa Writers Alliance Critique Group
Online
Tampa Writers Alliance 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Castaways Euchre Club
The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Hosted By Castaways Euchre Club 6:50 PM to 8:50 PM EDT
Enhancing Active Directory governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) with ADManager
Online
Orlando Cybersecurity Meetup 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Improve Your Communication and Presentation Skills
Online
Communication Skills for Interviews and Presentations 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Apopka Foliage Toastmasters
Online
Apopka Foliage Toastmasters 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Carrollwood Toastmasters Meetings meet In-Person and Online
Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library
Toastmasters District 48 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Story Games Night: Fedora Noir & Someone Has Died
Black Harbor Gaming
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Games & Grog @ The Grove SoHo!
Grove Soho
Nerdbrew Events 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
New Beginnings & Old Rivalries
Online
Central Florida AD&D (1st ed.) Grognards Guild 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Games & Grog (Social Game Night in SoHo)
Grove Soho
Nerd Night Out 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
How to Express Yourself and Connect with People
Online
Professionals Meetup For Networking And Social Skillsets 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Trivia at Blind Goat
Online
Gen Geek 7:30 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Return to the top of the list

Thursday, September 26

Event name and location Group Time
Tackle it in Ten – Entrepreneur Roundtables
Dunedin Chamber of Commerce
Entrepreneur Round Table
Public group
8:30 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
Entrepreneur Roundtable to SPARK Ideas & Build Growth
Dunedin Chamber of Commerce
Clearwater Entrepreneurs’ Round Table
Public group
8:30 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
Dunedin Youth Guild Park
The Dunedin Youth Guild Park
Suncoast Drone Club
Public group
9:30 AM to 11:30 AM EDT
Book Club Meet at Cattle Dog’s Coffee
Cattle Dog Coffee Roasters
Inverness Cozy Crafty Sleuths
Public group
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
NPI Power Lunch – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
Carrabas Italian Grill
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)
Public group
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
RGA’s Founders & Amplify Clearwater Partnership meeting ~ All Welcome, JOIN in.
Chili’s Grill & Bar
RGA Networking Professional Business Networking
Public group
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
How to Get on a Favorites List with Recruiters
Online
Tech Success Network
Public group
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Downtown Tampa Toastmasters MeetUp
509 E Twiggs St 3rd floor
Downtown Tampa Toastmasters MeetUp
Public group
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Sarasota Speakers Exchange Toastmasters
Online
Toastmasters District 48
Public group
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
How to Get on a Recruiter’s Favorite’s List
Online
Career Success Academy
Public group
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Thursday Afternoon & Evening Gaming
Dunedin Palms
Drunk’n Meeples the Social Tabletop (Board) Gamers
Public group
1:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Commander Open Play Night at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!
Public group
1:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write!® Your Life Story (on Zoom)
Online
Shut Up & Write!® St. Petersburg
Public group
1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
Thursday Night Gaming
3407 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Brandon Boardgamers
Public group
5:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Gulfport Scrabble and Social
The Drunken Taco
Gulfport Scrabblers and Social
Public group
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
September Happy Hour – New Location!!
Online
Business and Social Networking
Public group
5:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
It’s Electric! PTN Cybersecurity Lighting Talks
2570 Coral Landings Blvd
Pinellas Tech Network
Public group
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Tampa Power Platform – Social @ Magnanimous
Magnanimous Brewing
Tampa Power Platform
Public group
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Technical SEO Fundamentals – Part 3
Online
Tampa SEO and Digital Marketing Meetup with Steve Scott
Public group
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
GenAI on AWS: Use Cases, Challenges, and Solutions
501 E Kennedy Blvd
Tampa Bay AWS User Group
Public group
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Tampa M365 – Social @ Magnanimous
Magnanimous Brewing
Tampa M365
Public group
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
The Fallen Lands
2103 Laceflower Dr
Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group
Public group
6:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Game Night at Conworlds Emporium
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup
Public group
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Warhammer Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Public group
6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
The Spy Coast – by Tess Gerritsen
Barbara S. Ponce Public Library
Mystery and Thriller St Pete Book Club
Public group
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Relaxed Social for Young Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders
Cres Community
Young Entrepreneurs of America YEA Meetup Group
Public group
6:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Writing Meetup
HotWax Coffee Shop, Kava Bar & Tap House
Tampa Free Writing Group
Public group
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Tampa Writers Alliance Poetry Group
Barnes & Noble Carrollwood
Tampa Writers Alliance
Public group
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
The Simply Referrals Tampa/Clearwater Business Networking Event on ZOOM!
Online
Clearwater Business Networking
Public group
6:45 PM to 7:45 PM EDT
WordPress
Online
Tampa Bay Technology Center
Public group
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
3D Printing Guild
Tampa Hackerspace West
Tampa Hackerspace
Public group
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Palm Harbor Toastmasters Club #8248
1500 16th St
Toastmasters District 48
Public group
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Understanding People – Knowing Whom You Can Trust
Online
Communication Skills for Career Advancement Group
Public group
7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
WordPress Monthly Meetup
Online
WordPress Clearwater FL
Public group
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
One Piece Thursdays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games
Public group
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Smartphone Trivia Game Show at Wilders Pizza
Wilder’s Pizza
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice
Public group
7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Dungeons and Dragons with Donavan
Unlucky Roll Cafe
Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup
Public group
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Live streaming production and talent
124 S Ring Ave
Live streaming production and talent
Public group
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
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Friday, September 27

Event name and location Group Time
Caffeine & Connections: Friday Fuel for Black Professionals
Online
Pinellas County Black Business Meetup Group
Public group
8:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Tampa Young Professionals Virtual Networking Friday Morning All WElCOME
Online
St. Petersburg Business Networking
Public group
8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT
Online Networking with Brandon Biz Pros
Online
Brandon Biz Pros
Public group
9:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Toastmasters – Improve Speaking Skills & Build Confidence
Online
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay
Public group
9:30 AM to 10:30 AM EDT
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorm together
Online
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorming together
Public group
10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Business Networking Tampa at McAlisters across from International Plaza JOIN IN!
McAlister’s Deli
RGA Networking Professional Business Networking
Public group
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
TBUX Virtual: Lunch Break Book Club
Online
Tampa Bay UX Group
Public group
12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Friday Board Game Night
Bridge Club
Tampa Gaming Guild
Public group
5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Singles Mixer for Dog Lovers ♥️
Mutts and Martinis
The Pinellas County Young “Professionals”
Public group
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Euchre Tourney
Clubhouse
Suncoast Euchre club
Public group
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
MTG: Commander FNM
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Public group
6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts | Casual EDH/MtG Social Night
Industrious
Nerd Night Out
Public group
6:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night | Look Cinemas USF
Studio Movie Grill Tampa
Nerdbrew Events
Public group
7:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
Friday Pokemon Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games
Public group
7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
Friday night game night
Indica Cafe Tampa Bay’s First & Greatest CBD Lounge
Indica Cafe Events
Public group
Friday, September 27, 2024 at 9:00 PM to Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 12:00 AM EDT
Return to the top of the list

Saturday, September 28

Event name and location Group Time
Coffee and Crypto
Chill Cawfee
Cawfee (Coffee) and conversations
Public group
8:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Play VINCI: The only known cure for TDS
Online
Central Florida Philosophy Meetup
Public group
8:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Machine Shop Milling 101 (Members Only)
Tampa Hackerspace
Tampa Hackerspace
Public group
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
September Study Group – Software Development
Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
Tampa Bay Techies
Public group
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Saturday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa
Whole Foods Market
Chess Republic
Public group
9:30 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Winning The Week – 1st Meet
Sage Biscuit Cafe
Winning The Week
Public group
12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
The Smartest Path to Your First 10K, with Print On Demand
Online
Orlando Amazon Sellers Meetup Group
Public group
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
FREE Fab Lab Orientation
Faulhaber Fab Lab
Suncoast Makers
Public group
1:30 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
PC Board Schematic and Layout
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group
Public group
1:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
D&D (5e) @ Black Harbor Gaming (FULL)
Black Harbor Gaming
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group
Public group
1:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Writers Meet-Up: Hang Out and Write
The Study Wine & Beer Lounge St. Pete
Prose Society Writers Group
Public group
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
How is Religion Being Used in Elections? How Does it Influence/Impact Elections?
Online
Tampa Bay Thinkers
Public group
4:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
Golf Group – Star Wars: Force & Destiny & One-Shots
Online
Oviedo Middle Aged Gamers (OMAG)
Public group
5:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Community Hang-out Night
Online
Nerdbrew Events
Public group
6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Attend SAT 9/28 at 6:30PM – Light Painting Photography Workshop – St.Petesburg
10th Ave NE Parking
The Art Of Photography – Tampa/St. Pete Chapter
Public group
6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games
Public group
7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Learn to Paint – Power Weapon effects!
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Public group
7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Tampa Nerd Online Hang-out & Game Night!
Online
Nerd Night Out
Public group
7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
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Sunday, September 29

Event name and location Group Time
CRITICAL THINKERS SUNDAY Meetup AT Sarasota Art Museum. Same day as Libby only 1
1001 S Tamiami Trail
Suncoast Critical Thinking Discussion Group
Public group
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Build a computer
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group
Public group
12:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Call of Cthulhu – Mystery Horror RPG (One Shot – Dead Man Stomp, re-run)
Black Harbor Gaming
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group
Public group
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
Fall of Huntress Narrative Event
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Public group
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Sunday Afternoon Trivia at Conworlds with Kim
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup
Public group
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Sunday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa
Whole Foods Market
Chess Republic
Public group
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League at Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!
Public group
2:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Pokémon TCG League Challenge – September 2024
Balance Martial Arts & Gaming
Balance Martial Arts and Gaming
Public group
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
September meet for Rebecca Yarrows Iron Flame
Online
Alice’s Fantasy Book Club ONLINE ONLY
Public group
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
Sunday Pokemon League
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games
Public group
4:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Lankhmar: City of Adventure
Nerdy Needs
Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group
Public group
5:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Sew Awesome! (Textile Arts & Crafts)
Tampa Hackerspace West
Tampa Hackerspace
Public group
5:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
A Duck Presents NB Movie Night
Discord.io/Nerdbrew
Nerd Night Out
Public group
7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
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About this list

How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.

In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.

What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:

  • Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
  • Tech project management / agile processes
  • Video, board, and role-playing games
  • Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
  • ️ Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
  • Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
  • Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
  • Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
  • Anything I deem geeky
Categories
Current Events Meetups Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events list (Monday, August 19 – Sunday, August 25, 2024)

Here’s what’s happening in the thriving tech scene in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for the week of Monday, August 19 through Sunday, August 25, 2024. This list includes both in-person and online events.

Note that each item in the list includes:

✅ When the event will take place

✅ What the event is

✅ Where the event will take place

✅ Who is holding the event

But first, a quick promo:

My YouTube channel on technology, Global Nerdy (same name as my blog) is just getting started! If you’re looking for interesting takes on technology, tech news, and software development, check out the channel and subscribe!

The latest video, How to maintain mental health during a layoff, talks about maintaining your mental health during a layoff. It explains why being laid off generally isn’t your fault, followed by tips and tricks for staying mentally healthy during this stressful time:

This week’s events

Monday, August 19

Event name and location Group Time
Business Networking Meeting
Online
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Intro to Mobile Videography (FREE for Hillsborough County residents)
TBCN Media Center
Tampa Bay Community Network 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Orlandopreneur Monthly Startup Happy Hour
Blue Martini Lounge
Orlandopreneur Startup Happy Hour: Connect, Learn & Grow! 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Monday Feast & Game Night
Village Inn
Tampa Bay Tabletoppers 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Arcs – with Leaders and Lore
Anson on Palmer Ranch
Sarasota Strategy Board Game League 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
MTG: Commander Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Monday Weekly Board Game Night! (Lazy Moon Colonial Location)
Lazy Moon Pizza
Board Game Meetup: Board Game Boxcar 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Casual Pokemon League at Nerdy Needs
Nerdy Needs
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Three Bridges Brewing Trivia Night with the Smartphone Trivia Game Show
Three bridges brewing
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
FREE Bar Poker at Gators Dockside Highland City
Gators Dockside -Highland City
Polk County Poker & Social Group 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Entrepreneur Book Club Weekly Meetup – Live Reading & Elaboration
Online
Business Owners and Professionals 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
[LIVE] Monster Learn-To-Trade: Daily Training
Online
[LIVE] Monster Learn-To-Trade Crypto 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Stirling Toastmasters Club #7461614 | Public Speaking & Leadership Development
Online
Toastmasters District 48 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Hidden Gems Night, Presented by A Duck!
Online
Nerdbrew Events 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Virtual Event: Hiawassee Book Club
Online
Library Book Clubs – OCLS 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Members as far back as 2008 can access their photos
none
School is closed- Light Study PRO – A Photography Workshop 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
ONLINE: Ajahn Chah: Training the Heart and Mind, Part 3
Online
Orlando Stoics 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Unleash Your Creativity: Spontaneous Writing Group
Online
Hosted By Tampa Bay Area Next Culture Network Meetup Group 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
DigiMondays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Weekly Meetup
Online
Beginning Web Development 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
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Tuesday, August 20

Tuesday, 10 – 11 a.m., online: Computer Coach presents Boost Your Career Journey with Confidence, a live webinar where you’ll discover how confidence can drive your perseverance and resilience in landing your dream job. Find out more and register here.

Event name and location Group Time
Venice Area Toastmasters Club #5486
Online
Toastmasters District 48 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
NPI St. Pete Business Builders Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
St Petersburg Yacht Club
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI) 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Boost Your Career Journey with Confidence
Online
Tech Success Network 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Boost Your Career Journey with Confidence
Online
Tampa Cybersecurity Training 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Boost Your Career Journey with Confidence
Online
Front End Creatives 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
SWAT Networking Bradenton Luncheon
Anna Maria Oyster Bar Landside
SWAT Networking – Successful Women Aligning Together 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Networking at Glory Days Grill
Glory Days Grill
Hosted By Tampa Bay Singles Activities Group 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM EDT
The Power of Stillness in the Algorithmic Age – Live! John Havens interviewed
Online
Tampa Bay Area Next Culture Network Meetup Group 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM EDT
Online | Zoom Networking with a Twist!
Anywhere You Want!
Women’s Prosperity Network | Baton Rouge Chapter 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM CDT
5 IGA essentials for modern enterprise security
Online
Orlando Cybersecurity Meetup 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
3-Hour AI Crash Course for Founders and Business Owners
Online
Network After Work Tampa – Networking Events 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
TBSSUG Monthly Meeting
1150 Assembly Dr suite 500
Tampa Bay Microsoft Fabric Analytics User Group (TFAB) 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Weekly Open Make Night
4931 W Nassau St
Tampa Hackerspace 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Disney Lorcana Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Magic: The Gathering Night at Felicitous
Felicitous (on 42nd)
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Meet & Greet at O’Keefe’s Family Restaurant
O’Keefe’s Family Restaurant
Florida Center for Creative Photography 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Authors Anonymous – Writing Group
Black Bean Deli
Authors Anonymous – Writing Group 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Pinellas Writers and Authors Weekly Meeting (Online/Zoom)
Online
Pinellas Writers Group 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Loner Seekers Euchre – Tampa
Gaspars Patio Bar & Grille
Loner Seekers Euchre – Tampa 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
August Saint Petersburg Meetup Book Club
pho ha tien
Saint Petersburg Book Club Meetup Group 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
The Sarasota Creative Writers
Sarasota Alliance Church
The Sarasota Creative Writers Meetup Group 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Dunedin Toastmasters – Guests Welcome! (Happy Hour to Follow)
Unity Community Church
Dunedin Toastmasters 2166 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
St. Pete Beers ‘n Board Games Meetup for Young Adults
Pinellas Ale Works Brewery
St. Pete Beers ‘n Board Games for Young Adults 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Trivia Night – Moose Lodge 2117 Smartphone Trivia Game Show
Moose Lodge
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Trivia Night with Trivia Nation
Irish 31 Pub House & Eatery
Trivia Night at Irish 31 Seminole 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Transcendent Tuesday (August 20, 2024)
Joybird Books
Page’s Edge Book Club 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Technology Center (TBTC) Monthly Meeting
2079 Range Rd
Tampa Bay Coalition of Reason is disbanded 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Boards & Bones
SpookEasy Lounge
Nerd Night Out 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Let’s play chess at 54th Ave Kava House!
2705 54th Ave N
TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group 7:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Nic At Nite – Weekly Movie Night
Online
Nerdbrew Events 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write on Zoom
Online
Shut Up & Write!® Tampa 7:45 PM to 9:15 PM EDT
ALIEN ROMULUS
AMC Sundial 20
Tampa Otaku 7:50 PM to 9:50 PM EDT
ALIENS ROMULUS
AMC Sundial
Anime and Nerds 7:50 PM to 9:50 PM EDT
Game Night!
Online
Tampa Game Nights – Meet new people over video chat! 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
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Wednesday, August 21

Wednesday, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at Computer Coach (Tampa): Tampa Bay User Experience presents UX Stories: Finding a UX Job, featuring a panel of local UXers who’ve recently landed a new UX-related job. You will get to listen to their stories about how they went about finding a job, the application and interview process, and if expectations have met reality since they’ve started working. Find out more and register here.

Wednesday, 7 – 9 p.m. at Armature Works (Tampa): It’s time for another Tampa Devs “Meet and Greet!” Join the gang — and it’s a big gang — at Tampa’s food hall and gathering place and meet your fellow developers, technologists, and geeks for food, drink, and socializing. Find out more and register here.

Event name and location Group Time
Networking at The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge!
The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Hosted By Tampa Bay Singles Activities Group 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
Grow Your Business with focused Referral Networking
Sons of Italy Lodge
BNI Tampa -Referral based networking 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
ALIGN AI EXECUTIVE SUMMIT NEW YORK CITY
Online
Gen AI Tampa 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM EDT
1 Million Cups – Orlando Weekly Meetup
UCF Executive Development Center Downtown
1 Million Cups – Orlando 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Career Transition & Job Seeker Networking & Support Meeting – In Person Meeting!
Corporate Center One
Career Rebound – New Job or Career Search for Professionals 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
7 best practices for effective log management
Online
Orlando Cybersecurity Meetup 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
NPI North St. Pete Networkers Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
Carrabas Italian Grill
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI) 11:30 AM to 12:45 PM EDT
No Fear Speaking Webinar and Meetup
Online
Tampa Fear of Public Speaking Meetup Group 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
Inspiring Authors & Book Immersion Meetup
Online
Lady Lake Memoir Writing Meetup Group 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
Wednesday Night Gaming
Nerdy Needs
Brandon Boardgamers 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Bay pines toastmaster’s hybrid meeting
C. W. Bill Young VA Medical Center
Bay Pines Toastmasters 5:15 PM to 6:30 PM EDT
Wednesday Board Game Night
Bridge Center
Tampa Gaming Guild 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Felicitous Game Night w/Heritage Dim Sum
Felicitous (on 42nd)
Tampa Game Nights 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
AI in Business – how companies are transforming their operations
Rosedale Golf & Country Club
AI Sarasota 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Digital DeLand Monthly Meeting
Abbey
DigitalDeLand 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Orlando ChatGPT Meetup
Emerson Plaza
Orlando ChatGPT Meetup 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Adult Dungeons & Dragons Wednesdays
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Backgammon Casual Games
The Sullivan Public House
Sanford Backgammon Group 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Board Game Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Great Big Trivia Wednesdays @ Terra Ceia Bay Country Club Palmetto 6-8PM
Terra Ceia Bay Country Club
South Florida Poker, Music & Entertainment Group 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Hobby Night – Minis Painting Tips & Tricks at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Critique Night (Get Feedback On Your Work!)
Station House
Prose Society Writers Group 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
UX Stories: Finding UX Jobs
Computer Coach Training Center
Tampa Bay UX Group 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Happy Hour for Young Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders
Bar Louie – Tampa
Young Entrepreneurs of America YEA Meetup Group 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Game Night!
Southern Lights Brewing Company
Drunk’n Meeples the Social Tabletop (Board) Gamers 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Virtual Feedback!
Online
We Write Here Black and Women of Color Writing Group 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Castaways Euchre Club
The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Hosted By Castaways Euchre Club 6:50 PM to 8:50 PM EDT
3D Printing Orientation: Models and Slicers
Online
Tampa Hackerspace 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
TDevs – Meet & Greet @ Armature Works
Armature Works
Tampa Devs 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
[Virtual] Tampa Bay Bitcoin Meetup: News, Markets, & Community
Online
Tampa Bay Bitcoin 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
CigarCitySec Meetup
Cigar City Brewing
Central Florida CitySec 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Carrollwood Toastmasters Meetings meet In-Person and Online
Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library
Toastmasters District 48 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Mastering Amazon Creator Connections & Brand Deals
1207 N Himes Ave suite 1
Tampa Bay Amazon Sellers Meetup 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Games & Grog @ The Grove SoHo!
Grove Soho
Nerdbrew Events 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Magic Pioneer Event
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
New Beginnings & Old Rivalries
Online
Central Florida AD&D (1st ed.) Grognards Guild 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Mastering Communication: A Key to Professional Success
Online
Professionals Meetup For Networking And Social Skillsets 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Games & Grog (Social Game Night in SoHo)
Grove Soho
Nerd Night Out 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
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Thursday, August 22

Thursday, 5 – 7 p.m. at the rooftop at Sage (Sarasota): Tampa Bay Infragard Members Alliance — a alliance of technologists and the FBI whose mission is to mitigate criminal and terrorist threats, risks and losses — is having their bi-monthly social event on the rooftop at Sage. Find out more and register here.

Event name and location Group Time
Business Over Breakfast ~ Happy Hangar IN PERSON JOIN US!
The Happy Hangar Café
Wesley Chapel, Trinity, New Tampa, Business Professionals 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
LUTZ, FL – HAPPY HANGER CAFE THURSDAY NETWORKING
The Happy Hangar Café
Hosted By Tampa Bay Singles Activities Group 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Professional Alliance – Local Networking Meeting
DUO58 Community Coffee Bar & Cafe
Professional Alliance – Local Networking Group 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
Automate user provisioning across any identity ecosystem
Online
Orlando Cybersecurity Meetup 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
NPI Power Lunch – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
Carrabas Italian Grill
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI) 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Lakewood Ranch RGANetwork Business Networking Lunch
Station 400
Bradenton/Sarasota Networking Meetings and Mixers 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
RGA’s Founders & Amplify Clearwater Partnership meeting ~ All Welcome, JOIN in.
Chili’s Grill & Bar
RGA Networking Professional Business Networking 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Sarasota Speakers Exchange Toastmasters
Online
Toastmasters District 48 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Downtown Tampa Toastmasters MeetUp
509 E Twiggs St 3rd floor
Downtown Tampa Toastmasters MeetUp 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Commander Open Play Night at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! 1:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write!® Your Life Story (on Zoom)
Online
Shut Up & Write!® St. Petersburg 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
Podfest Podtour Special One time Event of Video Podcasting Location!
Evotion Studios
Florida Podcasters Association 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
St. Pete Arthouse Cinema Club: 2024 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour
Green Light Cinema
St. Pete Arthouse Cinema Club 3:45 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Infragard – August MeetUp
Sage
Tampa Bay InfraGard Meetup Group 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Happy Hour & Headshots
227 Central Avenue
Suncoast Business Network 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Business Networking Expo
AdviniaCare at Paddock Ridge
Business Networking and Other Events 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Thursday Night Gaming
3407 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Brandon Boardgamers 5:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Central Florida Board Gaming at The Collective
The Collective: A Comic & Game Community
Orlando Board Gaming Weekly Meetup 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Gulfport Scrabble and Social
The Drunken Taco
Gulfport Scrabblers and Social 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
The Entrepreneur’s TRUE Networking Community – Ocala
Horse & Hounds Restaurant
The Entrepreneurs True Networking Community 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
August Happy Hour!!
Evie’s Tavern On Main
Business and Social Networking 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Tomb of Annihilation (T3-APL11)
Coliseum of Comics Kissimmee
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Technical SEO Fundamentals – Part 2
Online
Tampa SEO and Digital Marketing Meetup with Steve Scott 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Warhammer Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
The Fallen Lands
405 Mahogany Dr
Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group 6:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Nerdy Needs (Casual Thursday Commander Night)
Nerdy Needs
Hosted By Magic the Gathering Tampa/Brandon/St Pete 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Game Night at Conworlds Emporium
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Board game night!!!
Online
Summerfield Board and Card Games and Euchre 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
The Girl in the Wall – by Alex Sigmore
Barbara S. Ponce Public Library
Mystery and Thriller St Pete Book Club 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Board Game Night at Ivanhoe Park Lager House
Ivanhoe Park Lager House
Brews N Board Games 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Navigating Office Politics and Negotiation
AGILEST®
Florida Agile Innovators 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Fusion 360 Introduction
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Relaxed Social for Young Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders
Cres Community
Young Entrepreneurs of America YEA Meetup Group 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Chess night!
Online
Lakeland Chess Meetup Group 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Introverts do Trivia
Duffy’s Sports Grill
O-Town Introverts 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Tampa Writers Alliance Poetry Group
Barnes & Noble Carrollwood
Tampa Writers Alliance 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Creative Writing Critique Group
Panera
North Port Creative Writers 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
WordPress
Online
Tampa Bay Technology Center 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
3D Printing Guild
Tampa Hackerspace West
Tampa Hackerspace 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
How to Get Rid of Unwanted Thoughts and Emotions
Online
Communication Skills for Career Advancement Group 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
WordPress Monthly Meetup
Online
WordPress Clearwater FL 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament
Balance Martial Arts & Gaming
Balance Martial Arts and Gaming 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Dungeons and Dragons with Donavan
Unlucky Roll Cafe
Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Smartphone Trivia Game Show at Wilders Pizza
Wilder’s Pizza
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
One Piece Thursdays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Thursday chess at 54th Ave Kava House!
54th Ave Kava House
TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Live streaming production and talent
124 S Ring Ave
Live streaming production and talent 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Weekly Hacks
Online
Hacktivate – Hackathon Meetup Group 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Game Night!
Online
Tampa Game Nights – Meet new people over video chat! 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
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Friday, August 23

Event name and location Group Time
Improve your communication, listening, and leadership skills
Winter Park Community Center
Winter Park Toastmasters – Learn while having FUN! 7:15 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
FOURTH Friday WordPress Collaboration Meetup – August 2024
Axum Coffee
West Orlando WordPress Meetup 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
Caffeine & Connections: Friday Fuel for Black Professionals
Online
Pinellas County Black Business Meetup Group 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Aug 2024 Homebrew Hillsborough: Tampa Bay Economic Development Council
2nd Floor Conference Room
Homebrew Hillsborough 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM EDT
Tampa Young Professionals Virtual Networking Friday Morning All WElCOME
Online
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect! 8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT
Online Networking with Brandon Biz Pros
Online
Brandon Biz Pros 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Toastmasters – Improve Speaking Skills & Build Confidence
Online
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM EDT
A Purposeful Pivot to Cybersecurity
Online
Tech Success Network 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorm together
Online
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorming together 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
S Orlando/Dr Phillips: Join us for fun connection growth & networking too!
Orlando, Florida
Powerful Women Networking 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM EDT
Business Cards Exchange and Network
Rinehart
Innovantia Marketing Agency 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Music and Mindset
Chill Cawfee
Cawfee (Coffee) and conversations 5:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Friday Night Games!
Coliseum of Comics
East Orlando Board Gamers 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Friday Board Game Night
Bridge Club
Tampa Gaming Guild 5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Divergent Leadership – How to Lead from Within
The 5th Floor
Divergent U – Visionaries 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
MeGa Health Jam 2024
M2 Innovation / Former LeAD Sports & Health Accelerator Building
Indienomicon Friday, August 23, 2024 at 6:00 PM to Sunday, August 25, 2024 at 9:00 PM EDT
Euchre Tourney
Clubhouse
Suncoast Euchre club 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
MTG: Commander FNM
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts | Casual EDH/MtG Social Night
Industrious
Nerd Night Out 6:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
MakerFX Makerspace 3D Printing Guild
MakerFX Makerspace
MakerFX Makerspace 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night | Look Cinemas USF
Studio Movie Grill Tampa
Nerdbrew Events 7:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
3D Printing Hang Out
MakerFX Makerspace
3D Printing Orlando 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Horror Friends Movie Night – Strange Darling!!!
AMC Veterans 24
Horror Fan Fun Time Gang 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Friday Pokemon Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
✨Free Workshop | Mastering Storytelling in Video Games Fri, 23rd Aug 2024
Online
Orlando Unity Developers Group 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Every Friday–Dance Under the Stars @ The Pier
THE ST PETE PIER
Tampa Bay Singles Activities Group 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
High Notes & Elevated Vibes
16 W Pine St
High Spirits Cannabis Club Friday, August 23, 2024 at 9:00 PM to Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 1:00 AM EDT
Friday night game night
Indica Cafe Tampa Bay’s First & Greatest CBD Lounge
Indica Cafe Events Friday, August 23, 2024 at 9:00 PM to Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 12:00 AM EDT
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Saturday, August 24

Saturday, 9 a.m. – noon at Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea in Midtown (Tampa): It’s time for Tampa Bay Techies’ monthly study group at Joffrey’s in Midtown! As they describe it: “This is a space to socialize, show off your current projects, ask questions with others studying for similar topics, and enjoy a nice cup of coffee!” Find out more and register here.

Saturday, 7 – 8 p.m., online: Florida Software School presents Building a JSON API with Golang! Find out more and register here.

Event name and location Group Time
Coffee and Crypto
Chill Cawfee
Cawfee (Coffee) and conversations 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Early Bird Ocala
Marion County Literacy Council
Toastmasters Division G 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
Play VINCI: The only known cure for TDS
Online
Central Florida Philosophy Meetup 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
August Study Group + Student Meet and Greet
Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
Tampa Bay Techies 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Saturday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa
Whole Foods Market
Chess Republic 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Mises Club Tampa w/ Tho Bishop
Bitcoin Bay Foundation
Tampa Bay Bitcoin 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Wood Shop Lathe 101 (Members Only)
Tampa Hackerspace West
Tampa Hackerspace 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Orlando AI/ML Study Group
Online
Orlando Ai Ml Study Group 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Comic Con
The Tampa Bay Convention Center
Gen Geek 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT
Coffee, Donuts, and Behavior Science
All Units
Coffee, Donuts, and Behavior Science 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Craft Saturdays
The Writers Room
We Write Here Black and Women of Color Writing Group 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
NETWORKING SKILLS VIRTUAL WORKSHOP: Create More Connections & Opportunities
Online
Beast Mode Networking Orlando 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Bravo Group Campaign Continues
Online
Oviedo Middle Aged Gamers (OMAG) 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT
Winning The Week – 1st Meet
Sage Biscuit Cafe
Winning The Week 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Intro to Sewing
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Online | VIRTUAL Mastermind Experience: Connecting, Creating & Collaborating
Anywhere You Want!
Women’s Prosperity Network | Fort Lauderdale Chapter 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM EDT
Boost Your Business
50 SE 1st Ave
Ocala Business Development Meetup Group 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Twilight Imperium – with POK & Codex
Anson on Palmer Ranch
Sarasota Strategy Board Game League 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
OA Basics – Learning How to Buy Profitable Inventory from Home!
Online
Tampa Amazon Seller Meetup Group 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
HackCFL Meetup (Common Adversarial TTPs by Edwin)
Meta Humans Winter Park
Meta Humans Orlando Meetup Group 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
FREE Fab Lab Orientation
Faulhaber Fab Lab
Suncoast Makers 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
D&D (5e) @ Black Harbor Gaming
Black Harbor Gaming
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Y Read: Book Read Aloud
Dr. P. Phillips YMCA Family Center
Library Book Clubs – OCLS 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
Painting Get Together
Coliseum of Comics Clermont
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
“Sushi & Sumo Battle” in Tampa
Armature Works
Tampa Japanese Meetup 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
How To Make £5k+ Per Month From Social Media Using AI and Automation
Online
Orlando – Digital Nerd Entrepreneurs 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM EDT
Alien: Romulus @ AMC Veterans 24 – IMAX WITH LASER
AMC Veterans 24 Theaters
The Tampa Bay Movie Fans Meetup Group 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Where August Go Game Night
IHOP
New Port Richey Casual Games and Fun Socializing Group! 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Saturday Board Game Night at The Collective
520 W State Rd 436
Orlando Board Gaming Weekly Meetup 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Community Hang-out Night
Online
Nerdbrew Events 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Sushi & Sumo at Armature Works!
Armature Works
Geekocracy! 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Building a JSON API with Golang
Online
Florida Software School 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament
Balance Martial Arts & Gaming
Balance Martial Arts and Gaming 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Tampa Nerd Online Hang-out & Game Night!
Online
Nerd Night Out 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
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Sunday, August 25

Event name and location Group Time
CRITICAL THINKERS SUNDAY Meetup AT Sarasota Art Museum
1001 S Tamiami Trail
Suncoast Critical Thinking Discussion Group 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Thaliondor Practice Day!
Brick City Adventure Park
Thaliondor: Fantasy and Medieval Combat 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM EDT
4th Sunday Board Games at Unrefined Brewing
Unrefined Brewing
Beyond Catan, A Group of Board Game Geeks 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
Venice Strategy Board Gamers
Venice
Board Games and Card Games in Sarasota & Bradenton 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Monthly Gaming at the DELAND Library!
DeLand Regional Library
Board Gamers of West Volusia 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM EDT
4TH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH BOARDGAMING AT NERDY NEEDS
Nerdy Needs
Brandon Boardgamers 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
CNC Router-Engraved-Milling
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League at Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more! 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Disney Trivia with Kim!
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Sunday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa
Whole Foods Market
Chess Republic 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games 2:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
New Players Night: Layton Gaming – Tier 1 (Various DMs)
Layton Gaming
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
Silent Clowns(1917-1929) With live organ music @ Tampa Theater
The Tampa Theatre
The Tampa Bay Movie Fans Meetup Group 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Laser certification
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group 2:05 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
Traveller – Science Fiction Adventure RPG
Black Harbor Gaming
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
Sunday Pokemon League
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Lankhmar: City of Adventure
Nerdy Needs
Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Alphabet Soup 2024 | Finding Letters in the World Around Us
Online
Florida Center for Creative Photography Sunday, August 25, 2024 at 5:00 PM to Sunday, September 8, 2024 at 5:00 PM EDT
Let’s Learn to Turn Pens!
Tampa Hackerspace West
Tampa Hackerspace 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Find Your Funny Toastmasters
Online
Toastmasters Division E 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
A Duck Presents NB Movie Night
Discord.io/Nerdbrew
Nerd Night Out 7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
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About this list

How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.

In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.

What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:

  • Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
  • Tech project management / agile processes
  • Video, board, and role-playing games
  • Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
  • ️ Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
  • Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
  • Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
  • Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
  • Anything I deem geeky
Categories
Current Events Meetups Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events list (Week of Monday, May 13, 2024)

Here’s the “official unofficial” list of tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events for Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for Monday, May 13 through Sunday, May 19, 2024.

This week’s events

Monday, May 13

Event name and locationGroupTime
Grow your business networking event
Rinehart
Innovantia Marketing Agency9:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
In person at Fords Garage St Pete
Ford’s Garage St. Pete
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Networking at Ford’s Garage
Ford’s Garage
Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Downtown St Pete Business Professionals Lunch
Ford’s Garage St. Pete
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Start the Week with more connections MONDAYS at Romi’s Tacos All Welcome!
Romi’s Tacos
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
In PERSON Networking Lunch East Brandon Reserve your seat
Romi’s Tacos
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Networking at Romi’s Tacos
Romi’s Tacos
Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Monday Business Introductions at Romi’s Taco’s
Romi’s Tacos
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Business Networking Meeting
Online
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay11:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
5-Day Challenge
Online
Fortune Homes Team (Orlando, FL)Monday, May 13, 2024 at 12:00 PM to Friday, May 17, 2024 at 12:45 PM EDT
Sylvia France: Maturing within Narratives
Station 2 Innovation Center
Entrepreneurs & Startups – Bradenton Networking & Education5:30 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Line Dancing class FREE
Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center
Real Women of East Hillsborough5:30 PM to 6:30 PM EDT
MTG: Commander Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Casual Pokemon League at Nerdy Needs
Nerdy Needs
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Monday Weekly Board Game Night! (Lazy Moon Colonial Location)
Lazy Moon Pizza
Board Game Meetup: Board Game Boxcar6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Terraforming Mars – with Venus Expansion
Anson on Palmer Ranch
Sarasota Strategy Board Game League6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Monday Feast & Game Night
Village Inn
Tampa Bay Tabletoppers6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Happily Ever After Lesbian Book Club Inaugural Meeting
Stardust Video & Coffee
Happy Ever After Lesbian Romance Book Club6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Let’s play spades
Miller’s Ale House – Waterford Lakes
Orlando Spades Meetup Group6:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Three Bridges Brewing Trivia Night with the Smartphone Trivia Game Show
Three bridges brewing
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Sunset Yoga & Food Hall on Cleveland
Online
Hosted By ► Tampa Bay Young Professionals GroupMonday, May 13, 2024 at 6:30 PM to Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 9:30 PM EDT
MONDAY DOG BAR TRIVIA TEAM
The Dog Bar
The Pinellas County Young “Professionals”6:45 PM to 8:45 PM EDT
SteamCloud Walkthrough with Furio – Hack The Box Tampa Meetup
Online
Hosted By Hack The Box Meetup: Tampa, FL7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Entrepreneur Book Club Weekly Meetup – Live Reading & Elaboration
Online
Business Owners and Professionals7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Stirling Toastmasters Club #7461614 | Public Speaking & Leadership Development
Online
Toastmasters District 487:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Hidden Gems Night, Presented by A Duck!
Online
Nerdbrew Events7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
World Tavern Poker at Cheshire’s Hilltop Tavern
503 N Dixie Ave
Southern Florida Bar Poker Fans!7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Members as far back as 2008 can access their photos
none
School is closed- Light Study PRO – A Photography Workshop7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
ONLINE: Why Business Leaders Look to Stoicism
Online
Orlando Stoics7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
DigiMondays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Weekly Meetup
Online
Beginning Web Development8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
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Tuesday, May 14

Event name and locationGroupTime
May Membership Meeting (Open to Anyone)
3030 N Rocky Point Dr
Tampa Bay InfraGard Meetup Group9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Career Accelerator Workshop – Sourcing Job Leads
Online
Career Success Academy10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Jog & Calisthenics
Park of the Americas
Orlando Night Shift Third Shift Workers10:00 AM to 11:30 AM EDT
Westchase Business Networking Lunch ~ All Welcome JOIN us and connect!
SeaGlass Tavern
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Oldsamar/Westchase Professional Business Networking Lunch ~ All Welcome
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Professional Business Networking Lunch Glory Day’s New Tampa
Glory Days Grill
Pasco County Young Entrepreneurs/Business Owners All Welcome11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Oldsmar/Westchase Networking Lunch -Beef O Brady’s~ Meet your next referral
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
The Business Networking Midday Power Hour by Simply Referrals on Zoom!!
Online
Simply Referrals Tampa Business Networking12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
May 2024 SRQ Software Devs Lunch
Online
Hosted By Sarasota Software Developers12:30 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
✨Virtual Games Workshop: World-Building for Games ⏰ May 14th, 1 PM EST
Online
Orlando Unity Developers Group1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
🟢 How To Turn Your Images Into Income – An Introduction To Stock Photography🔴
Online
Orlando Photography Community5:00 PM to 5:40 PM EDT
Pinellas Writers and Authors Weekly Meeting (Online/Zoom)
Online
Pinellas Writers Group6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Authors Anonymous – Writing Group
Maya Cafe Lounge & Gallery
Authors Anonymous – Writing Group6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Rug making class!
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Guest Speaker Seminar for Young Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders
Cres Community
Young Entrepreneurs of America YEA Meetup Group6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Learn About Podcasting and How to Monetize Your Interest!
IHOP
Tampa eMarketing Groups6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Florida Podcasters Association General Meeting!!!
IHOP
Florida Podcasters Association6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
May 2024 Book Club Meeting
250 Shore Dr E
Oldsmar Reads Between The Lines6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Weekday Writing Get Down
The Writers Room
We Write Here Black and Women of Color Writing Group6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
The Sarasota Creative Writers
Sarasota Alliance Church
The Sarasota Creative Writers Meetup Group6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
[Hybrid] Workshop: Facilitating a Usability Test
StarterStudio
DOUX — Downtown Orlando UX Meetup7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Pizza Python
The Corner Pizza Bar
The Orlando Python User Group7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Woodshop Safety (Members Only)
Tampa Hackerspace West
Tampa Hackerspace7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Learn How to Improve Your Photography
Online
The Art Of Photography – Tampa/St. Pete Chapter7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Let’s Meetup and Discuss “The Watchers” by A.M. Shine
Yard House
Central Florida Books and Brews7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
AMA – Ask Me Anything Related to Photography, Computers and Software
O’Keefe’s Family Restaurant
Florida Center for Creative Photography7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF APES $6 Movies
AMC Sundial
Anime N’ Nerds7:45 PM to 9:45 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write on Zoom
Online
Shut Up & Write!® Tampa7:45 PM to 9:15 PM EDT
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Wednesday, May 15

Event name and locationGroupTime
Grow Your Business with focused Referral Networking
Sons of Italy Lodge
BNI Tampa -Referral based networking7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Downtown St Pete Professionals Networking Breakfast
The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
St Pete Networking Breakfast at the Hangar Meet St Pete’s Top Pro’s All Weclcome
The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
DOWNTOWN ST PETE YOUNG NETWORKING PROFESSIONALS BREAKFAST AT THE HANGAR!
The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
NPI St. Pete Sunrise Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
St Petersburg Yacht Club
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
1 Million Cups – Orlando Weekly Meetup
UCF Business Incubation Program – Orlando
1 Million Cups – Orlando8:30 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Career Transition & Job Seeker Networking & Support Meeting – In Person Meeting!
Corporate Center One
Career Rebound – New Job or Career Search for Professionals9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Craig Park in Tarpon Springs (Start Time 9:30)
Craig Park
Suncoast Drone Club9:30 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Building Trust Ecosystems Powered by Verifiable Credentials
Online
Hyperledger Tampa10:00 AM to 11:30 AM EDT
Off Week Get Together
Online
Carrollwood/Northdale Weekday Games and More11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT
Brandon Networking Professionals Networking Lunch
Just Love Coffee Cafe – Brandon FL
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Networking at Glory Days Grill!
Glory Days Grill
Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:30 AM to 1:30 PM EDT
The $100K Website Free Marketing Masterclass
Online
Network After Work Tampa – Networking Events1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write!® Your Life Story (on Zoom)
Online
Shut Up & Write!® St. Petersburg1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
No Fear Speaking Webinar and Meetup
Online
Tampa Fear of Public Speaking Meetup Group2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
Inspiring Authors & Book Immersion Meetup
Online
Lady Lake Memoir Writing Meetup Group2:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
Play the Classics at Meeple Movers Board Game Cafe
3101 SW 34th Ave
Meeple Movers Gaming Group3:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Playing Games in the Alley
The Alley at Southshore
The Tampa Chapter of the Society for the Exploration of Play5:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
Wednesday Night Gaming
Nerdy Needs
Brandon Boardgamers5:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Bay pines toastmaster’s hybrid meeting
C. W. Bill Young VA Medical Center
Bay Pines Toastmasters5:15 PM to 6:30 PM EDT
Felicitous Game Night w/Heritage Dim Sum
Felicitous (on 42nd)
Tampa Game Nights5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Wednesday Board Game Night
Bridge Center
Tampa Gaming Guild5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
AI Superpowers Unlocked (Masterminds Tampa Bay event)
Online
Tampa Bay Artificial Intelligence Meetup6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Digital DeLand Monthly Meeting
Abbey
DigitalDeLand6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
AI Superpowers Unlocked: An Expert Panel
Online
Masterminds Tampa Bay6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Dungeons & Dragons One Shot Wednesdays
Happy Troll Games
Clermont Nerd Games6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Great Big Trivia Wednesdays @ Terra Ceia Bay Country Club Palmetto 6-8PM
Terra Ceia Bay Country Club
South Florida Poker, Music & Entertainment Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Backgammon Casual Games
The Basin Sanford
Sanford Backgammon Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Hobby Night – Minis Painting Tips & Tricks at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Critique Night (Get Feedback On Your Work!)
Station House
Prose Society Writers Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
🥁… It’s World Product Day ! 🎉
Serendipity Labs Private Offices & Coworking
ProductTank Orlando6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
UX Stories: Design Systems
Radius Church
Tampa Bay UX Group6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Happy Hour for Young Entrepreneurs & Business Leaders
Bar Louie – Tampa
Young Entrepreneurs of America YEA Meetup Group6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Game Night!
Southern Lights Brewing Company
Drunk’n Meeples the Social Tabletop (Board) Gamers6:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Virtual Feedback!
Online
We Write Here Black and Women of Color Writing Group6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Castaways Euchre Club
The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Castaways Euchre Club6:50 PM to 8:50 PM EDT
3D Printing Orientation: Models and Slicers
Online
Tampa Hackerspace7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
CigarCitySec Meetup
Cigar City Brewing
Central Florida CitySec7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
[Virtual] Tampa Bay Bitcoin Meetup: News, Markets, & Community
Online
Tampa Bay Bitcoin7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
New Beginnings & Old Rivalries
Online
Central Florida AD&D (1st ed.) Grognards Guild7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
🌐 Presentation WED 5/15 at 7 pm: A Guide to More Creative Photography
Online
The Art Of Photography – Sarasota / Venice7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Mastering Communication: A Key to Professional Success
Online
Professionals Meetup For Networking And Social Skillsets7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Cardfight Vanguard!! OverDress Weekly
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
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Thursday, May 16

Event name and locationGroupTime
Happy Hangar Early Bird Professionals Networking
The Happy Hangar Café
Pasco County Young Entrepreneurs/Business Owners All Welcome7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Wesley Chapel/Lutz networking breakfast
The Happy Hangar Café
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Hyperledger Career Fair: Meet With Companies Who Are Hiring
Online
Hyperledger Tampa11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Clearwater Professional Networking Lunch
The Breakroom Bar & Grill
Business Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
The Founders Meeting where it all Began! JOIN us! Bring a guest and get a gift
The Breakroom Bar & Grill
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Clearwater/Central Pinellas Networking Lunch JOIN us and connect your business!
The Breakroom Bar & Grill
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Pinellas County’s Largest Networking Lunch and your invited!
The Breakroom Bar & Grill
Tampa Bay Business Networking Happy Hour/Meetings/Meet Up11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Wesley Chapel Professional Networking Lunch
Bahama Breeze
Wesley Chapel, Trinity, New Tampa, Business Professionals11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
NPI Power Lunch – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
Carrabas Italian Grill
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Sarasota Speakers Exchange Toastmasters
Online
Toastmasters District 4812:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
The Business Networking Midday Power Hour by Simply Referrals on Zoom!!
Online
Simply Referrals Tampa Business Networking12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Grand Bay Canasta
Online
Grand Bay Canasta Meetup Group1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
Commander Open Play Night at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!1:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
RPG: Pathfinder Society at Meeple Movers Board Game Cafe
Meeple Movers
Meeple Movers Role-Playing Games (RPG) Group2:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
The Tampa Vortex Event
AC Hotel by Marriott Tampa Airport
The Florida Professional Networking and Training Meetup Group4:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Thursday Night Gaming
3407 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Brandon Boardgamers5:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Gulfport Scrabble and Social
The Drunken Taco
Gulfport Scrabblers and Social5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
FCCP Weekly Photo Assignment 20: Glass
Online – Not an in person Meetup
Florida Center for Creative PhotographyThursday, May 16, 2024 at 5:00 PM to Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 5:00 PM EDT
Stress Free E2E and Component Testing with Cypress
Bank OZK Innovations Lab
Vue.js Tampa Bay5:30 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Tomb of Annihilation (T2-APL9)
Coliseum of Comics Kissimmee
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild5:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Google Cloud Social Networking Event
Del Frisco’s Grille
Tampa Bay Google Cloud User Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Karen Greene – Demystifying WordPress: An Overview of the Concepts & Ecosystem.
Online
West Orlando WordPress Meetup6:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Tampa SEO Meetup : Understanding Errors in Google Search Console
Online
Tampa SEO & Internet Marketing Meetup with Steve Scott6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Warhammer Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Mystara Campaign
405 Mahogany Dr
Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group6:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Central Florida Board Gaming at The Collective
The Collective: A Comic & Game Community
Orlando Board Gaming Weekly Meetup6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Adult Game Night at Conworlds Emporium
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
New Moon Sushi
New Moon Sushi
Adventure Group of Central Florida6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
3rd Thursday Opening Night at CityArts
CityArts
20s Social Group Clermont and Winter Garden6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
FaithTech Orlando May Meetup @ The Central FL Tech Grove
12809 Science Dr
Orlando Christian Technologists and Entrepreneurs6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Career PathFinder Workshop
AGILEST®
Florida Agile Innovators6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Basics Electronics Soldering
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group6:30 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Lean Beer for All Things Agile (Tampa)
Cigar City Brewing Spruce Street Brewery & Taproom
Tampa Bay Agile6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Chess night!
Intergalactic Plastic – Toys, Comics, Games
Lakeland Chess Meetup Group6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
BABOK IIBA Tampa Bay Study Group
Online
Hosted By IIBA Tampa Bay7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Assertiveness and Negotiations Skills
Online
Florida Agile Innovators7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
3D Printer Orientation: Printing at Tampa Hackerspace (THS Members only)
4935 W Nassau St
Tampa Hackerspace7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Dungeons and Dragons with Donavan
Unlucky Roll Cafe
Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Smartphone Trivia Game Show at Wilders Pizza
Wilder’s Pizza
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
FABulous Thursdays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Thursday chess at 54th Ave Kava House!
54th Ave Kava House
TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament
Balance Martial Arts & Gaming
Balance Martial Arts and Gaming7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Live streaming production and talent
124 S Ring Ave
Live streaming production and talent7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Weekly Hacks
Online
Hacktivate – Hackathon Meetup Group8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
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Friday, May 17

Event name and locationGroupTime
Improve your communication, listening, and leadership skills
Winter Park Community Center
Winter Park Toastmasters – Learn while having FUN!7:15 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Caffeine & Connections: Friday Fuel for Black Professionals
Online
Pinellas County Black Business Meetup Group8:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Tampa Young Professionals Virtual Networking Friday Morning All WElCOME
Online
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT
A.C.T. Acquire Connections Today Morning Business Networking All Welcome!
Online
Entrepreneurs & Business Owners of Sarasota & Bradenton8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT
A.C.T. Acquire Connections Today Morning Virtual Business Networking
Online
Network & Social – Orlando Networking Events8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT
Online Networking with Brandon Biz Pros
Online
Brandon Biz Pros9:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Toastmasters – Improve Speaking Skills & Build Confidence
Online
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay9:30 AM to 10:30 AM EDT
The Technical Edge: Essential Skills for Cybersecurity Beginners
Online
Front End Creatives10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorm together
Online
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorming together10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Tampa Florida CIO Leadership Forum
Bascom’s Chop House
Florida CIO Forums with vTECH io11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
International Networking at McAlisters Deli every Friday
McAlister’s Deli
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
International Networking at McAlisters Deli every Friday
McAlister’s Deli
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
International Networking Westshore McAlisters Deli
McAlister’s Deli
Tampa Bay Business Networking Happy Hour/Meetings/Meet Up11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Friday International Business Introductions at McAlisters Westshore
McAlister’s Deli
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
International Networking at McAlisters Deli every Friday
McAlister’s Deli
Business Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Westshore Business Networking Lunch at McAlisters Deli Every Friday All Welcome
McAlister’s Deli
Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
International Professionals Networking Meeting
McAlister’s Deli
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
How to invest in yourself with AWS learning resources | Olga Svyrydenko
Online
Orlando Power BI User Group12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Board Game Night!
Happy Troll Games
Clermont Nerd Games5:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Friday Board Game Night
Bridge Club
Tampa Gaming Guild5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Join us to Play River Dragons at Meeple Movers Board Game Cafe
3101 SW 34th Ave
Meeple Movers Gaming Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
MTG: Commander FNM
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Commander Night
Critical Hit Games
Hosted By Magic the Gathering Tampa/Brandon/St Pete6:00 PM to 11:59 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts | Casual EDH/MtG Social Night
Industrious
Nerd Night Out6:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
Friday Happy Hour at Blue Martini
Blue Martini Lounge Pointe Orlando
Lit Orlando6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
MakerFX Makerspace Woodshop Guild
MakerFX Makerspace
MakerFX Makerspace7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Friday Night Gaming in Lake Helen @ Gem Station!
The Gem Station
Board Gamers of West Volusia7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night | Centro Ybor
Big Storm Brewing Tap Room – Tampa
Nerdbrew Events7:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
Karaoke Night at Conworlds Emporium
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Nihongo De Okay
Tsaocaa Tampa 朝茶
Tampa Japanese Meetup7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
IN-PERSON: “Stoicism and the Art of Happiness” (Chapter 8)
Jason’s Deli
Tampa Stoics7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Horror Friends Movie Night – The Strangers Ch 1!!!
AMC Veterans 24
Horror Fan Fun Time Gang7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Friday Pokemon Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
Friendly & Rude Game Night
Online
Friendly & Rude Game Group8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Solana Hackathon WorkGroup
1205 N Franklin St
Solana Tampa8:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Friday night game night
🌱Indica Cafe 💨 Tampa Bay’s First & Greatest CBD Lounge
Indica Cafe EventsFriday, May 17, 2024 at 9:00 PM to Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 12:00 AM EDT
Monthly Cell Phone Photo Showcase
Online
Florida Center for Creative PhotographyFriday, May 17, 2024 at 11:59 PM to Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 12:01 AM EDT
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Saturday, May 18

Event name and locationGroupTime
Coffee and Crypto
Chill Cawfee
Cawfee (Coffee) and conversations8:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Early Bird Ocala
Marion County Literacy Council
Toastmasters Division G8:00 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
Play VINCI: The only known cure for TDS
Online
Central Florida Philosophy Meetup8:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
May Study Group- Security+/ Cybersecurity
Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company
Tampa Bay Techies9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Saturday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa
Whole Foods Market
Chess Republic9:30 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
The Possible Future POWER HOUR!
Online
Entrepreneur’s Guild: Growing Your Business10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader Tournament (RTT/ITC)
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games10:00 AM to 8:00 PM EDT
Mises Club Meetup with Liberty Villages
Bitcoin Bay Foundation
Tampa Bay Bitcoin10:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Bravo Group Campaign Continues
Online
Oviedo Middle Aged Gamers (OMAG)11:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT
Dungeons & Dragons for Teens Saturdays
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT
The Dangers of AI in Publishing
Online
Aspiring Writers Publishing and Marketing11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Winning The Week – 1st Meet
Sage Biscuit Cafe
Winning The Week12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Saturday DND
Warforged Tabletop Games
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group12:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
JOIN our Facebook Group, LIKE our Fan Page and Invite your Friends
Online
Florida Center for Creative Photography12:00 PM to 12:15 PM EDT
Table read screenplays
Safety Harbor Public Library
Screenwriters of Tomorrow/Today, Critique Meetup12:30 PM to 4:30 PM EDT
Basics Electronics Soldering
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
May Book Club
Pierogi Grill
Tampa Bay Women’s Book Club Meetup Group1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
FREE Fab Lab Orientation
Faulhaber Fab Lab
Suncoast Makers1:30 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
Y Read: Book Read Aloud
Dr. P. Phillips YMCA Family Center
Library Book Clubs – OCLS1:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
Yarrow’s Iron Flame 15-20
Online
Alice’s Fantasy Book Club ONLINE ONLY1:30 PM to 2:10 PM EDT
Lessons in Robotics: Lesson 1, What is ROS?
Online
Orlando Bot Squad (Robotics)2:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
Radiant Citadel Adventures
Coliseum of Comics Clermont
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild2:00 PM to 6:30 PM EDT
Board Game Swap at Conworlds
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
The Socrates Café (Philosophy)
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
Clearwater Socrates Café2:00 PM to 3:15 PM EDT
Over the Board Chess Meetup in Tampa!
Blind Tiger Cafe
Climbers of Mount Chesseverest2:10 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
10 mistakes most entrepreneurs make networking event
600 Rinehart Rd suite 3080
Innovantia Marketing Agency3:00 PM to 4:30 PM EDT
Some People Need Killing by Patricia Evangelista – Time’s #1 Nonfiction Book
New World Tampa
Tampa Book Club – Award-Winning Books3:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
Game Project Therapy (Virtual)
Online
Tampa Games Developer Guild4:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
Board Game Saturday Night at Meeple Movers Board Game Cafe
3101 SW 34th Ave
Meeple Movers Gaming Group5:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Dice Throne Ranked Tournament
Unlucky Roll Cafe
Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup5:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Mid May Game Night! Wahoo!!
IHOP
New Port Richey Casual Games and Fun Socializing Group!5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Community Hang-out Night
Online
Nerdbrew Events6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Tampa Hackerspace Board Game Night and Potluck
Tampa Hackerspace West
Tampa Hackerspace6:30 PM to 11:59 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament
Balance Martial Arts & Gaming
Balance Martial Arts and Gaming7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Tampa Nerd Online Hang-out & Game Night!
Online
Nerd Night Out7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
Group Outing Classic- Arcade!
Arcade Monsters Oviedo
Gaming.net8:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
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Sunday, May 19

Event name and locationGroupTime
🌐 SUN 5/19 at 10 AM ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY CRITIQUE PROGRAM
Online
The Art Of Photography – Tampa/St. Pete Chapter10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
CRITICAL THINKERS SUNDAY Meetup AT Sarasota Art Museum
1001 S Tamiami Trail
Suncoast Critical Thinking Discussion Group10:10 AM to 12:10 PM EDT
Warhammer 40K
Happy Troll Games
Clermont Nerd Games11:00 AM to 7:00 PM EDT
Thaliondor Practice Day!
Brick City Adventure Park
Thaliondor: Fantasy and Medieval Combat11:00 AM to 4:00 PM EDT
Jane Austen Biography Discussion
Financier Bistro & Bar a Vin
The Jane Austen Book Club11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Introverts Get Butterflies
Lukas Nursery & Butterfly Encounter
O-Town Introverts11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT
Women Techmakers & Mental Health Awareness Month Event- SAVE THE DATE
Online
Google Women Techmakers Florida12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Laser class 3 – Fiber Laser & practice
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Venice Strategy Board Gamers
Venice
Board Games and Card Games in Sarasota & Bradenton12:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Steel MIG Welding Safety and Basic Usage (Members Only)
Tampa Hackerspace
Tampa Hackerspace1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Sunday Gaming
Tampa Bay Bridge Center
Tampa Gaming Guild1:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Large format printing
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group1:30 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
Meet and Chat, Practice Some French
DECOSMO ITALIAN MARKET
French Club of Saint Petersburg1:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games2:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Beyond the Golden Vault (tier 3, lvl 14 preferred)
Campus Cards and Games
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
Sunday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa
Whole Foods Market
Chess Republic2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League at Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!2:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Direct to Film Digital Printing
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group2:30 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Traveller – Science Fiction Adventure RPG
Black Harbor Gaming
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group3:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
Sunday Game Day
Dented Keg Ale Works
Drunk’n Meeples West Pasco (Boardgames)3:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Empowering Kids Online: Family + Media Safety
Online
Strategic Technologies Empowering Companies4:00 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Sunday Pokemon League
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games4:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Lankhmar: City of Adventure
1103 Fredrick Ln
Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group5:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Alphabet Soup 2024 | Finding Letters in the World Around Us
Online
Florida Center for Creative PhotographySunday, May 19, 2024 at 5:00 PM to Sunday, June 2, 2024 at 5:00 PM EDT
Open Game Night
Unlucky Roll Cafe
Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Business Seminar
50 SE 1st Ave
Ocala Business Development Meetup Group6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Games & Grog @ The Grove SoHo!
Grove Soho
Nerdbrew Events7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
A Duck Presents NB Movie Night
Discord.io/Nerdbrew
Nerd Night Out7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
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About this list

How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.

In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.

What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:

  • Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
  • Tech project management / agile processes
  • Video, board, and role-playing games
  • Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
  • Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
  • Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
  • Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
  • Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
  • Anything I deem geeky
Categories
Current Events Meetups Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events list (Week of Monday, April 1, 2024)

Here’s the “official unofficial” list of tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events for Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for Monday, April 1 through Sunday, April 7, 2024. That’s right — this week starts with April Fools’ Day!

This week’s events

Monday, April 1

Event name and locationGroupTime
Downtown St Pete Business Professionals Lunch
Ford’s Garage St. Pete
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Networking at Ford’s Garage
Ford’s Garage
Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Start the Week with more connections MONDAYS at Romi’s Tacos All Welcome!
Romi’s Tacos
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
In PERSON Networking Lunch East Brandon Reserve your seat
Romi’s Tacos
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Monday Business Introductions at Romi’s Taco’s
Romi’s Tacos
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Business Networking Meeting
Online
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay11:30 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Monday Feast & Game Night
Village Inn
Tampa Bay Tabletoppers6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
MTG: Commander Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Blood Rage w/Promo Monsters
Anson on Palmer Ranch
Sarasota Strategy Board Game League6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Monday Weekly Board Game Night! (Lazy Moon Colonial Location)
Lazy Moon Pizza
Board Game Meetup: Board Game Boxcar6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Three Bridges Brewing Trivia Night with the Smartphone Trivia Game Show
Three bridges brewing
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Stirling Toastmasters Club #7461614
Online
Toastmasters District 487:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Board Game Night at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Color Balance, Kelvin Temperature & How To Manage Different Light In Photography
Online
Beginner Hobby and Amateur Photographers Of Tampa St Pete7:00 PM to 7:40 PM EDT
Members as far back as 2008 can access their photos
none
School is closed- Light Study PRO – A Photography Workshop7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
ONLINE: David Hume’s Skepticism
Online
Orlando Stoics7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Anxious People by Fredrick Backman
Tampa Wine Room
Chan’s Book Club of Tampa Bay7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write!® Your Life Story (on Zoom)
Online
Shut Up & Write!® St. Petersburg7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
DigiMondays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Weekly Meetup
Online
Beginning Web Development8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
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Tuesday, April 2

Event name and locationGroupTime
Venice Area Toastmasters Club #5486
Online
Toastmasters District 487:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
NPI St. Pete Business Builders Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
St Petersburg Yacht Club
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Level Up Your LinkedIn
Online
Tech Success Network10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Tuesday Westchase Business Networking Lunch at Sea Glass Tavern
SeaGlass Tavern
Business Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Oldsamar/Westchase Professional Business Networking Lunch ~ All Welcome
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Westchase Business Networking Lunch ~ All Welcome JOIN us and connect!
SeaGlass Tavern
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Networking at Glory Days Grill
Glory Days Grill
Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:30 AM to 1:30 PM EDT
New Tampa RGA Chapter ~ Glory Days Meet your next referral partner!
Glory Days Grill
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Oldsmar/Westchase Networking Lunch -Beef O Brady’s~ Meet your next referral
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
New Tampa Networking Lunch at Glory Day’s Grill New Tampa
Glory Days Grill
Wesley Chapel, Trinity, New Tampa, Business Professionals11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Professional Business Networking Lunch Glory Day’s New Tampa
Glory Days Grill
Pasco County Young Entrepreneurs/Business Owners All Welcome11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
The Business Alliance Club
763 Cortaro Dr
The Business Alliance11:45 AM to 1:15 PM EDT
April 2024 SRQ Software Devs Lunch
Online
Hosted By Sarasota Software Developers12:30 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Chess club Tuesdays
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup4:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
AI Implementational Blueprint + Networking
Green Bench Brewing Company
St Pete AI6:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Weekly Open Make Night
4931 W Nassau St
Tampa Hackerspace6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Disney Lorcana Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Meet & Greet at O’Keefe’s Family Restaurant
O’Keefe’s Family Restaurant
Florida Center for Creative Photography6:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Authors Anonymous – Writing Group
Maya Cafe Lounge & Gallery
Authors Anonymous – Writing Group6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Weekly Tuesday Evening Online Zoom Meeting
Online
Pinellas Writers Group6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Monthly meeting
Christ Lutheran Church LCMS
Brooksville Book Writing Meetup Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Loner Seekers Euchre – Tampa
Gaspars Patio Bar & Grille
Loner Seekers Euchre – Tampa6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Trivia at Gangchu Chicken & Beer
Gangchu Chicken & Beer – Korean Restaurant
Geekocracy!6:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
The Sarasota Creative Writers
Sarasota Alliance Church
The Sarasota Creative Writers Meetup Group6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
MakerFX Makerspace 3D Printing Basics
MakerFX Makerspace
MakerFX Makerspace7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Dunedin Toastmasters – Guests Welcome! (Happy Hour to Follow)
Unity Community Church
Dunedin Toastmasters 21667:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Trivia Night with Trivia Nation
Irish 31 Pub House & Eatery
Trivia Night at Irish 31 Seminole7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
St. Pete Beers ‘n Board Games Meetup for Young Adults
Pinellas Ale Works Brewery
St. Pete Beers ‘n Board Games for Young Adults7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Boards & Bones
SpookEasy Lounge
Nerdbrew Events7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Trivia Night – Moose Lodge 2117 Smartphone Trivia Game Show
Moose Lodge
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
👋Camera Settings For Portrait Photography- Exposure, Light Meter, Color Balance
Online
Beginner Hobby and Amateur Photographers Of Tampa St Pete7:00 PM to 7:40 PM EDT
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
AMC Sundial
Anime N’ Nerds7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Transcendent Tuesday (April 2, 2024)
Joybird Books
Page’s Edge Book Club7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Civic Literacy and Saving American Democracy @ Perkins
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
Suncoast Critical Thinking Discussion Group7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Let’s play chess at 54th Ave Kava House!
2705 54th Ave N
TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group7:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write on Zoom
Online
Shut Up & Write!® Tampa7:45 PM to 9:15 PM EDT
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Wednesday, April 3

Event name and locationGroupTime
DOWNTOWN ST PETE YOUNG NETWORKING PROFESSIONALS BREAKFAST AT THE HANGAR!
The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
NPI Profit Partners Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
Panera Bread
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Networking at The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge!
The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Tampa Bay Networking and Events7:30 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
Grow Your Business with focused Referral Networking
Sons of Italy Lodge
BNI Tampa -Referral based networking7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
St Pete Networking Breakfast at the Hangar Meet St Pete’s Top Pro’s All Weclcome
The Hangar Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
1 Million Cups – Orlando Weekly Meetup
UCF Business Incubation Program – Orlando
1 Million Cups – Orlando8:30 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Off Week Get Together
Online
Carrollwood/Northdale Weekday Games and More11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT
Brandon Business Professionals IN Person!!!!
Just Love Coffee Cafe – Brandon FL
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Sun City Center Professional Business Networking Lunch ~ All Welcome
Keke’s Breakfast Café
Business Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Carrollwood Professional Networking Lunch Wednesday All Welcome JOIN us
Glory Days Grill
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Business Networking Lunch
Rusty Bucket Restaurant and Tavern
Bradenton/Sarasota Networking Meetings and Mixers11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Online Event: Shut Up & Write!® Your Life Story (on Zoom)
Online
Shut Up & Write!® St. Petersburg1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
Wednesday Night Gaming
Nerdy Needs
Brandon Boardgamers5:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Bay pines toastmaster’s hybrid meeting
C. W. Bill Young VA Medical Center
Bay Pines Toastmasters5:15 PM to 6:30 PM EDT
Wednesday Board Game Night
Bridge Center
Tampa Gaming Guild5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Felicitous Game Night w/Heritage Dim Sum
Felicitous (on 42nd)
Tampa Game Nights5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Authors Anonymous presents Writing Workshop
Maitland Public Library
Authors Anonymous – Writing Group5:45 PM to 8:15 PM EDT
Critical Hit Games: Board Game Night
Critical Hit Games
The Tampa Chapter of the Society for the Exploration of Play6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Dungeons & Dragons One Shot Wednesdays
Happy Troll Games
Clermont Nerd Games6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
1st & 3rd Wednesdays – Backgammon Casual Games
The Basin Sanford
Sanford Backgammon Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Board Game Night
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Trivia Night at Meeple Movers Board Game Cafe
3101 SW 34th Ave
Meeple Movers Gaming Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Great Big Trivia Wednesdays @ Terra Ceia Bay Country Club Palmetto 6-8PM
Terra Ceia Bay Country Club
South Florida Poker, Music & Entertainment Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Board Game Night at Deadwords Brewing
23 N Orange Blossom Trail
Brews N Board Games6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Interactive Trivia Wednesday at Bullfrog Creek Brewing Company
Bullfrog Creek Brewing Co.
Fun with Friends in Tampa Bay6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Our First Book Club Event: Save the Cat! Writes a Novel
Station House
Prose Society Writers Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Blockchain and Crypto Investors and Enthusiasts
2340 Central Ave
Web3Collab St. Petersburg6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Advance Resin 3D Printing
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group6:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Blockchain Investors and Enthusiasts
Grand Central Brewhouse
Blockchain and Crypto Investors and Enthusiasts6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Game Night!
Southern Lights Brewing Company
Drunk’n Meeples the Social Tabletop (Board) Gamers6:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Star Trek: Bad Captain – a One-shot RPG
Black Harbor Gaming
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group6:30 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Castaways Euchre Club
The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge
Castaways Euchre Club6:50 PM to 8:50 PM EDT
Lean Beer
The Thirsty Topher
Agile Orlando7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Carrollwood Toastmasters Meetings meet In-Person and Online
Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library
Toastmasters District 487:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Magic Pioneer Event
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Nerd Night: Board Games and Beer at Deadwords Brewing
Deadwords Brewing
Adventures On Tap: TTRPGs and Board Games7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
MtG Modern Constructed at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Curse of Strahd (Tier 1)/Beyond Phandelver (Tier 1) Alternating Sessions
Online
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
New Beginnings & Old Rivalries
Online
Central Florida AD&D (1st ed.) Grognards Guild7:00 PM to 10:30 PM EDT
Mastering Communication: A Key to Professional Success
Online
Professionals Meetup For Networking And Social Skillsets7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Communication – Personal and Professional Growth
Online
Make Contacts Meet People and Communicate7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
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Thursday, April 4

Event name and locationGroupTime
Happy Hangar Early Bird Professionals Networking
The Happy Hangar Café
Pasco County Young Entrepreneurs/Business Owners All Welcome7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Wesley Chapel/Lutz networking breakfast
The Happy Hangar Café
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net7:30 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
LUTZ, FL – HAPPY HANGER CAFE THURSDAY NETWORKING
The Happy Hangar Café
Tampa Bay Networking and Events8:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Clearwater/Central Pinellas Networking Lunch JOIN us and connect your business
The Breakroom Bar & Grill
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Pinellas County’s Largest Networking Lunch and your invited!
The Breakroom Bar & Grill
Tampa Bay Business Networking Happy Hour/Meetings/Meet Up11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Clearwater Professional Networking Lunch
The Breakroom Bar & Grill
Business Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Clearwater/Central Pinellas Networking Lunch JOIN us and connect your business!
The Breakroom Bar & Grill
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Wesley Chapel Professional Networking Lunch
Bahama Breeze
Wesley Chapel, Trinity, New Tampa, Business Professionals11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
NPI Power Lunch – Exchange Qualified Business Referrals
Carrabas Italian Grill
Network Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Sarasota Speakers Exchange Toastmasters
Online
Toastmasters District 4812:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Commander Open Play Night at Armada Games
Armada Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!1:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Grand Bay Canasta
Online
Grand Bay Canasta Meetup Group1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
RPG: Pathfinder Society ANNIVERSARY ADVENTURE at Meeple Movers Board Game Cafe
Meeple Movers
Meeple Movers Role-Playing Games (RPG) Group2:00 PM to 6:00 PM EDT
Thursday Night Gaming
3407 Lithia Pinecrest Rd
Brandon Boardgamers5:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Gulfport Scrabble and Social
The Drunken Taco
Gulfport Scrabblers and Social5:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Tomb of Annihilation (T2-APL8)
Coliseum of Comics Kissimmee
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild5:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
New Members Meet & Greet
Online
Power BI Data Geeks Support Group6:00 PM to 6:30 PM EDT
Business Happy Hour ~ Cafe Delanie 1st Thursday Every Month 6pm to 8pm
Cafe Delanie
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
1st Thursday Networking Mixer, Romi’s Tacos & RGANetwork.net $10 cash at door
Romi’s Tacos
Tampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Pathfinder Society
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Board game night!!!
Online
Summerfield Board and Card Games and Euchre6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Central Florida Board Gaming at The Collective
The Collective: A Comic & Game Community
Orlando Board Gaming Weekly Meetup6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
2nd ed. AD&D Campaign.
405 Mahogany Dr
Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group6:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
April Book Club Discussion – City of Thieves by David Benioff
The Imperial at Washburn Imports
Sanford Book Club6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
FaithTech Orlando Game Lab: Unity | Unreal
3259 Progress Dr
Orlando Christian Technologists and Entrepreneurs6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Chess night!
Intergalactic Plastic – Toys, Comics, Games
Lakeland Chess Meetup Group6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Operations Automation Office Hours
Armature Works
Tampa Robotic Process Automation Group7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Tampa Bay Drupal & Web Technologies Q&A. Everyone welcome!
Panera Bread
Tampa Bay Drupal User Group7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Bitcoin Social
Zudar’s Bourbon St. Bar & Grill
Tampa Bay Bitcoin7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
FABulous Thursdays
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Dungeons and Dragons with Donavan
Unlucky Roll Cafe
Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Thursday chess at 54th Ave Kava House!
54th Ave Kava House
TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Smartphone Trivia Game Show at Wilders Pizza
Wilder’s Pizza
Game Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice7:00 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament
Balance Martial Arts & Gaming
Balance Martial Arts and Gaming7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Live streaming production and talent
124 S Ring Ave
Live streaming production and talent7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Fingerboard Meetup
🌱Indica Cafe 💨 Tampa Bay’s First & Greatest CBD Lounge
Indica Cafe Events7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
April – Future Home of the Living God
Crooked Thumb Brewery
Books & Brews!7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Last Meeting Before Shooting Our First Project (Time to RALLY Troops!)
Online
Lights… Camera… TAMPA. Filmmaking Alliance7:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Weekly Hacks
Online
Hacktivate – Hackathon Meetup Group8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Shopbot Safety and Usage (Members Only)
Tampa Hackerspace West
Tampa Hackerspace7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Return to the top of the list

Friday, April 5

Event name and locationGroupTime
Improve your communication, listening, and leadership skills
Winter Park Community Center
Winter Park Toastmasters – Learn while having FUN!7:15 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Caffeine & Connections: Friday Fuel for Black Professionals
Online
Pinellas County Black Business Meetup Group8:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
Bird Photography Photo Walk
Online
Tampa Bay Photographic Arts Community8:00 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
A.C.T. Acquire Connections Today Morning Virtual Business Networking
Online
Network & Social – Orlando Networking Events8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT
Tampa Young Professionals Virtual Networking Friday Morning All WElCOME
Online
Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT
A.C.T. Acquire Connections Today Morning Business Networking All Welcome!
Online
Entrepreneurs & Business Owners of Sarasota & Bradenton8:45 AM to 10:15 AM EDT
Online Networking with Brandon Biz Pros
Online
Brandon Biz Pros9:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT
Toastmasters – Improve Speaking Skills & Build Confidence
Online
Christian Professionals Network Tampa Bay9:30 AM to 10:30 AM EDT
First Friday WordPress Collaboration Meetup – April 2024
Online
West Orlando WordPress Meetup10:00 AM to 11:30 AM EDT
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorm together
Online
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorming together10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Unraveling Large Language Models and How to Build Apps with LLMs
Online
Career Success Academy10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
International Networking at McAlisters Deli every Friday
McAlister’s Deli
Business Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
International Professionals Networking Meeting
McAlister’s Deli
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Friday International Business Introductions at McAlisters Westshore
McAlister’s Deli
Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
International Networking Westshore McAlisters Deli
McAlister’s Deli
Tampa Bay Business Networking Happy Hour/Meetings/Meet Up11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Westshore Business Networking Lunch at McAlisters Deli Every Friday All Welcome
McAlister’s Deli
Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
International Professionals Networking Meeting
McAlister’s Deli
Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:30 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Spookala Horror Con
Florida State Fairgrounds
Zombie Rat PackFriday, April 5, 2024 at 1:00 PM to Sunday, April 7, 2024 at 5:00 PM EDT
Food Purchasing with Rosa Torres International Ministry (Event #1)
1575 Land O’ Lakes Blvd
Tampa Volunteers4:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Board Game Night!
Happy Troll Games
Clermont Nerd Games5:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
WEEKLY FRIDAY NIGHT GAMING AT GAMER’S COMMAND
Gamers’ Command
Brandon Boardgamers5:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Friday Board Game Night
Bridge Club
Tampa Gaming Guild5:30 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
MTG: Commander FNM
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games6:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Learn to Play Leaf at Meeple Movers Board Game Cafe
3101 SW 34th Ave
Meeple Movers Gaming Group6:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Commander Night
Critical Hit Games
Hosted By Magic the Gathering Tampa/Brandon/St Pete6:00 PM to 11:59 PM EDT
Star Trek Ascendancy
Anson on Palmer Ranch
Sarasota Strategy Board Game League6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Blood on the Clocktower at Blackbird Comics and Coffeehouse
Blackbird Comics & Coffeehouse
Sunshine Social Deduction Gaming6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Rockin Roller Rink @st pete pier
Spa Beach Park
Gen Geek6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts | Casual EDH/MtG Social Night
Industrious
Nerd Night Out6:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
“The Beautiful Ones” at Eden Bar
Eden Bar
Ladies Book & Explorer Club6:30 PM to 8:30 PM EDT
Tótem @ Eckerd College
Miller Auditorium
The Tampa Bay Movie Fans Meetup Group6:45 PM to 8:45 PM EDT
MakerFX Makerspace Soft Arts Guild
MakerFX Makerspace
MakerFX Makerspace7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night | Centro Ybor
Big Storm Brewing Tap Room – Tampa
Nerdbrew Events7:00 PM to 11:45 PM EDT
Tsudoi
Grain and Berry – USF
Tampa Japanese Meetup7:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Book Discussion: The Gunkle
Andrea’s
Pages and Plates Book Club7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
IN-PERSON: “Stoicism and the Art of Happiness” (Chapter 5)
Jason’s Deli
Tampa Stoics7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Horror Friends Movie Night – The First Omen!!!
AMC Veterans 24
Horror Fan Fun Time Gang7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
FIRST FRIDAY MACDINTON’S TAMPA {OPEN BAR}
MacDinton’s Irish Pub
20’s To 30’s Only – Saint Petersburg, Tampa7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Friday Pokemon Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:30 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
Solana Hackathon WorkGroup
1205 N Franklin St
Solana Tampa8:00 PM to 9:30 PM EDT
Friday night game night
🌱Indica Cafe 💨 Tampa Bay’s First & Greatest CBD Lounge
Indica Cafe EventsFriday, April 5, 2024 at 9:00 PM to Saturday, April 6, 2024 at 12:00 AM EDT
Return to the top of the list

Saturday, April 6

The BSides Tampa 2024 cybersecurity conference happens on Saturday! You can find out more about BSides in my recent writeup, and you can register at their site.

Event name and locationGroupTime
Wake Up and Think Clearly Saturday morning share and discuss.
Online
Central Florida Philosophy Meetup7:00 AM to 9:00 AM EDT
BSides Tampa
University of South Florida – Marshall Student Center
BSides Tampa8:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT
Early Bird Ocala
Marion County Literacy Council
Toastmasters Division G8:00 AM to 9:30 AM EDT
FCCP – Adobe Lightroom Classic CC Class – Part 2
O’Keefe’s Family Restaurant
Florida Center for Creative Photography9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Dunedin Causeway Beach Cleanup with Salty Soul – Register Online!
61 Causeway Blvd
Gen Geek9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Creative Writing In-Person Monthly Gathering for Aspiring Authors
16120 US Hwy 19 N
Pinellas Writers Group9:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Saturday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa
Whole Foods Market
Chess Republic9:30 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
International Women’s Day 2024 – Impact the Future
Engineering Building II
GDG Tampa Bay10:00 AM to 4:00 PM EDT
ICCF Monthly Meeting w/Esther Vargas: The UCF Incubation Program
Orlando Science Center
Inventors Council of Central Florida10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Submission Lab
The Writers Room
We Write Here Black and Women of Color Writing Group10:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Bravo Group Campaign Continues
Online
Oviedo Middle Aged Gamers (OMAG)11:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT
Dungeons & Dragons for Teens Saturdays
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup11:00 AM to 2:00 PM EDT
Gallery Tour with Photographer Martha Strawn
Appleton Museum of Art
Ocala Photography Group11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
IWD 2024 – Impact the Future – GDG Central Florida
The Studio at Violet’s Garage
Google Developer Group Central Florida12:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Winning The Week – 1st Meet
Sage Biscuit Cafe
Winning The Week12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Saturday DND
Warforged Tabletop Games
St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group12:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
Deltona Library’s Board Game Day **New Event**
2150 Eustace Ave
Board Gamers of West Volusia1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
Four Things I Wish I’d Known at the Start of My Writing Career
Online
Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of Sisters in Crime1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
FREE Fab Lab Orientation
Faulhaber Fab Lab
Suncoast Makers1:30 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
Y Read: Book Read Aloud
Dr. P. Phillips YMCA Family Center
Library Book Clubs – OCLS1:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT
Radiant Citadel Adventures (Tier 1)
Coliseum of Comics Clermont
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild2:00 PM to 6:30 PM EDT
Game Day: First Saturday of Every Month
Melrose Center
Indienomicon2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
Over the Board Chess Meetup in Tampa!
Blind Tiger Cafe
Climbers of Mount Chesseverest2:10 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Outside the Binary Boardgame Meetup at Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!3:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Outside the Binary Boardgame Meetup
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games3:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
April is here
IHOP
New Port Richey Casual Games and Fun Socializing Group!5:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Community Hang-out Night
Online
Nerdbrew Events6:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Tournament
Balance Martial Arts & Gaming
Balance Martial Arts and Gaming7:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening Tournament
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games7:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
Tampa Nerd Online Hang-out & Game Night!
Online
Nerd Night Out7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
And now for something Completly Different: Science Night Live! 21+
Orlando Science Center
Gaming.net8:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
Free Group-Coaching Session
Online
The Possible Future Group10:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Navigating Success: Customer Journey tools & techniques Workshop
Online
Entrepreneur’s Guild: Growing Your Business11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EDT
Return to the top of the list

Sunday, April 7

Event name and locationGroupTime
FCCP Morning Photowalk at Dunedin Marina and Downtown Dunedin
Dunedin Marina
Florida Center for Creative Photography9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
IHOP Restaurant CRITICAL THINKERS SUNDAY BRUNCH
4000 S Tamiami Trail
Suncoast Critical Thinking Discussion Group9:00 AM to 11:00 AM EDT
Thaliondor Practice Day!
Brick City Adventure Park
Thaliondor: Fantasy and Medieval Combat11:00 AM to 4:00 PM EDT
Warhammer 40K
Happy Troll Games
Clermont Nerd Games11:00 AM to 7:00 PM EDT
Bring a Model
Hollis Garden
The Lakeland Shooters, Polk County Photography & Modeling11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Zero Latency
Zero latency
Gen Geek11:00 AM to 1:00 PM EDT
Rebecca Discussion
Financier Bistro & Bar a Vin
The Jane Austen Book Club11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EDT
Plotter CriCut vinyl cutting
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group12:00 PM to 2:00 PM EDT
Euchre Tournament!!!!!
Online
Summerfield Board and Card Games and Euchre12:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Venice Strategy Board Gamers
Venice
Board Games and Card Games in Sarasota & Bradenton12:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Board Games at Big Storm in Odessa
Big Storm Brewing Co. – Odessa
Beyond Catan, A Group of Board Game Geeks12:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
Entrepreneur Classes Preview
Online
New Entrepreneurship Connections1:00 PM to 2:30 PM EDT
Game Day at Southern Brewing
Southern Brewing & Winery
Geekocracy!1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Sunday Gaming
Tampa Bay Bridge Center
Tampa Gaming Guild1:00 PM to 11:00 PM EDT
March Book Club
Latte Vino
One Fantasy At A Time1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EDT
T-Shirts and Caps printing
MakerSpace Pinellas
Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Singles mixer & e-bike tour in St. Pete
Ferg’s Sports Bar
The Pinellas County Young “Professionals”2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League
Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games2:00 PM to 7:30 PM EDT
Sunday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, Tampa
Whole Foods Market
Chess Republic2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
Beyond the Golden Vault (tier 3, lvl 12 preferred)
Campus Cards and Games
Orlando Adventurer’s Guild2:00 PM to 5:00 PM EDT
D&D Adventurers League at Critical Hit Games
Critical Hit Games
Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!2:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
Sunday Game Day
Dented Keg Ale Works
Drunk’n Meeples West Pasco (Boardgames)3:30 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Sunday Pokemon League
Sunshine Games | Magic the Gathering, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Sunshine Games4:00 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Adult Game Night at Conworlds Emporium
Conworlds Emporium
Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup4:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
St. Pete Arthouse Cinema Club- “Wicked Little Letters”
Green Light Cinema
St. Pete Arthouse Cinema Club4:15 PM to 8:00 PM EDT
Lankhmar: City of Adventure
1103 Fredrick Ln
Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group5:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT
Open Game Night
Unlucky Roll Cafe
Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup6:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT
Hidden Gems Night, Presented by A Duck!
Online
Nerdbrew Events7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
A Duck Presents NB Movie Night
Discord.io/Nerdbrew
Nerd Night Out7:00 PM to 11:30 PM EDT
Return to the top of the list

About this list

How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.

In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.

What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:

  • Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
  • Tech project management / agile processes
  • Video, board, and role-playing games
  • Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
  • Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
  • Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
  • Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
  • Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
  • Anything I deem geeky
Categories
Career

Laid off in 2024, part 14: No stigma, no shame

There used to be an unwritten, implicitly-understood rule that you should never mention that you were laid off, but treat it like a dirty secret. That may have been good advice for the previous century, when layoffs were viewed as rare events where low performers were fired all at once, but it’s woefully out of date now.

If you think there’s a stigma attached to being laid off or are feeling shame for having been laid off, this article is for you! Here are five reasons why there’s no stigma nor shame in being laid off.

Reason 1: Big Tech overhired

The theme of the past few years has been “growth, growth, growth,” which was driven by:

  1. An amazing bull run in the market that followed the financial crisis of 2007-8,
  2. the end of the Zero Interest Rate Period of 2009 – 2022, where the central banks of G7 countries were lending money at rates so low they were practically zero, and
  3. the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown.

These market conditions made it possible for a lot of tech companies to hire like crazy — especially the big players:

Tap to view at full size.

The problem came when those conditions changed. We now have:

  1. Higher interest rates,
  2. inflation (especially with food and housing), and
  3. some analysts predicting a recession,

all of which are leading people and corporations to spend less. Suddenly, the people from those big hiring sprees became big liabilities.

One of the solutions to this problem is laying people off, and the tech industry’s been doing this with gusto — in the US alone, they laid off a quarter million in 2023, and 40,000 in just the first two months of 2024.

When laying off this many people, it’s not enough to simply cut the lowest performers in your ranks. You also have to get rid of your pricier employees, which means a lot of good performers and even people I consider to be superstars in their domain have been laid off. I’ve lost count of the number of times in the past few months I’ve said “No! Not you!” when surprised by an exemplary person in the tech industry announcing on LinkedIn that they were looking for work.

Remember, even this person, after working hard, showing extreme dedication to the job, and telling the world about that extreme dedication, got laid off:

Reason 2: The market is rewarding companies that do big layoffs

Screenshot from a Business Insider article.
Tap to read the article.

In the previous century, companies did layoffs when they were unprofitable. But these days, companies laying people off are showing profits in their quarterly reports, and investors are rewarding them for it.

The reason this is happening is that layoffs are now a form of corporate virtue signaling. They say “See? We’re cutting costs! We’re increasing efficiency!” And as a result, those company’s share prices are going up. For example, Meta’s stock price has nearly tripled, Spotify’s is up by 30%, and even my former employer’s share price is up $20 since the beginning of the week (good thing I exercised those options!).

Now if you were a company and your investors rewarded you for doing something, would you do more of it for as long as you could? Of course you would.

Reason 3: Vanilla CEOs following “Space Karen’s” lead

When Elon Musk took over Twitter/X, he instituted mass dismissals in a spectacular and clown show-like way, including the infamous choice he presented to his employees:

  1. Stay and be “hardcore,” committing to long hours at high intensity, where “only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade,” or
  2. Leave and take three months’ salary.

You might recall how I posed this choice:

Even with a drastic reduction in personnel and egomaniacal mandates given to the remaining staff, Twitter/X still works. It’s a Nazi-plagued hellsite, but it does work, and in late-stage capitalism, the bottom line is all that matters.

As a result, a number of tech company leaders, many of whom are “Vanilla CEOs,” saw Musk’s move and were inspired to do the same.

Don’t believe me? See these articles:

Vanilla CEOs tend to look at what other CEOs are doing, and follow suit. This is driving a lot of layoffs.

Thanks a lot, Space Karen. You are my alma mater’s worst alumnus.

ℹ️ Wondering what a “Vanilla CEO” is? Watch this video.

Reason 4: A.I.

There’s also the temptation of “employees” that you don’t have to pay…

In a recent episode of his No Mercy/No Malice audio series, business professor Scott Galloway describes AI as “Corporate Ozempic” — as in the hot new weight loss drug that works by supressing cravings. Like Ozempic, you’re adopting AI to “trim the fat,” but you’re also doing it in secret.

Galloway writes:

CEOs are being coy about this, at least in public, because there’s a sense of fear surrounding the brave new world of AI. The illusionist’s trick in the Valley right now is getting the media to look over there (trimming fat) while they’re stuffing the rabbit into the hat here (replacing it with AI). In the next several quarters, however, I believe CEOs will come out in  earnings calls and put it bluntly: “We’re going to be a smaller company that does more business thanks to AI.” Pundits will clutch their pearls for a hot minute until the stock explodes, and the secret hiding in plain sight will be visible to everyone. It’s corporate Ozempic. It’s not about less bread, but less craving for bread. Read: hiring people.

Reason 5: You’ll blend in

With a quarter-million U.S. techies laid off since the start of 2023 — Yours Truly included — if you’re laid off, you’re not an outlier or a freak. You’re just one of many.

There is no stigma nor shame in being laid off

As I wrote in an earlier post in this series, Unearned consequences, “If you’re in a layoff-induced moment of despair, remember that you’re probably facing the consequences of someone else’s mistakes.”

Or, as I also wrote in the same article:

The decision-makers at companies making these layoffs sound like Lord Farquaad from Shrek: “Some of you may die, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

Remember this as you go about your job search — there is no stigma nor shame in your being laid off. Just say that you’re part of the ongoing layoff trend.

Coming up next

Job search tips and tricks!

Also in this series…

Categories
Current Events Meetups Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events list (Week of Monday, January 29, 2024)

Here’s the “official unofficial” list of tech, entrepreneur, and nerd events for Tampa Bay and surrounding areas for Monday, January 29 through Sunday, February 4, 2024!

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Monday, January 29

Event name and localeGroupTime
Social Media Management Beginner Boot Camp Certification, Live Virtual ClassroomTampa Social Media Enthusiasts10:00AM – Monday, Jan. 29
In person at Fords Garage St PeteYoung Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:00AM – Monday, Jan. 29
Networking at Ford’s GarageTampa Bay Networking and Events11:00AM – Monday, Jan. 29
Downtown St Pete Business Professionals LunchTampa / St Pete Business Connections11:00AM – Monday, Jan. 29
Networking at Cafe’ DelanieTampa Bay Networking and Events11:30AM – Monday, Jan. 29
Start the Week with more connections MONDAYS at Romi’s Tacos All Welcome!Young Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:30AM – Monday, Jan. 29
Business Networking MeetingChristian Professionals Network Tampa Bay11:30AM – Monday, Jan. 29
In PERSON Networking Lunch East Brandon Reserve your seatProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30AM – Monday, Jan. 29
Monday Business Introductions at Romi’s Taco’sTampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30AM – Monday, Jan. 29
Getting Started with Jira – Free Online CourseTampa Cybersecurity Training6:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Monday Feast & Game NightTampa Bay Tabletoppers6:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Speakeasy Toastmasters #4698Toastmasters District 486:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
ROOKIES SPORTS BAR – SPRING HILL – LIVE TEAM TRIVIA !!!America’s TriviAddiction6:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Blood Rage w/Promo MonstersSarasota Strategy Board Game League6:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
MTG: Commander NightCritical Hit Games6:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Monday Weekly Board Game Night! (Lazy Moon Colonial Location)Board Game Meetup: Board Game Boxcar6:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
January Viewing PartySarasota “Doctor Who” Fan Meetup6:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
North Port Toastmasters Meets Online!!Toastmasters District 486:30PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Monday Night One-Shot RPG: Tiny Living DeadSt Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group6:30PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Three Bridges Brewing Trivia Night with the Smartphone Trivia Game ShowGame Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice6:30PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Board Game Night at Armada GamesTampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!7:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Thomas Paine’s Annual Birthdate CelebrationTampa Bay Coalition of Reason – dissolved7:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Babylon RevisitedComics, Animation and etc.7:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Stirling Toastmasters Club #7461614Toastmasters District 487:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Members as far back as 2008 can access their photosSchool is closed- Light Study PRO – A Photography Workshop7:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
ONLINE: Stoic Poetry SlamOrlando Stoics7:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Online Event: Shut Up & Write!® Your Life Story (on Zoom)Shut Up & Write!® St. Petersburg7:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
DigiMondaysSunshine Games7:30PM – Monday, Jan. 29
Weekly MeetupBeginning Web Development8:00PM – Monday, Jan. 29
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Tuesday, January 30

Event name and localeGroupTime
Venice Area Toastmasters Club #5486Toastmasters District 487:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
v-Lean CoffeeTampa Bay Agile7:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
NPI St. Pete Business Builders Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business ReferralsNetwork Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)7:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Becoming an Empowered AI WorkerCareer Success Academy10:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Becoming an Empowered AI WorkerTech Success Network10:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Becoming an Empowered AI WorkerFront End Creatives10:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Becoming an Empowered AI WorkerTampa Cybersecurity Training10:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Brunch at The Wooden RoosterSt Petersburg Age 55 Plus Meet & Eat Women’s Group10:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Westchase Business Networking Lunch ~ All Welcome JOIN us and connect!Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Tuesday Westchase Business Networking Lunch at Sea Glass TavernBusiness Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Westchase Professional Business Networking Lunch ~ All WelcomeYoung Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Westchase Networking Lunch -Grand Hacienda~ Meet your next referralTampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Networking at SeaGlass Tavern~ All Welcome, join us!!!Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:00AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Westchase Professionals Business Networking Lunch -Grand Hacienda 11955 SheldonProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Professional Business Networking Lunch Glory Day’s New TampaPasco County Young Entrepreneurs/Business Owners All Welcome11:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
New Tampa Networking Lunch at Glory Day’s Grill New TampaWesley Chapel, Trinity, New Tampa, Business Professionals11:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Networking at Glory Days GrillTampa Bay Networking and Events11:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
New Tampa RGA Chapter ~ Glory Days Meet your next referral partner!Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Networking at AppleBee’s St. PeteTampa Bay Networking and Events11:30AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
The Business Alliance ClubThe Business Alliance11:45AM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Build Hyperledger Fabric Chaincode Better and Faster with the CC-Tools LabHyperledger Tampa12:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
The Business Networking Midday Power Hour by Simply Referrals on Zoom!!Simply Referrals Tampa Business Networking12:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Six Figure BlueprintNetwork After Work Tampa – Networking Events3:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
AI Walks into an XR Bar…Tampa XR5:30PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Dr. Tim Rayner Presents the Aviation Security CheckpointScience & Technology Society – Suncoast Region5:30PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Startup Funding in Tampa, featuring Big Sky Capital VC & SeedfundersTampa Startup Founder 1016:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Getting Started with Jira – Free Online CourseTech Success Network6:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Weekly Open Make NightTampa Hackerspace6:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Magic: The Gathering Night at FelicitousTampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!6:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Getting Started with Jira – Free Online CourseCareer Success Academy6:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Getting Started with Jira – Free Online CourseFront End Creatives6:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Tuesday Chess MeetupCasselberry Kid-Friendly Chess Meetup6:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn League Round 2Critical Hit Games6:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Authors Anonymous – Writing GroupAuthors Anonymous – Writing Group6:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Loner Seekers Euchre – TampaLoner Seekers Euchre – Tampa6:30PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Rug making class!Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group6:30PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Orlando ServiceNow Developer Meetup – Meet and Greet, 30th Jan, 06:30 – 8:30 PMOrlando ServiceNow Developer Meetup6:30PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Weekly Group Meetings – All Writers Welcome!Pinellas Writers Group6:30PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
D&D Adventurers League at Armada GamesTampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!7:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening TournamentSunshine Games7:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Music Bingo @ The Green Iguana Westshore► Tampa Bay Young Professionals Group7:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Michael FikarisComics, Animation and etc.7:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Dunedin Toastmasters – Guests Welcome 👍🐛Dunedin Toastmasters 21667:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Trivia Night – Moose Lodge 2117 Smartphone Trivia Game ShowGame Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice7:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Trivia Night with Trivia NationTrivia Night at Irish 31 Seminole7:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
St. Pete Beers ‘n Board Games Meetup for Young AdultsSt. Pete Beers ‘n Board Games for Young Adults7:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
AMA – Ask Me Anything Related to Photography, Computers and SoftwareFlorida Center for Creative Photography7:00PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
The IncalComics, Animation and etc.7:30PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Let’s play chess at 54th Ave Kava House!TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group7:30PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
Online Event: Shut Up & Write on ZoomShut Up & Write!® Tampa7:45PM – Tuesday, Jan. 30
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Wednesday, January 31

Event name and localeGroupTime
2024 Virtual Photo Challenge 1. In the year, 2023Florida Center for Creative Photography12:00AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
St Pete Networking Breakfast at the Hangar Meet St Pete’s Top Pro’s All WeclcomeYoung Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!7:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Networking at The Hanger Restaurant & Flight Lounge!Tampa Bay Networking and Events7:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
NPI Profit Partners Chapter – Exchange Qualified Business ReferralsNetwork Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)7:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Downtown St Pete Professionals Networking BreakfastProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net7:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Tampa Highrisers ToastmastersToastmasters District 487:45AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Quantum Series Part 1: Introduction to Quantum ComputingData, Cloud and AI in Tampa8:00AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
1 Million Cups – Orlando Weekly Meetup1 Million Cups – Orlando8:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Midjourney Prompt Help & Advanced FAQ with A.I. Creative Compass!Midjourney A.I. Art Meetup Group11:00AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Cyber threats to watch out for in 2024ManageEngine’s Cybersecurity Meetups11:00AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
In Person Networking BRANDON! Just Love Coffee Cafe – Brandon FLProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:15AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Carrollwood Networking Lunch! Join us and win!Tampa Bay Networking Meetings and Mixers11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Networking at Glory Days Grill!Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Brandon Networking Professionals Networking LunchTampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Carrollwood Professional Networking Lunch Wednesday All Welcome JOIN usProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Networking at Just Love Coffee!Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Brandon Business Professionals Just Love CoffeeYoung Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Brandon Business Professionals IN Person!!!!Tampa / St Pete Business Connections11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Business Networking LunchBradenton/Sarasota Networking Meetings and Mixers11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Sarasota Business Networking Lunch All Welcome, Just purchase Lunch!Network & Social – Orlando Networking Events11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
National Association of Entrepreneurs Mastermind Group MeetingNational Association of Entrepreneurs Mastermind Group11:30AM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Lunch Hour MeetupSarasota Web Development Meetup Group12:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Startup Ideation: Finding a Problem That MattersTampa Startup Founder 1011:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
The Future of AI for Business Development, Sales & Marketing in 2024Network After Work Tampa – Networking Events1:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Online Event: Shut Up & Write!® Your Life Story (on Zoom)Shut Up & Write!® St. Petersburg1:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Inspiring Authors & Book Immersion MeetupLady Lake Memoir Writing Meetup Group2:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
The Ultimate 2024 Client Acquisition Marketing GuideNetwork After Work Tampa – Networking Events3:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Image ComicsComics, Animation and etc.4:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Playing Games in the AlleyThe Tampa Chapter of the Society for the Exploration of Play5:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Wednesday Night GamingBrandon Boardgamers5:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Bay pines toastmaster’s hybrid meetingBay Pines Toastmasters5:15PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Felicitous Game Night w/Heritage Dim SumTampa Game Nights5:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Wednesday Board Game NightTampa Gaming Guild5:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Felicitous Game Night w/Heritage Dim SumTampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!5:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
StringerComics, Animation and etc.5:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Happy Hour – Luna Lounge at Bulla GastrobarSouth Asian Professional Women in Tampa Bay5:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Casual Commander WednesdaysSunshine Games6:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Hobby Night – Minis Painting Tips & Tricks at Armada GamesTampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!6:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Board Game NightCritical Hit Games6:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Dungeons & Dragons One Shot WednesdaysClermont Nerd Games6:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Waterdeep Dragonheist: Session Zero (Tier 1, APL 1)Orlando Adventurer’s Guild6:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Wine Down Wednesday – Ladies Night at Meeple Movers Board Game CafeMeeple Movers Gaming Group6:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Board Game Night at Deadwords BrewingBrews N Board Games6:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Yoga in Midtown► Tampa Bay Young Professionals Group6:20PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Learn how to solder by working on an electronics projectMakerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group6:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Game Night!Drunk’n Meeples the Social Tabletop (Board) Gamers6:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Name of the Wind – Patrick Rothfuss finalThe Weirder Things Book Club6:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Castaways Euchre ClubCastaways Euchre Club6:50PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Carrollwood Toastmasters Meetings meet In-Person and OnlineToastmasters District 487:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
MtG Modern Constructed at Armada GamesTampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!7:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
MakerFX Monthly Membership MeetingMakerFX Makerspace7:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Workshop Wednesdays. Come Craft with Us.Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup7:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Nerd Night: Board Games and Beer at Deadwords BrewingAdventures On Tap: TTRPGs and Board Games7:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
New Beginnings & Old RivalriesCentral Florida AD&D (1st ed.) Grognards Guild7:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
How to Express Yourself and Connect with PeopleProfessionals Meetup For Networking And Social Skillsets7:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Cardfight Vanguard!! OverDress WeeklySunshine Games7:30PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
Movie Night: The Mitchells vs. The MachinesComics, Animation and etc.8:00PM – Wednesday, Jan. 31
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Thursday, February 1

Event name and localeGroupTime
Business Over Breakfast ~ Happy Hangar IN PERSON JOIN US!Wesley Chapel, Trinity, New Tampa, Business Professionals7:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Happy Hangar Early Bird Professionals NetworkingPasco County Young Entrepreneurs/Business Owners All Welcome7:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Wesley Chapel/Lutz networking breakfastProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net7:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
LUTZ, FL – HAPPY HANGER CAFE THURSDAY NETWORKINGTampa Bay Networking and Events8:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Clearwater Professional Networking LunchBusiness Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
The Founders Meeting where it all Began! JOIN us! Bring a guest and get a giftYoung Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!11:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Pinellas County’s Largest Networking Lunch and your invited!Tampa Bay Networking and Events11:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Clearwater/Central Pinellas Networking Lunch JOIN us and connect your businessTampa / St Pete Business Connections11:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Lutz / Wesley Chapel Professional Networking Lunch at Bahama Breeze!Professional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Wesley Chapel Professional Networking LunchWesley Chapel, Trinity, New Tampa, Business Professionals11:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Leads Club MeetingSouth Shore Leads Club11:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Lutz / Wesley Chapel Professional Networking Lunch at Bahama Breeze!Pasco County Young Entrepreneurs/Business Owners All Welcome11:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Breakroom Bar & Grill 11:28 Doors open at 11:00am IN PersonProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
NPI Power Lunch – Exchange Qualified Business ReferralsNetwork Professionals Inc. of South Pinellas (NPI)11:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
The Business Networking Midday Power Hour by Simply Referrals on Zoom!!Simply Referrals Tampa Business Networking12:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Telecom Park Toastmasters #6745Toastmasters District 4812:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Sarasota Speakers Exchange ToastmastersToastmasters District 4812:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Commander Open Play Night at Armada GamesTampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!1:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
RPG: Pathfinder Society at Meeple Movers Board Game CafeMeeple Movers Role-Playing Games (RPG) Group2:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Gulfport Scrabble and SocialGulfport Scrabblers and Social5:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Thursday Night GamingBrandon Boardgamers5:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Tomb of Annihilation (T2-APL7)Orlando Adventurer’s Guild5:30PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Pathfinder SocietyCritical Hit Games6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Central Florida Board Gaming at The CollectiveOrlando Board Gaming Weekly Meetup6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
BABOK IIBA Tampa Bay Study GroupIIBA Tampa Bay7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Operations Automation Office HoursTampa Robotic Process Automation Group7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
One Piece ThursdaysSunshine Games7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
FABulous ThursdaysSunshine Games7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Fingerboard MeetupIndica Cafe Events7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Palm Harbor Toastmasters Club #8248Toastmasters District 487:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Thursday chess at 54th Ave Kava House!TB Chess – Tampa Bay – St. Petersburg Chess Meetup Group7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Yu-Gi-Oh TournamentBalance Martial Arts and Gaming7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Smartphone Trivia Game Show at Wilders PizzaGame Night Meetup for Trivia in Tampa, Sarasota, Venice7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Dungeons and Dragons with DonavanUnlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Live streaming production and talentLive streaming production and talent7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Tackle it in Ten – Entrepreneur RoundtablesEntrepreneur Round Table8:30AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
2024 Career Goal Setting Workshop Series: The Power & Benefits of GoalsTech Success Network11:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
2024 Career Goal Setting Workshop Series: The Power & Benefits of GoalsCareer Success Academy11:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
2024 Career Goal Setting Workshop Series: The Power & Benefits of GoalsFront End Creatives11:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
2024 Career Goal Setting Workshop Series: The Power & Benefits of GoalsTampa Cybersecurity Training11:00AM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Megacon Orlando 2024All For Nerds2:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Graphic Novel Discussion GroupComics, Animation and etc.3:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Quantum Series Part 1: Introduction to Quantum ComputingData, Cloud and AI in Tampa3:30PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
The Gang goes to MEGACON!Gaming.net4:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
FREE Live Class- NPC Founder Nic Stover on PhotoMaster LiveTampa Chapter of Nature Photography Classes5:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Java on ChatGPT: Building a Plugin From ScratchTampa Bay Generative AI Meetup5:30PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Java on ChatGPT: Building a Plugin From ScratchTampa Java User Group5:30PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
TBDEG – Clean CodeTampa Bay Data Engineering Group6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
1st Thursday Networking Mixer, Romi’s Tacos & RGANetwork.net $10 cash at doorTampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Business Happy Hour ~ Cafe Delanie 1st Thursday Every Month 6pm to 8pmYoung Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Practical use of ChatGPTSt Pete AI6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
After Hours Mixer Romi’s Tacos! All Welcome $10 cashTampa Bay Networking Meetings and Mixers6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
After Hours Networking Happy Hour! Romi’s Tacos New LocationTampa Bay Business Networking Happy Hour/Meetings/Meet Up6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
BECMI CampaignBrandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
BotC night at Hourglass Brewery at the Hourglass DistrictSunshine Social Deduction Gaming6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Learn to Play Maple Valley at Meeple Movers Board Game CafeMeeple Movers Gaming Group6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Let’s Play Backgammon – Backgammon Casual GamesSanford Backgammon Group6:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Writing MeetupTampa Free Writing Group6:30PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Tampa Bay Drupal & Web Technologies Q&A. Everyone welcome!Tampa Bay Drupal User Group7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Shopbot Safety and Usage (Members Only)Tampa Hackerspace7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Cowboy Bebop Live!Gen Geek7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
New Year’s Book Club MeetingChan’s Book Club of Tampa Bay7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
How websites are made: an introduction to CSS for complete beginnersFlorida Software School7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
St. Pete Arthouse Cinema Club – “2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour”St. Pete Arthouse Cinema Club7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
February – The Crystal CaveBooks & Brews!7:00PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York – Elon GreenSt. Pete Booze and Book Club7:30PM – Thursday, Feb. 1
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Friday, February 2

Event name and localeGroupTime
Improve your communication, listening, and leadership skillsWinter Park Toastmasters – Learn while having FUN!7:15AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Caffeine & Connections: Friday Fuel for Black ProfessionalsPinellas County Black Business Meetup Group8:00AM – Friday, Feb. 2
A.C.T. Acquire Connections Today Morning Business Networking All Welcome!Entrepreneurs & Business Owners of Sarasota & Bradenton8:45AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Tampa Young Professionals Virtual Networking Friday Morning All WElCOMEYoung Professionals Networking JOIN in and Connect!8:45AM – Friday, Feb. 2
A.C.T. Acquire Connections Today Morning Virtual Business NetworkingNetwork & Social – Orlando Networking Events8:45AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Networking over breakfastTampa Bay Networking and Events9:00AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Business over Breakfast ClearwaterTampa Bay Networking Meetings and Mixers9:00AM – Friday, Feb. 2
FBI ~ Friday Business Introductions at Largo Family RestaurantProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net9:00AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Online Networking with Brandon Biz ProsBrandon Biz Pros9:00AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Toastmasters – Improve Speaking Skills & Build ConfidenceChristian Professionals Network Tampa Bay9:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Ms. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorm togetherMs. Biz Connectz- business leaders brainstorming together10:00AM – Friday, Feb. 2
International Networking at McAlisters Deli every FridayTampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Friday International Business Introductions at McAlisters WestshoreProfessional Business Networking with RGAnetwork.net11:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Westshore Business Networking Lunch at McAlisters Deli Every Friday All WelcomeTampa Bay Networking and Events11:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
International Professionals Networking MeetingTampa / St Pete Business Connections11:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Friday Business Introductions TampaTampa Bay Networking Meetings and Mixers11:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
International Networking Westshore McAlisters DeliTampa Bay Business Networking Happy Hour/Meetings/Meet Up11:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
International Networking at McAlisters Deli every FridayBusiness Professionals of Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough11:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
International Professionals Networking MeetingTampa / St Pete Business Connections11:30AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Pokémon Tournament Battles for a Prize!Orlando Pokemon Tournament Meet up2:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
WEEKLY FRIDAY NIGHT GAMING AT GAMER’S COMMANDBrandon Boardgamers5:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Board Game Night!Clermont Nerd Games5:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Lets Play Pokemon!Lake Mary Pokemon Meetup Group Lets Play5:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Friday Board Game NightTampa Gaming Guild5:30PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Taps & Drafts | Casual EDH/MtG Social NightNerd Night Out6:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
GROWTH MINDSETSelf-Perfected Orlando6:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Taps & Drafts | EDH/MtG Night | Centro YborNerdbrew Events7:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Modern FNMSunshine Games7:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
PVP Boardgame ShowdownUnlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup7:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Friday Pokemon TournamentSunshine Games7:30PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Friday night game nightIndica Cafe Events9:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
International Networking at McAlisters Deli every FridayTampa Bay Business Networking Meetings & Mixers11:30PM – Friday, Feb. 2
First Friday WordPress Collaboration Meetup – February 2024West Orlando WordPress Meetup10:00AM – Friday, Feb. 2
MEGACON Orlando 2024Asian Social Orlando10:00AM – Friday, Feb. 2
Apex Systems – Overcoming Common Big Boulders Panel Discussion, Part 2IIBA Tampa Bay1:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
RPG: D&D Village of the Goblin Chief at Meeple Movers Board Game CafeMeeple Movers Role-Playing Games (RPG) Group4:30PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Board Game Friday Night at Meeple Movers Board Game CafeMeeple Movers Gaming Group5:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Kabuki: DreamsComics, Animation and etc.5:30PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Murders At Karlov Manor | MtG Private Lounge Takeover!Nerdbrew Events6:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
First Friday social meetup!Defcon727 – Unleashing Cybersecurity6:30PM – Friday, Feb. 2
IN-PERSON: “Stoicism and the Art of Happiness” (Chapter 1)Tampa Stoics7:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
MakerFX Makerspace Soft Arts GuildMakerFX Makerspace7:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
MTG: Murders at Karlov Manor Prerelease #1Critical Hit Games7:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Tabletop: Friday Board Game NightOviedo Middle Aged Gamers (OMAG)7:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Soul Circus Cowboys at The Salty Shamrock (Southern Rock)Fun with Friends in Tampa Bay7:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
Mario Kart at Tampa Bay Grand Prix-ClearwaterGen Geek8:00PM – Friday, Feb. 2
James JoyceComics, Animation and etc.8:45PM – Friday, Feb. 2
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Saturday, February 3

Event name and localeGroupTime
Wake Up and Think Clearly Saturday morning share and discuss.Central Florida Philosophy Meetup7:00AM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Street Photography – N Ashley Drive – 9am – 2 HoursTampa Photography Group9:00AM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Monthly In Person Group Meeting – All Writers Welcome!Pinellas Writers Group9:00AM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Saturday Chess at Wholefoods in Midtown, TampaChess Republic9:30AM – Saturday, Feb. 3
MEGACON Orlando 2024Gen Geek10:00AM – Saturday, Feb. 3
I SEE THE LIGHT… Introduction to cinematic lighting.Lights… Camera… TAMPA. Filmmaking Alliance10:15AM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Coffee, Board Games, & ScrabbleUnlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup10:00AM – Saturday, Jan. 27
Navigating Success: Customer Journey tools & techniques WorkshopEntrepreneur’s Guild: Growing Your Business11:00AM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG Campaign with Ray at Meeple Movers Board Game CafeMeeple Movers Role-Playing Games (RPG) Group12:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Winning The Week – 1st MeetWinning The Week12:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
FREE Fab Lab OrientationSuncoast Makers1:30PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Y Read: Book Read AloudLibrary Book Clubs – OCLS1:30PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Pokémon Tournament Battles for a Prize!Orlando Pokemon Tournament Meet up2:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Social climbing of Mount ChesseverestClimbers of Mount Chesseverest2:30PM – Saturday, Jan. 27
How To Get Paid To Review Amazon Products – Amazon Influencer ProgramTampa Amazon Seller Meetup Group1:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Laser Cutter Orientation (Members Only)Tampa Hackerspace2:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
In-Person Event: Free Robotics Workshop, Tampa, FL (7-12 Yrs)In person Robotics Meetup Group For Kids2:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Cloud Cuckoo Land – Book DiscussionTampa Bay Book Club2:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
MTG: Murders at Karlov Manor Prerelease #2Critical Hit Games2:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Outside the Binary Boardgame Meetup at Critical Hit GamesTampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!3:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Marvel Champions Campaign at Meeple Movers Board Game CafeMeeple Movers Gaming Group5:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Golf Group – Star Wars: Force & Destiny & One-ShotsOviedo Middle Aged Gamers (OMAG)5:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
IN-PERSON: The Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Book 8)Orlando Stoics5:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Lets Play Pokemon!Lake Mary Pokemon Meetup Group Lets Play5:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Lost Mines of Phandelver: Session 5 – DM MikeOrlando Adventurer’s Guild5:30PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Sound Money Money SoiréeTampa Bay Bitcoin6:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Community Hang-out NightNerdbrew Events6:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Yu-Gi-Oh TournamentBalance Martial Arts and Gaming7:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
TB CHIPS Poker PartyTB Chips – Poker7:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Yu-Gi-Oh Evening TournamentSunshine Games7:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Tampa Nerd Online Hang-out & Game Night!Nerd Night Out7:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Movie Night: AkiraComics, Animation and etc.8:00PM – Saturday, Feb. 3
Speaker Series [UPDATE]Tampa Bay Bitcoin10:00AM – Saturday, Feb. 3
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Sunday, February 4

Event name and localeGroupTime
IHOP Restaurant CRITICAL THINKERS SUNDAY BRUNCH Suncoast Critical Thinking Discussion Group9:00AM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Animation Nights New York presents Program 90 Comics, Animation and etc.9:30AM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Speaker Series [UPDATE] Tampa Bay Bitcoin10:00AM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Megacon Orlando 2024 All For Nerds10:00AM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Open Fly @ Purveyor Tampa Bay Drone Club10:30AM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Warhammer 40K Clermont Nerd Games11:00AM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Board Games at Big Storm in Odessa Beyond Catan, A Group of Board Game Geeks12:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Venice Strategy Board Gamers Board Games and Card Games in Sarasota & Bradenton12:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Sunday Chess at Grassroots Kava House in Ybor Chess Republic2:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
D&D Adventurers League at Critical Hit Games Tampa Bay Gaming: RPG’s, Board Games & more!2:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Plotter CriCut vinyl cutting Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group12:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Sunday Gaming Tampa Gaming Guild1:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Introverts ‘Talk Slow’ O-Town Introverts1:30PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
In-Person Event: Free Robotics Workshop, Chapel, FL (7-12 Yrs) In person Robotics Meetup Group For Kids2:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
T-Shirts and Caps printing Makerspaces Pinellas Meetup Group2:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
MTG: Murders at Karlov Manor Prerelease #3 Critical Hit Games2:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Winter Park Chess Meetup Winter Park Social Chess Club2:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Pokémon Tournament Battles for a Prize! Orlando Pokemon Tournament Meet up2:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
St. Pete Arthouse Cinema Club – “Origin” – Feb 4, 2024, 03:00 PM St. Pete Arthouse Cinema Club3:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Adult Game Night at Conworlds Emporium Tarpon Springs Pop Culture & Gaming Meetup4:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Sunday Pokemon League Sunshine Games4:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Sunday Game Day Drunk’n Meeples West Pasco (Boardgames)4:30PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Lets Play Pokemon! Lake Mary Pokemon Meetup Group Lets Play5:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Lankhmar: City of Adventure Brandon and Seffner area AD&D and OSR Group5:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Continuing adventures in the setting of Symbaroum. St Pete and Pinellas Tabletop RPG Group5:15PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
IN-PERSON: A Walking Meditation – Causeway Trail Tampa Stoics5:15PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Sew Awesome! (Textile Arts & Crafts) Tampa Hackerspace5:30PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
February West Volusia Networking Social Volusia Young Professionals Group (covers East and West)6:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Open Game Night Unlucky Roll Cafe Board Game Meetup6:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Dinner at Deccan Spice Geekocracy!6:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
A Duck Presents NB Movie Night Nerd Night Out7:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
Hidden Gems Night, Presented by A Duck! Nerdbrew Events7:00PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
NerdBrew Karaoke @ MacDinton’s! Nerd Night Out9:30PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
NerdBrew Karaoke @ MacDinton’s! Nerdbrew Events9:30PM – Sunday, Feb. 4
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About this list

How do I put this list together? It’s largely automated. I have a collection of Python scripts in a Jupyter Notebook that scrapes Meetup and Eventbrite for events in categories that I consider to be “tech,” “entrepreneur,” and “nerd.” The result is a checklist that I review. I make judgment calls and uncheck any items that I don’t think fit on this list.

In addition to events that my scripts find, I also manually add events when their organizers contact me with their details.

What goes into this list? I prefer to cast a wide net, so the list includes events that would be of interest to techies, nerds, and entrepreneurs. It includes (but isn’t limited to) events that fall under any of these categories:

  • Programming, DevOps, systems administration, and testing
  • Tech project management / agile processes
  • Video, board, and role-playing games
  • Book, philosophy, and discussion clubs
  • Tech, business, and entrepreneur networking events
  • Toastmasters and other events related to improving your presentation and public speaking skills, because nerds really need to up their presentation game
  • Sci-fi, fantasy, and other genre fandoms
  • Self-improvement, especially of the sort that appeals to techies
  • Anything I deem geeky
Categories
Artificial Intelligence Meetups What I’m Up To

Scenes from an AI meetup in San Francisco

With a little time to kill in San Francisco last Monday evening before I had to help run demos at Okta’s annual conference, Oktane, I decided to look around for something to do. A quick web search for events later, I found myself en route to Cow Hollow to a meetup with the title Sharing our tricks and magic for pushing generative AI applications into production.

In this article, you’ll find my photos and notes from that event.

Neon and the Secret Garden

​Back around the time of the dot-com bubble, I was working in a Toronto consultancy made up of me and my friend Adam. We often worked at home, but when we were feeling stir-crazy, we took our laptops to a couple of local cafés and worked from there.

Since then, I’ve kept my eye out for my dream working café. There’s a pretty nice one in my neck of the woods — The Corner Club — and I take meetings and work from there every now and again.

But I have to admit it: Neon — the venue for the meetup — is my dream café / coworking space. It has more open places to hang out up front of the building, quieter working stalls in the back, and behind the building is the Secret Garden, an outdoor patio space. That’s where they served the food for the meetup: a combo of steak and veggie burritos, along with chips, guac and salsa.

The meetup was free, but also marked as “sold out” with a “join waitlist” button. That didn’t deter me because I knew the Great Unwritten Truth of Free Events:

Half the people who register for a free event never actually show up.

As I expected, no one was at the door to check attendees against a registration list. Besides, I had the accordion with me, and the “I’m with the entertainment” line often works.

The crowd at this meetup were pretty hardcore. I’d say about half of them either worked in an AI-related position at a more established company or at a scrappy AI startup, while the other half worked at a tech company and had an interest in AI. I suppose I fall into the latter category.

I struck up a conversation with someone who specialized in virtual memory who wanted to work on some memory virtualization techniques for use in large AI systems. We then walked out the back entrance to Neon’s “Secret Garden…”

…where they were serving food. I got into a conversation with someone who worked at Stability.ai, where we were joined by someone who wanted to make the leap from marketing to development.

When the Stability.ai developer was momentarily pulled away from the conversation, the marketer whispered “That name — Stability.ai — that’s familiar. What do they do?”

“Stable Diffusion,” I whispered back, and that was a name the marketer recognized. “Come to think of it, I don’t recognize any of this meetup’s speaker’s companies.”

Presentation 1: Build bulletproof generative AI applications with Weaviate and LLMs

This was the abstract for this presentation:

​Building AI applications for production is challenging, your users don’t like to wait, and delivering the right results in milliseconds instead of seconds will win their hearts. We’ll show you how to build caching, fact-checking, and RAG: Retrieval Augmented Generation pipelines with real-world examples, live demos, and ready-to-run GitHub projects using Weaviate, your favorite open-source vector database.

Philip Vollet, Head of Developer Growth at Weaviate, gave this presentation. Weaviate makes a vector database, where the data is stored as vectors — think of them as really long tuples — a format that’s particularly useful for AI purposes.

I’m going to spend some time this weekend going through my hastily-scribbled notes and comparing them to my full-resolution versions of my photos of the presentations to see what I can glean from them.

I’ve included my photos here so that you can get a feel for what was shown at the event, and hey — you might find them useful.

Presentation 2: Customizing LLM Applications with Haystack

Here’s the abstract for the presentation:

​Every LLM application comes with a unique set of requirements, use cases and restrictions. Let’s see how we can make use of open-source tools and frameworks to design around our custom needs.

The second presentation was by Tuana Celik, Developer Advocate at deepset, who make Haystack, a natural language processing (NLP) framework, and a cloud-based SaaS framework for machine learning and NLP.

Presentation 3: Context Matters: Boosting LLM Accuracy with Unstructured.io Metadata

This was the abstract for this presentation:

​Retrieval Augmented Generations (RAGs), limited by plain text representation and token size restrictions, often struggle to capture specific, factual information from reliable source documents. Discover how to use metadata and vector search to enhance the ability of LLMs to accurately retrieve specific knowledge and facts from a vast array of documents.

The final presenter was Ronny Hoesada, Developer Relations Engineer at Unstructured, who make a product that converts unstructured enterprise data into formats that can be fed into vector databases and large language models.

Aftermath and observations

Observation : RAG is a hot topic in this crowd. The big topic of the evening and a common thread through all three presentations was RAG — retrieval-augmented generation. This is a process that enhances the results produced by large language models by retrieving additional facts or information from an external knowledge source. If you’ve ever added to a discussion by looking something up on your phone, you’ve performed a simple version of RAG.

Observation : Many SF tech meetups start later than Tampa Bay ones. I arrived in San Francisco Monday morning, and spent most of the day in my hotel room working on this article for Okta’s main blog and this article for the Auth0 by Okta developer blog. That process took the better part of the day, and by the time I’d finished the final edits at 6:30 p.m., I thought it would be too late to go to a meetup — but I was wrong. When I perused Meetup.com, it turned out that lot of in-person meetups in the San Francisco Bay area start at 7:00 p.m., including this one. I’ve been to Tampa Bay meetups that wrap up at that time!

Observation : Some attendees came a long way to catch this meetup, and many of them didn’t have a car. If you check the discussion on the Meetup page for this event, you’ll see it’s all about getting rides to the venue:

Observation : People were seriously ready to work the room. More than half the attendees stuck around when the presentations ended. Some stayed for the beer, some stayed to mingle or hustle for their next job, and some stayed specifically to talk to the presenters.

I showed up wearing my travel clothes (see the photo above, taken at TPA earlier that morning), which were a sport jacket, dress shirt, jeans, and dress shoes, and as a result, a number of people at the event approached me and asked what company I was starting up. They saw chatty guy in a blazer and the neural networks in their heads pattern-matched it as founder.

Jared from Silicon Valley, patron saint of the Patagonia fleece vest.

I had conversations with founders or people who reported directly to a founder earlier that evening, so I did some introductions. They were easy to spot — it was a chilly night (10° C / 50° F) and a good breeze was coming in from the Bay, and they’d showed up in fleece vests, as is the custom there.

Observation : A lot of people here really know their stuff. The conversational topics were pretty hardcore, from discussions of cosine similarity and the finer points of tokenization (with a sidebar conversation about handling out-of-vocabulary cases) to how much of Hugging Face’s ever-growing set of models people have tried. “I’m a dabbler,” I admitted, “no more than a handful — a couple of the conversational ones, and a text-to-image and text-to-audio model.”

I also got deep into a chat about the Mojo programming language, during which I glibly introduced myself to someone as “Markov Cheney,” and to my complete lack of surprise, they got the joke.

I’m still mulling over my experience at this meetup and thinking about some meetup organization and presentation tricks to borrow.