onionbagblog

It all started with a throwaway remark to @LloydDavis last Friday at The ICA cafe:

“Why don’t you take Tuttle South of the river to @BrockwellLido?”

It was said in jest, and with some amount of smug, self-interest. But as Tuttle continues to find a new permanent home, there is some justification for staging a weekly geeky meet up South of the river at everyone’s favourite cafe by the water.

I’m in no way suggesting that Tuttle should set up shop permanently by the waters of Lake Brockwell. The group is far too big for both the space, and the location. Any central Tuttle gathering needs to remain just that. Slipping out of the office for a cappuccino at the ICA on a Friday can be excused; trekking down to deepest South London and aresing about by the lido, probably wouldn’t go down too well with the boss.

But I do think that South London could support a weekly social media offline discussion. Transition Town Brixton has used the online tools to help roll out the Brixton £; the mighty Urban75 and its ever growing community is based South of the river, as are some of the best bloggers in the capital.

All of this is just thinking out aloud. Tuttle seems to just happen, but I appreciate that @LloydDavis has more or less it made it a full time going concern. Preparation behind the scenes is immense to facilitate the weekly conversation.

But if enough people are thinking along similar lines to me, then maybe we should make a move?

A few obvious questions need to be answered before Brockwell Lido Tuttle comes into being:

Would we be welcome? Um - best ask @theLidoCafe.

When should Lido Tuttle take place? Weekly? Monthly?

Would the @theLidoCafe WIFI support the demand? Haven’t pushed it to full capacity yet.

Would there be sufficient interest South of the river? Seek and you shall find. You can only criticise someone who has actually tried something.

Would the South London public transport network support the venue? Probably not. The Lido is a pain to get to via public transport. We’d be looking at walking or cycling, which would definitely limit the reach of the Tuttle crowd.

I think I’ll wait and see what direction, both geographically, and in terms of group dynamics, that the Tuttle crowd decides upon over the next week or so. I’m personally in favour of a North / South / East / West gathering, either in rotation, or as stand-alone sessions. A coming together of the clan, once a month, would also help this to work.

The South will rise - and drink coffee, and talk about online and offline networking, and enjoy the view form the lovely lido cafe - again…