The people who produce the best technology podcast also like to party.
Not only does Tom Merritt like to play World of Warcraft, but he also likes WWDC attendees who juggle behind his computer. Oh, and Guinness.
These meetups are always a blast because people come from all over to meet the stars of Buzz Out Loud, CNET’s podcast of indeterminate length. It’s great to chat it up with Jason or Tom about technology, especially when they are out of the office. Molly couldn’t make it last night because her baby was not feeling well.
This time, it was at the Courtyard Marriot, CNET’s next-door neighbor. This is the hotel I stayed at when I was interviewing at CNET, and it’s the first place I had dinner in The City. I hadn’t been back there since, so it was really fun. They have a nice little area next to the bar that we dominated. They have a cool little courtyard there too, but the party never moved outside, even though the weather was beautiful.
The fan who made the longest journey was Tom Risor, from Minnesota. He was out visiting his kids in Sacramento, and heard about the BOL meetup so he came down. It was great to meet people who listen to and enjoy the same podcast I do every day. It was funny though because most of them do not watch the show live. I can’t imagine experiencing BOL on my iPod after it’s taped.
The live element is the best part of BOL. I had a chance to interview Molly and Jason at the last meetup. Here is the excerpt:
And Tom’s take on it:
We had the camera to the bar this time too. People were logging in and chatting with us on UStream, Justin.tv, and . For people that have never been to San Francisco, I bet they thought we do this all the time at the bar, which we do.
Shoutouts to pb30, DAKlives, phatemokid, Rafa, and gknee, our loyal chatters.
Here is a 45 minute long video of the event, most of which is just rackety goodness.
Hope you can make it to the next BOL meetup!