MeshWalk presented by MeshForum

I am in the very, very early stages of planning the next MeshWalk. My current thought is to hold a MeshWalk SF in SF in the late summer or very early fall. The theme would be Science Fiction in SF.

Tentatively the plan would be to invite a number of science fiction and fantasy authors (and perhaps directors, writers and stars) to join a full day MeshWalk which would roam throughout San Francisco. We would visit, in a true MeshWalk fashion via a bit of a ramble, a number of locations which figured in the works they created and/or which inspired their stories. As we walked and stopped at various locations we would, as a group, film some of our conversations, with the tentative goal of creating a DVD like collection of works (i.e. extras and commentary) about the relationship of place and creative works.

In addition we might stop at place such as the Long Now Foundation, the Burning Man offices, science fiction bookstores such as Borderlands Books, local SF & Fantasy presses, geek & SF inspired area bars & nightclubs and more.

Most likely our plans would include the renting of one or more buses (perhaps Trolleys) to get us across major parts of the city so we can range father and wider than in some MeshWalks (and so the walk would be as accessible as possible, though still plan on walking 5+ miles over the course of the day).

Ideally the MeshWalk will also include breakfast, lunch (at some suitable locations) and would close with drinks and appetizers. And given the theme we would definiely include a few stops at one or more bookstores and would allow time to get signatures from the authors and creators on the MeshWalk.

Hopefully as plans come together I’ll have a few sponsors to announce to offset some (or pehraps all) of the costs of this MeshWalk. I’m also going to be trying to arrange for some very notable stops and participants (think of the two major Bay Area film studios whom I might approach… hint here at the Presideo and across the Bay….)

With enough advance planning and the right date it is quite possible this could be the biggest MeshWalk yet. Our plan and route would be designed so that we have many opportunities to mingle and talk and lots of chances to rotate from group to group so everyone would have a chance to meet and talk with the invited guests.

If you would be interested in participating, sponsoring, or helping out as a volunteer (any MeshWalk takes a lot of volunteers to pull off) please either leave a comment here or email me at Shannon DOT Clark AT gmail DOT com (substitute as appropriate).

This weekend I will organizing a series of small scale MeshWalks as part of BIL. BIL is to TED what barcamp is to foocamp - an open to all, free to participate, community driven conference and event. Like TED, BIL will feature many great speakers (I’ll give a presentation on Networked Economics) and BIL will be a great chance for many highly engaged conversations.

BIL has attracted over 200 registered attendees (and like more than a few people will stop by from TED on Saturday afternoon). Both to help ease the space limitations and to provide a format for many conversations I’ll be organizing a series of small scale MeshWalks over the course of BIL.

These will be 1-2 hours in length, involving a walk of a mile or two (perhaps a bit more) in a large, slow loop away from the main BIL space, through parts of Monterey (likely including down to the ocean & beaches) and then back.

So, what is a MeshWalk?

A MeshWalk is a walking conference - a series of conversations held outside and in motion. On a MeshWalk participants are asked to hold their conversations in an “appreciative listening” format. This means that as one person speaks in a small group, the others have a responsibility to listen and then to ask positive, appreciative questions - to help the speaker. And the over time each person gets a chance to speak from their personal perspective or interest.

Often I ask each participant to also take responsibility to show the world around you to others on the MeshWalk. Part of the point of holding discussions outside and in motion is to allow for the world around you to inform your discussions. Share how you see the world with your fellow MeshWalkers.

And finally each person is asked also to help document the conversations and the MeshWalk - take notes, take pictures, shoot video, record bits of audio (for the video and audio feel free to ask someone to repeat a point so it can be recorded).

Quite literally MeshWalk conversations are in public - so typically they should be considered “on the record” - but do use common courtesy here, ask if you have any doubts.

I will be bringing about 20 MeshWalk bags with me up to BIL this weekend, any participant on a MeshWalk who wants one is welcome to it. They are free, though contributions to defray the cost of the bags are welcome (but not required).

Later in 2008 I plan on holding many more MeshWalks, watch this blog for announcements or join our low volume Google group.

Details for where we will meet and how to get a MeshForum bag.

We will meet at 8:30AM in front of the 1st Starbucks which is at Pike’s Place Market. There are many parking lots near Pike’s Place Market and it is near most of the hotels for Gnomedex.

Besides picking up coffee at Starbucks we will also have a chance to get fresh fruit from market stalls or fresh baked pastries from nearby stores.

Our route for the morning MeshWalk will take us through Belltown, Downtown and Pioneer Square. For brunch we are looking at a number of options - if you have suggestions please leave a comment or find me today or tomorrow -we’ll need an estimate of how many people we’ll be and probably given this size of a group we’ll need to make a reservation. My plan is to find a place that will do a fixed price brunch for us, ideally <$20 a person (perhaps $25 with tax & tip).

Our plan is to stop walking by about 11;30AM and end brunch by 1 to 1:30pm so people can go to the unGnomeCamp.

BAGS

If you want a MeshForum bag, as pictured beside me from the MeshWalk Palo Alto leave your name here. The bags cost MeshForum about $7 this run if you would like one please ask - if you can donate something for it, fantastic.  I have 20 bags with me here in Seattle.

More thanks to come, but a quick note thanking everyone who participated in the MeshWalk Palo Alto today.

First and foremost, thanks to Mohr Davidow Ventures for their sponsorship, active support and participation during the day and of course for the great hats and pens!

Thanks to Silicon Valley Bank for the wine at the closing party and for participating during the day and at the closing reception.

Thanks to SocialText and to Edgeio/SoftTechVC for hosting us for lunch! Really appreciate your opening up space for us. I hope many Palo Alto based entrepreneurs participate in SocialText’s coworking space!

Major thanks to Jason Fang and Jackie Crespo. Both are recent Stanford grads and in their summer while working and being still in school they volunteered for the MeshWalk. Without their assistance and major efforts the amazing food, space on the Stanford Campus, bus, and bags would not have been possible.

Also thanks to the three entering college freshmen who volunteered and assisted over the course of the day, hopefully they all learned a great deal and again, their help was greatly appreciated.

Most of all thanks to everyone who attended and participated. We handed out nearly 100 MeshForum bags over the course of the day. Thanks especially to the great group of angel investors who joined us in the morning, to the vc’s and entrepreneurs who joined us in the afternoon, and of course to the 75+ people who in most cases spent the day with us on the MeshWalk!

A few reminders, as you blog and post your photos from the MeshWalk please use the tag “MeshWalk”. We will be announcing some tools for MeshWalk participants to use to continue the conversations online.

thanks again!

Shannon

To Register please fill out the registration form for the MeshWalk which provides us with your details. You will also be asked to pay $25 which covers parking and your meals.

If you have already filled out the form but not yet paid please pay via PayPal (credit cards accepted) You can also use this form to pay for multiple attendees at once.

Additional sponsors for the MeshWalk are welcome, contact Shannon Clark for more details.

We will be starting the MeshWalk outside of Mitchell on the Stanford Campus. Parking is included with registration, in parking structure 5. See the map below for more details. At the end of the MeshWalk a bus will return you to the Caltrain and Parking Structure 5.

Directions to Stanford and Parking Structure 5

DRIVING TO CAMPUS:

From Highway 101 North & South:

Take the Embarcadero Road exit west toward Stanford. At El Camino Real, Embarcadero turns into Galvez Street as it enters the university.

Make a right onto Campus Drive. Continue on Campus Drive and make a right on Stock Farm Road. Special Event Parking (E Permit Provided) is in the large parking structure just off of Stock Farm Road (Please refer to the attached Map).

From Highway 280 North & South:

Exit 280 at Sand Hill Road, heading east. Continue on Sand Hill Road and make a right on Stock Farm Road. Special Event Parking (E Permit Provided) is in the large parking structure just off of Stock Farm Road (Please refer to the attached Map).

From El Camino Real:

Exit El Camino Real at University Avenue. Turn toward the hills (away from the center of Palo Alto). As you enter Stanford, University Avenue becomes Palm Drive. Make a right onto Campus Drive. Continue on Campus Drive and make a right on Stock Farm Road. Special Event Parking (E Permit Provided) is in the large parking structure just off of Stock Farm Road (Please refer to the attached Map).

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

By train (Caltrain):

There are two stops close to Stanford: one on California Avenue and another at the end of Palm Drive in downtown Palo Alto.

The Stanford shuttle, called Marguerite, meets most trains at both the Palo Alto and California Ave. stations from 6 a.m. to 7:45 p.m Monday - Friday.

From points south of Stanford (Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority):

The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) runs buses to Palo Alto and most points south of Stanford. It also operates the light rail line in Santa Clara County.

From points north of Stanford (SamTrans):

SamTrans runs buses to most points north of Stanford. Five of their lines serve Stanford well.

From the East Bay (Dumbarton Express):

The Dumbarton Express, used by many East Bay commuters, runs weekdays from the Union City BART station across the Dumbarton Bridge to the Palo Alto Caltrain station, where the Stanford shuttle, called Marguerite, meets most trains.

Map of Mitchell and Parking

The first MeshWalk was held the Sunday after Gnomedex in 2006.

This year a second MeshWalk Seattle will be held on Sunday, August 12th in Seattle. As with last year, the theme for this MeshWalk will be both our takeaways (for those who attended) from Gnomedex and how we can each help each other with our projects and follow up activities.

We will gather in the morning at the 1st Starbucks in Pike’s Place Market. Between 8:30 and 9:00Am, we’ll get coffee and a light breakfast from the market, introduce ourselves and select our path through Seattle.

As with last year, we will plan on a group brunch near midday, then will return to our cars and hotels (and for many of us, check out and shuttles to the airport to return home).

More details will be posted soon, if you are interested in participating leave a comment here along with any suggestions for path or stops along the way (remembering it will be a Sunday morning).

As a reminder, like any MeshWalk, this will be a walk, so leave the laptops and heavy bags behind, wear comfortable walking shoes, and please do bring your cameras, video or still and audio recording tools, as we walk through the city we will also assemble as a group a collection of photos, video clips and audio snapshots of our conversations, observations and thoughts.

Please also feel free to blog about MeshWalks and link back to this site (http://meshwalk.meshforum.org).

If your company would be interested in sponsoring the MeshWalk in Seattle, please do contact me, but consider first sponsoring Gnomedex.

Also, if you are on Facebook, join the MeshWalk group there to chat with other MeshWalkers and coordinate.

Parking is included for all attendees all day at a lot on the Stanford campus, details will be provided here and via email to all registered MeshWalkers.

8:30am: Registration and Breakfast at Stanford (outside Mitchell bldg.)

9:00am: Welcome, Introductions, Start of Morning MeshWalk (focused on angel funding)

11:30am: Walk to downtown Palo Alto

12:00pm: Lunch in Palo Alto, hosted by SocialText and across the street from them, Edgeio/SofttechVC

1:00pm: Buses leave for 3000 Sand Hill Rd.

1:30pm: Introductions, Start of Afternoon MeshWalk (focused on VC funding/corporate acquisitions)

3:00pm: Afternoon snack outside MDV offices

4:30-6:30pm: Closing Party @ 3000 Sand Hill Rd. Wine provided courtesy of Silicon Valley Bank.

6:30pm: Buses head back to Stanford parking and CalTrain.

The MeshWalk in Palo Alto on July 25th will bring together an amazing group of entrepreneurs and investors. Here are a few of the people who have agreed to join the MeshWalk over the course of the day.

In the morning as we walk on the campus of Stanford University we will be joined by the following:

Mehdi Maghsoodnia (CafePress)

Konstantin Othmer (Core Mobility)

Mike Maples (Maples Investments)

Chris Yeh (CEO of Ustream.tv)

Jeff Clavier (SoftTechVC)

Trevor Blackwell (Anybots, Y-Combinator)

Tuff Yen (Seraph Group)

Laurie Lumenti Garty (Silicon Valley Bank Emerging Technologies)

For lunch we will walk to downtown Palo Alto where SocialText, Edgeio and SoftTechVC will host us for lunch at their offices on High St. We will see SocialText’s co-working space and have lunch in Edgeio’s 2nd floor outdoor courtyard across the street.

After lunch we will head down Sand Hill Road to the complex where Mohr Davidow Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank have their offices. There we will be joined by:

Katherine Barr, David Feinleib, Sven Strohband, and Rohit Sharma who are Partners at Mohr Davidow Ventures
Rob Hayes, Partner at First Round Capital

Shai Goldman, SVB Capital

Sean Dempsey, Pricipal at Google Corporate Development

Benjamin Wayne, CEO and founder of Fliqz

David Weekly, founder of PBWiki

Donna Novitsky, CEO of BigTent, former Partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures

MeshWalk Palo Alto on the theme of Entrepreneurship will be July 25th. Over the course of the day about 100 selected entrepreneurs will walk through Palo Alto and Sand Hill Road, meeting with investors and fellow founders and discussing the process of starting and funding a company.

Our day will start on the Stanford Campus, outside Mitchell, where we will have breakfast, get introduced to each other, and then spend the morning in conversations with a number of local Angel investors.

We will head down to Palo Alto for lunch, hosted by SocialText and across the street in the 2nd floor courtyard of Edgeio and SofttechVC.

After lunch we will board buses to take us down Sand Hill Road to the complex which houses Mohr Davidow Ventures (main sponsor of this MeshWalk) and Silicon Valley Bank (another sponsor). There we will be joined by a number of other early stage venture capitalists as well as some of their portfolio firms. We will have an afternoon snack after which we will also be joined by some later stage investors and people who have been involved in the exit process (acquisition and going public).

And finally we will end the day with a party. Details on the party to be posted shortly.

If you are interested in attending please fill out the request an invitation to MeshWalk Palo Alto form. Participation is by invitation only and will include a small fee ($25) which includes parking, meals and more.

We will be walking on the MeshWalk, so participants should plan on leaving laptops & bags behind (everyone will get a bag at registration). But please do bring cameras to capture the day.

And one final note, no pitching. The MeshWalk is a chance to learn from fellow founders and investors about the process and the challenges of starting and growing a company, as such our conversations will be about everything except our current, specific ventures.

Request an invite to the MeshWalk today!