Meeting up in Barcelona during 3GSM can be tricky when you have to push through about 30,000 people. But CrunchGear, sister to TechCrunch, gamely held a meetup event (pictured) there last week. However, after realising he’d accidentally booked the event in an office block, CG editor John Biggs moved it “to a hole-in-the-wall paella place with an upstairs.” Despite this minor set-back about 30 people went along and a good time was evidently had by all.
Alas the instructions appeared to be all too much for some, including Loren Feldman from 1938 Media and his partners in crime UK CEO Paul Walsh, Dennis Howlett and MaxRoam’s Pat Phelan. Instead of taking the option most 3GSM attendees would think of and dialing-up a mobile browser to get the published map for the party, they turned to what was clearly the most effective solution: Qik video yourself back to your friend in New York who, alerted via Twitter’s ‘I’m streaming right now’, can then post a reply via YouTube.
Genius.
Understandably, stuck in the middle of a dark Barca street, they vented their ire at TechCrunch for not immediately informing them of the change of venue. Well, what can we say guys? Maybe get a mobile phone number next time.
Meanwhile, I’m happy - seriously - to say the guys did eventually made it to the CrunchGear party. (Although this video of them at the event looks nothing like the official photos, which does make me wonder if they found the right place…)
There’s a great story here Mike, we went to some lawyers office which was the real address John gave us, seriously pissed off we forced them to allow us up, 30 suits were up there but we only knew 2 which were Truphones James Body and James Tagg.
We were asked millions of questions of who we were and I got cross and said I was a friend of Michael Arrington, “who” was the reply
we ate all their wonderful food, got amazingly strange looks and then I got a call to go to a serious dinner so I left the lads there.
Ah, that explains why your second video looks nothing like the TechCrunch party. Nice work guys, nice work…
I am impressed. You moved your networking event, but forgot to send out an email or SMS. So half your guest list turned up at the old venue and had your event anyway, without you.
Best line yet “who is Mike Arrington”
What? I didn’t know it wasn’t a TechCrunch party LOL. I met two friends there; Lubna (Founder of Mobile Monday New York) and Carl (Employee #1 at Operator 3) - both of whom I had introduced to Loren by email earlier that day.
You mean that wasn’t the TechCrunch party? This just gets funnier and funnier.
@paulwalsh you mean you didn’t know this?
remember I went looking for John Biggs and couldn’t find him, in fact no one know who he was either.
I didn’t know. I was on my way somewhere else, chatted for an hour and left.
There’s a message in here about Americans who assume everyone is using their laptop to check Techcrunch as they walk around a MOBILE convention! How hard would it have been to send an email to the guest list?
@benedictevans
amazing, so obviously the Truphone team didn’t know plus you plus 5 of us, so what was going on there exactly.
There surely cant have been a party going on at the exact same time in two different places.
I still don’t get why the guys didn’t just phone someone…
We did
we phoned Mike Arrington who didn’t know anything about it and Mike Butcher who got us an address but we used the iPhone to find the proper address of the Lawyers and headed on over there.
Its most confusing
1) We were given the address for a lawyer firm from TechCrunch - address given was 177
2) That address was incorrect
3) We checked the correct address for that firm using Google and it was in fact 477 (5 miles away)
4) We turned up to a party at 477 to find that it’s the wrong party.
5) We still managed to meet people we know - out of say, 50 people.
Net result = we had a blast trying to find the wrong party.
Why let the truth get in the way of yet another dig at Irish people? TechCrunch UK does no serious reporting on Irish companies yet is very willing to slag them off on a frequent basis. Valleywag much?
Damien Mulley - I am dying to meet you. You sense of humour bypass must be quite a medical miracle. FYI Dennis is a Brit and Loren is a Yank. Sorry if that spoils your sense of self persecution.
Mike, dying to meet me, was that threat?
Damien - dry up. There’s nothing even vaguely anti-Irish here.
Funny story.
Afraid you got this one wrong Damien
funny story full stop
Mike was one of the people we called. Its all bloody Paul Walsh’s fault anyways
I can’t wait for our upcoming trip to NY. It will definitely Qik-ed.
NYC ,oh for gods sake, I suppose the grid will help. lets bring Damien and Mike B as well
This is starting to look like the plot of some bad screwball comedy….or possibly a sequel to “The Party”….
You mean to tell me that after staring at a hole in the ground for half an hour we ended up in the wrong place? My goodness - this just gets more bizarre by the minute. Props to Mike B for putting the vid up. You had to be there.
So I though this was a simple story But now it’s “Four guys go to wrong location, gatecrash wrong party, and leave without knowing it”. Priceless. It’s going to take something to beat this story.
Next week, TechCrunch attempts to organise piss-up in brewery, but after scouring Wikipedia and YouTube for hours can’t find any how-tos on getting the barrels open, miserable time had by all.
Somewhere in there is a line about intelligent idiots. Yep, that’s us!
Damien. Why would Mike be anti Irish?
Doesn’t he write or used to write in the Irish Times?
It’s just a funny story that happened to involve Irish, American and British guys getting lost!.