What’s a #nerdherd?

Warning:  If you were looking for a post that has anything to do with the TV show “Chuck”, you are pleasantly mistaken.  Regardless of this warning, please keep reading.

So if you follow me or many of my friends on twitter, you may see the hashtag #nerdherd being used.  I have been asked by some people just what is this “#nerdherd” that we tweet of? In short, it is a group of technology enthusiasts that come together (usually arranged via twitter) to talk shop and consume a food or beverage.  To give you a more in depth answer, I need to take you back about 6 – 10 months.

The original #nerdherd started with David Graham, Matt Brender, Luigi Danakos, and I.  We 4 former and current EMC employees would meet once or twice a week at the local Dunkin Donuts near the company headquarters since it was close to where we worked and lived.  It didn’t matter that we came from support, install base, or engineering, we always had something to talk about.  Our discussions were fueled by our passion for technology and our willingness to learn, and we would never turn down an opportunity to include another person in the group.

Over the months I have been blessed to be a part of many great tweetups and nerdherds.  They may not include all of the original people, but it’s still a great time.  Just tonight I had a nerdherd with Matt Brender, Scott Lowe, and Ben Dunning, and as luck would have it, I will be attending one of the biggest nerdherds of them all in Las Vegas next month (more on this to come).  So I encourage you to go out there and form your own groups and be passionate about technology.  If your ever in the area, drop me a line on twitter and we’ll get something together.