Other big cities like NYC, LA, London, and Dubai had happy hours with event attendance in the hundreds. I thought I’d put one together for DC ASWers and see what would happen. Just another one of my forays or experiments into building communities. We had a decent turnout of 20-25 people. Certainly, I’ve been part of events with bigger attendance.

But I have to say that this event was solid and I genuinely enjoyed it. Here’s why I think ASW events are so successful.

1. It was a very international crowd. Probably 75% international with people from all over the world. ASW is built with the idea of having a international membership base. I met people from Morocco, Luxembourg, Istanbul, Mexico, and Paris. That really gives it a very worldly exotic feel to it.
2. The conversation and people were of high quality. I know that makes me sound like a snob, but attending a happy hour full of strangers is no easy feat for anyone. There are so many happy hours where the guys are socially awkward or the women are complete snobs. But people were so friendly. It’s partly because the professionals are of a higher caliber who are well educated and command strong social skills. For people who were well educated, I sensed no pretentiousness. They are a handsome and beautiful group of people too.
3. It’s invitation-only. Because the site itself is invite-only, this ensures that most members who come genuinely know someone else from the community. This provides a checks and balance system and minimizes the “fluff and noise.”

I heard similar remarks from some of the attendees who attended other ASW events around the world.

I want to go to the Outerbanks beaches in early to mid August and experience this view. I’ve never been there. And everyone else I know has gone. My weekend itinerary is getting packed from now through the end of July. I want to go with friends. Which one of you guys and gals are in? Let’s do it. A weekend of memories…

1. An online magazine targeted towards young Asian adults (20-40 years old)
2. Uses a blogging platform to power the site.
3. Focuses on topics such as local events, issues, resources, editorial pieces, pop culture, etc…

I tossed the idea to Christian who is heavily involved in the local APA community, but I saw his answer coming a mile away….no time!

We both think it’s a good idea if done right. I know I have the technical skillsets to develop the site as well as the marketing skills to evangelize the benefits to its intended targeted audience. But like Christian, I don’t have the time to find and recruit good writers and bloggers and oversee them.

It’s not a big deal to me at this point as I’ve got way too much to do as it is. But I wanted to toss the idea out there to see if there is anyone who would gravitate towards the concept. Though not exactly what I am aiming for, I like the concept of Kineda, which is an online magazine in blog format dedicated towards pop culture.

Man…so many great stories to come out of some of these trips and people that I met. We can spend a night around a campfire telling some of them….

Video produced with Animoto for those who want to do something similar.

For those interested, the song is called “On and On” and it is by a band called, West 8 Five. I feel like I wanna salsa after listening to this song.

If you are interested in the cool mash-up video product, it’s called Animoto. Please be sure to use my referrer code, “tmazrgni” when you sign up so I can receive credit for it. Sign up is free. I’m embedding the Youtube version of this video as well for those who can’t see it in flash.

Every touch, spin, and caress of the arm and hips is like a sexual encounter unto itself.