SMUGs - Launch Info

jeffjochum

Do you dream in megapixels? Have you been accused of spending too much money on lenses and 8G cards? Would you consider giving up a kidney for a Canon 5D Mark II? You’re not weird. You’re one of us. And we think you’d fit right in at a SmugMug User Group (SMUG), a mug-to-mug gathering of rabid, brilliant photographers just like you.

SMUGs Info

SMUGs Dates

You can also register with your email address and we'll keep you updated on your local SMUG or, all the SMUGs - your choice!

Remember, also follw MugToMug on Twitter for the last-minute updates and reminders.

A SMUG is a place where you can teach, learn and rub up against other photographers who share your passion for capturing amazing images. It’s also how everyone here at SmugMug can tell you what’s happening in our world, and to find out first-hand what’s happening in yours. Basically, SMUGs are a great way to spend time with other photographers to share tricks of the trade and add a few weapons to your artistic arsenal.

Things to Expect at a SMUG meeting
- We Talk: You’ll get the naked truth straight from the source… us. We’ll personally preview of things in the pipeline here at SmugMug HQ, including new features, bug-fixes and promotional opportunities.

- You Talk: Someone from your local community will offer advice from their personal experience, hopefully helping you learn from their trials, errors and successes.

- We Listen: We might preview upcoming features and ask your opinion of them, or solicit feedback on potential business deals we’re considering. We’d also love to hear your “VideoBlab Confessions,” a 30-second video from you, telling us what you love/hate/want about SmugMug. It’s a bulletproof way to know actually get your message, the way you wanted us to hear it, unfiltered and one-to-one.

Things You Will Never Do at a SMUG meeting
- Open your wallet: Save your money for new gear. SMUGs are free.

- Sign up for anything: There are no commitments, no requirements and no vacation timeshare offers here.

- Wanna learn a secret handshake? Try the Moose Lodge. Here, we’re just into capturing amazing images.

- Hold hands and sing Kumbayah. We love ya... but not that much.

Things to bring to a SMUG
- Warm bodies. Friends. Relatives. Strangers off the street. Everyone’s welcome.

- Ideas: Good. Bad. Totally random. We love them all.

- Gear: We cherish our toys and know you do too. Bring
equipment or prints to pose a question or just show
us how pros like you do it.


After the initial launch meetings, local volunteers willing to dedicate the time and energy will take over each local group as SMUG Leaders. They will organize and announce monthly SMUGs times, locations and topics. So, become a charter member and show up to the first SMUG meeting in your area. Or, if you would like to start a SMUG in your community, gimme a call or email right away, and we can talk about how to get one started. It’s a great time to be Smug. Join in.

Stay tuned,

Jeff Jochum
CMO, SmugMug
jeff@smugmug.com
310.773.0770
Twitter: Mug2Mug (for SMUG stuff) and SmugMugPro (everything else)


P.S. Here are the current inaugural launch dates and locations for SMUGS:

Chicago - April 27 / 6PM
Guest Speakers: Sarah / Bay Photo
Hilton Oak Lawn
9333 South Cicero Avenue, Oak Lawn, IL
(708) 425-7800

Tampa - May 11 / 6PM
Guest Speaker: Carlos Baez
Doubletree Guest Suites Tampa Bay
3050 N. Rocky Point Dr West, Tampa FL
(813) 888-8800

San Francisco - May 25 / 6PM
Guest Speaker: Gene Higa
Embassy Suites Hotel San Francisco-Airport/Burlingame
150 Anza Blvd., Burlingame, CA
(650) 342-4600

San Diego - June 8 / 6PM
Guest Speaker: Dane Sanders
Hilton San Diego-Del Mar
15575 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, CA
(858) 792-5200

Seattle - June 22 / 6PM
Guest Speaker: Still a Secret
Seattle Airport Doubletree Hotel
18740 International Blvd., Seattle, WA
(206) 246-8600

Dallas - July 6 / 6PM
Guest Speaker: Joseph Victor Stefanchick (JVS)
Hilton Dallas Park Cities
5954 Luther Lane, Dallas, TX
(214) 368-0400

New York - July 20 / 6PM
Guest Speakers: Jason Groupp, Doug Gordon
Hampton Inn JFK
144-10 135th Avenue, Jamaica, NY
(718) 322-7500

Boston - August 3 / 6PM
Guest Speaker: Justin & Mary Marantz, Enna Grazier, Steve DePino
Sheraton Boston Hotel
39 Dalton Street, Boston, MA
(617) 236-2000

Miami - August 17 / 6PM
Guest Speaker: Carlos Baez
Hard Rock Hotel-Seminole Casino
1 Seminole Way, Fort Lauderdale, FL
(954) 327-7625

BONUS! I am currently working on exact dates for Orange County, CA, Salt Lake City and Atlanta - so stay tuned.

jeff

brjphoto

Nothing close to Tucson. :bluduh

Maybe San Diego. I might be in SLC, depending on when the date is. Keep us informed.

jeffjochum wrote:

Here are the current inaugural launch dates and locations for SMUGS:
San Diego - June 8 / 6PM
Guest Speaker: Dane Sanders
Hilton San Diego-Del Mar
15575 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar, CA
(858) 792-5200

BONUS! I am currently working on exact dates for Orange County, CA, Salt Lake City and Atlanta - so stay tuned.

jeff

jeffjochum

brjphoto wrote:

Nothing close to Tucson. :bluduh

Maybe San Diego. I might be in SLC, depending on when the date is. Keep us informed.

I do soooo luv AZ. Lemme see if we can consider it for a late 2009 launch... what can u do to convince me?

jeff

jww

Darn... I was thinking that smugpro email thingy would have sent me a notice about this! ..or maybe I am confused on what that was supposed to be doing for me.

Chicago is a bit up the road from Indy, but I just saw this today and can't make it up there at this late date due to other commitments.

Oh well, maybe next time. :cry

Thanks for doing this though!!

jeffjochum

jww wrote:

Darn... I was thinking that smugpro email thingy would have sent me a notice about this! ..or maybe I am confused on what that was supposed to be doing for me.

Chicago is a bit up the road from Indy, but I just saw this today and can't make it up there at this late date due to other commitments.

Oh well, maybe next time. :cry

Thanks for doing this though!!

I'm really sorry for the late notice, totally my bad. There are a lot of SMUGs launching over the next few months and I'm still behind the curve on getting stuff accomplished inside the Smug. Baldy is sending out an email today (I know, late late late) and I'm trying to get a system in place where we can keep up with news, etc. and get emails out in a responsible and ethical way. Please be patient with me and stay tuned.

jeff

bkatz

Jeff -

great news - hopefully I can make the one in NY. We have lots of smuggers in NJ too btw.

jeffjochum

bkatz wrote:

Jeff -

great news - hopefully I can make the one in NY. We have lots of smuggers in NJ too btw.

NJ Smuggers? Preposterous!

jeff

Awais Yaqub

jeffjochum wrote:

Would you consider giving up a kidney for a Canon 5D Mark II?

lol3 That was cool

BeachsidePaul

Jeff, no need to sign up? Ummmm, having worked in hotels around the world in the past, I can't help wondering what you're going to do if 200 people show up when you have a conference room booked that only holds 50? Anyway, I'm putting in for May 11 off and hope to meet some Tampa smug folks! Later, Paul

jeffjochum

BeachsidePaul wrote:

Jeff, no need to sign up? Ummmm, having worked in hotels around the world in the past, I can't help wondering what you're going to do if 200 people show up when you have a conference room booked that only holds 50? Anyway, I'm putting in for May 11 off and hope to meet some Tampa smug folks! Later, Paul

That's a high class problem, for sure. If it happens, we fit everyone in nice and smuggy, and then get a bigger room next month. I want SMUGs to be open to everyone all the time, even if they decide at the last minute.

jeff

P.S. Added.

I should also say that, when we have special events and speakers, we'll ensure to have extra large spaces to handle the big groups. But, these kind of groups usually grow slowly and leave time for expansion.

Johnnycb

No Austin, Tx?

justus

sMUG
Great idea! Anyone out there from the El Paso, TX; Las Cruces, NM area that want to put a group together? Us southwesterners are few and far apart, I'm afraid!:D

Betz

jeffjochum wrote:

NJ Smuggers? Preposterous!

jeff

It's true.... fortunately we're more readily accessible than the Jersey Devil and we have salt water taffy.

jeffjochum

justus wrote:

Great idea! Anyone out there from the El Paso, TX; Las Cruces, NM area that want to put a group together? Us southwesterners are few and far apart, I'm afraid!:D

THAT'S what I'm talkin about! You build it and we will come (bringing a bunch of interesting friends with us.)

jeff

jeffjochum

Betz wrote:

It's true.... fortunately we're more readily accessible than the Jersey Devil and we have salt water taffy.

MMMMMM... luvvin the SWT. Can yu make it to the NYC SMUG launch on July 20? Bring the taffy and I'll be forever in your debt.

jeff

jeffjochum

CHIcago SMUG launches with a wet roar
Rain and flooded streets didn't stop the dedicated smuggers in Chicago tonight, as they thumbed their nose at the weather nastiness to help launch the CHI SMUG, at the end of the first day of the PhotoFusionTour.com class, here. Driving 3 hours from Madison, WI didn't stop David and Julie (KingofHeartsVideo.com) from coming in, and Nathan and Karen (BeyondtheWell.com) seemed downright excited, even after 2 hours of crappy highway conditions. Gotta luv the smugger luv.

Next chance to rub mugs with other smuggers is in Tampa on May 11 @ 6PM, (Doubletree Guest Suites Tampa Bay, 3050 N. Rocky Point Dr West, Tampa FL, (813) 888-8800) where our special guest will be Carlo Baez, wedding fashion photog extraordinaire. Don't be dumb - come!

jeff

Village Idiot

DC or Baltimore would be a good one.

DC is in between Jersey, Delaware, Philly, Baltimore, Annapolis, and Richmond. Not to mention all the other "little" cities outside of DC in Md, VA, PA, and WV.

I have too much on my plate though with work and the DC/Baltimore/NoVa Strobist Group.

Shima

jeffjochum wrote:

Rain and flooded streets didn't stop the dedicated smuggers in Chicago tonight, as they thumbed their nose at the weather nastiness to help launch the CHI SMUG, at the end of the first day of the PhotoFusionTour.com class, here. Driving 3 hours from Madison, WI didn't stop David and Julie (KingofHeartsVideo.com) from coming in, and Nathan and Karen (BeyondtheWell.com) seemed downright excited, even after 2 hours of crappy highway conditions. Gotta luv the smugger luv.

Next chance to rub mugs with other smuggers is in Tampa on May 11 @ 6PM, (Doubletree Guest Suites Tampa Bay, 3050 N. Rocky Point Dr West, Tampa FL, (813) 888-8800) where our special guest will be Carlo Baez, wedding fashion photog extraordinaire. Don't be dumb - come!

jeff

It was great to meet you Jeff, I really enjoyed last night's kickoff SMUG meeting!

Kellyk126

San Diego
I'll be there... lusting after all of your collective equipment collections

Can't wait!!!

Cygnus Studios

San Francisco - May 25 / 6PM

Memorial day ???? Well at least traffic should be light.

Khristen

I'm in, but there's nothing close enough for me really. Think you could find us Southerner's a spot to squat and share our secrets? This is a great idea!!!

Andy

Cygnus Studios wrote:

San Francisco - May 25 / 6PM

Memorial day ???? Well at least traffic should be light.

Yeah that's no good.

Stay tuned for an update on that.

Michelle Sidles

The closest to me is Seattle. Hmmm... do I want to drive 5 hours there and 5 hours back?
Tell me, is it worth it?

catspaw

Michelle Sidles wrote:

The closest to me is Seattle. Hmmm... do I want to drive 5 hours there and 5 hours back?
Tell me, is it worth it?

try taking a train?

DrDavid

Michelle Sidles wrote:

The closest to me is Seattle. Hmmm... do I want to drive 5 hours there and 5 hours back?
Tell me, is it worth it?

Well, I'm going to be at the San Diego one for SURE, the Orange County one for SURE once the date is set. And, probably at least the SF and Seattle ones. I'm hoping to do more, but, I need to make sure my life allows it!

So, that's a good reason to go, no? (Because I'll be there! )

David

Sam

SmugMug meeting 5-5-09?????
Someone told me there is a SmugMug meeting in Mountain View tonight 5-5-09.

Can anyone verify this?

Thanks!

Sam

Andy

Sam wrote:

Someone told me there is a SmugMug meeting in Mountain View tonight 5-5-09.

Can anyone verify this?

Thanks!

Sam

http://twitter.com/MugToMug/status/1700130562

aktse

How many twitter accounts does smuggy have and which ones do we need to follow? It seems like info is everywhere, not centralized, etc. And people are missing events/meetings/etc. because they didn't know about it.

How about a website that lists the info like the SMUG dates? How about using the smugmgupro site or even putting a blog with the dates and news there? Or a RSS feed that I can use?

As for twitter accounts, I guess I need to follow these accounts?
smugmug
smugmugpro
and now mugtomug ???? Was this announced somewhere?

And what's the difference between mugtomug and smugmugpro?

If I'm getting confused and missing things, I know that other people are too!

I know there's a SF meeting this month, but the date might be moved, etc. And there was suppose to be a meeting tonight, but that got canceled??? I never heard about this until Sam posted the question.

Can someone at smuggy write everything down in a blog post, and not a dgrin post because threads are liquid? Or, if twitter is the choice of communication, which account?

Andy

aktse wrote:

How many twitter accounts does smuggy have and which ones do we need to follow? It seems like info is everywhere, not centralized, etc. And people are missing events/meetings/etc. because they didn't know about it.

Yeah, Jeff'll explain soon.

Website is coming, this week!

Follow @SmugMug, @SmugMugPro and @MugToMug for twitter updates.

Sorry for the slowness, it's all coming together.

jeffjochum

aktse wrote:

How many twitter accounts does smuggy have and which ones do we need to follow? It seems like info is everywhere, not centralized, etc. And people are missing events/meetings/etc. because they didn't know about it.

How about a website that lists the info like the SMUG dates? How about using the smugmgupro site or even putting a blog with the dates and news there? Or a RSS feed that I can use?

As for twitter accounts, I guess I need to follow these accounts?
smugmug
smugmugpro
and now mugtomug ???? Was this announced somewhere?

And what's the difference between mugtomug and smugmugpro?

If I'm getting confused and missing things, I know that other people are too!

I know there's a SF meeting this month, but the date might be moved, etc. And there was suppose to be a meeting tonight, but that got canceled??? I never heard about this until Sam posted the question.

Can someone at smuggy write everything down in a blog post, and not a dgrin post because threads are liquid? Or, if twitter is the choice of communication, which account?

First, I'm quite sorry and embarrassed that we're confusing you. We have been working on a lotta stuff regarding SMUGs at the same time, and changes keep creeping into the process, that don't always get broadcast. SMUGs are kinda new here, so please keep the faith and hammer us when you feel we need it (like now.)

Here's the feed:

We are just now finishing a set of pages that will serve as the beginning of an entire community website, where news (or links) about SMUGs, events, blogs, etc. will be centralized. The first round will include upcoming SMUG's date, locations, times and speakers. Soon, I want to add links to SMUG blogs that will be driven by the SMUG Leaders, which will also increase the fingers on the keyboard for our community, in general.

On a daily basis, we are trying to centralize all "immediate" communication on Twitter. This way, we can increase our communication with y'all without resorting to a bunch of email (e.g. spam). The reason for multiple accounts is to reduce the expanding information feed that comes out of one pipe to you (i.e. drinking from a firehouse syndrome.) Also, by having focused Twitter feeds, you can visit the account page and review all of the historical tweets, without having to sift through a bunch of irrelevant chaff to find the ones you are looking for.

On Twitter, the focus for each account is:

@SmugMug - general news, updates, and random thoughts, geared for Smuggers at all levels.
@SmugMugPro - business-oriented updates and links, focused at Smuggers who sell their images online.
@MugToMug - the official news and update feed for SMUGs, and related community events. Here is where we'll announce upcoming SMUG launches, meeting dates and times (and any changes), new speakers, etc. PLUS any last-minute changes that may occur.

That's all for now, lemme know if y'all have any ideas about how to do this more gooder. TIA and see you at the SMUG.

jeff

ilbcnu

Not sure if this goes here but will ask anyway... do all the updates that are through the above mentioned twitters also go to out to the email address I put in over at the "new future smugmug pro updates" site Andy mentioned/linked to receive updates?