The final and essential defense of a free society is an independent, open, and aggressive media. Sadly, the dominant corporate media seems to spend most of its time avoiding real news stories, instead dwelling on distractions and methodically undermining the quality of public debate. This discussion/work group will especially focus on 1) exploring and developing alternatives to mainstream media, 2) promoting open, meaningful and non-confrontational discussion and inquiry in our society, and 3) …

Hello, Welcome to Sexy, Soulful Singles. =) Sexy is not just about how you look, it's about how you feel about yourself. Do you honestly like who you are–just as you are? Sometimes, I often think that people fail to really embrace who they really are. Our media gives us false messages about who we should be. I say, why can't we be sexy just as we are. The more you love yourself, the more others will love you too! It's just how it goes. What's on the inside is on outside! A lot of people think t …

Investor Ron Conway estimates real-time data is 1 percent to 2 percent of Web content (2009). In three years, it will climb to 25 percent of the content on the Web. That will make the market a $5 billion opportunity. “I think this is the next multi-billion dollar market.” – Ron Conway The real-time web has the potential to disrupt and fundamentally shift the way we communicate. This is THE meet-up to attend if you are shaping or wanting to know the people, technology and thought-leaders of the …

Eastbay Localprenuers Meetup In order to survive as an entrepreneur, it's crucial to understand how to make the right connections, get the tools and inspirational education in order to grow your business. Eastbay Localprenuers Meetup brings you fresh speakers, monthly training and networking to jump-start your projects and dreams. • Have great business ideas; however you don’t know where to start? • Clueless about Internet Marketing 101? • Have a website that's not working for you? • Need to …

Got Questions about WordPress?  This weekly support group is appropriate for users, developers, and designers working with WordPress.  Bring your questions, we'll try to figure out an answer in the group. $10

Outdoor Afro is a community that reconnects African-Americans with natural spaces and one another through recreational activities such as camping, hiking, biking, birding, fishing, gardening, skiing — and more! Outdoor Afro uses social media to create interest communities, events, and to partner with regional and national organizations that support diverse participation in the Great Outdoors. Here is where you can start locally connecting with people who share your outdoor interests!

Tuesday Evenings, 7:00 - 10:00pm. We love drawing and we love listening to music while we draw! We are a loose collection of professionals and amateurs who have been meeting every Tuesday to draw the figure for over 15 years. Comfort and good humor are important aspects of our group and we enjoy talking about important - or not important - issues of the day. This is not a quiet or hushed group! But no question, our dedication and devotion is to our love of drawing the figure. We work with a spec …

Founded in 2011, our group now has over 150 members, and this is SOME of what they do: making collaborative sculpture, making music, crafting, making video and film, making art in the environment, dancing, contact improvisation dancing, creating dances, being a bodyworker, creating collages, creating 3D illustration, writing plays, writing poetry, writing screenplays, cooking, making ceramics, , knitting , painting, drawing, tinkering, being silly, playing, making music, making rhythm, drumming, …

The East Bay Series (EBS) takes place monthly (except for August and December) on a Wednesday evening at locations convenient to those who live and work in the East Bay, Tri-Valley and beyond in the Capital Corridor and Central Valley. The EBS theme is “real-life stories of entrepreneurial success,” reflecting how we use real-life experiences to give you practical recommendations with great take-away value. The format is a moderated panel discussion, typically with between three and five members …

Entrepreneurship permeates the culture of Silicon Valley -  the innovation capital of the world. Never before has it been so possible for anyone from anywhere,  with  a great idea and a burning desire to succeed,  to make it big and change the world in a relatively short period of time. Taking a startup from idea to IPO has taken on mythical proportions.   Many dream the dream, with hopes of launching the "next big thing". We are a community of entrepreneurs, technologists, academics, financial …

East Bay Technology Executives (EBTE) has been formed to take advantage of and leverage our common East Bay location and unique cultural attributes. To create a foundation of shared experience, membership is open to people living in who live in the Bay Area's 510- and 925- area codes...and are current or former: officer-level (VP or more senior) executives and entrepreneurs/founders from technology companies of all types (hardware/software, communications, digital media, Internet, cleantech, et …

Speaking Fearlessly Do you have an important message or mission or product? What's holding you back from speaking up right now? Speaking Fearlessly is designed to: 1) Build a community to support each other in sharing great speaking tips 2) Practice in front of a receptive audience and receive solid, positive feedback 3) Provide you with a free video recording of your speech to review later and practice in private Speaking Fearlessly is perfect for: * Sales/marketing people * Speakers * Coache …

Social Media Breakfasts bring together marketers, PR pros, entrepreneurs, students and social media practitioners and enthusiasts of all stripes over breakfast to teach, share and learn social media best practices. Feed your belly and your brain!

Interested in painting or drawing portraits but too shy to ask random strangers? Tired of drawing your loved ones over and over again? This group is for you. Let's get together and take turns sitting for each other. Just to be clear this is NOT a nude figure drawing session (not that I have anything against nude figure drawing). My interest is in faces specifically. I work in mixed media so it's easy for me to bring low maintenance supplies with me like colored pencils, water colors, pastels. Ho …

Like you, I'm a parent who is always on the look out for fun, healthy and empowering social activities that allow the whole family to participate. Kinderfolkz works with theaters, museums, galleries, festivals, concert venues and more to identify free and low-cost high quality events for us to create playdates within. For example, we've partnered with The New Parkway Theater in Oakland, CA to present a quarterly family film festival and dance celebration honoring children's educational media: Se …

We want to jolt the animal rights movement with activism that is smart, stylish, social-media savvy, and not afraid to shoot for the moon. What's different about us? 1. We dream big. There's an illusion of stability in every system. But find the right pressure point, and the house of cards will fall. 2. We use stories and emotions. We tell stories from the animals’ perspective. Stories to move you. Stories to change the world. 3. We work to inspire activists and activism. Virtuous cycles are the …

Good morning African American web professionals. If you professionally develop code, media, content, or strategy for the web, please come and join us for a networking waffle breakfast.

A fun group for actors, writers, camera hands, etc. who are looking to make great/funny professional videos! We just moved to Berkeley from LA and are working on a project called Fotoape, you can find out more info about it and the kind of videos we've been making on Fotoape.com. For the project we are looking to put together some short videos/skits. All kinds of people are welcome, Camera Operators, Extras, Writers, Actors, etc... We have the bare equipment needed to make decent quality videos. …