Social Networking Without A Computer - Imagine That!

While browsing my tweets (@pandaran) on Twitter I came across an interesting Tweet from @daveiam regarding his attendance at a Jelly get together. I hadn't heard of anything called Jelly before, so I did a quick Google search on the event.

What I found was more surprising and interesting then even I could have imagined. Jelly is a concept that apparently started in New York with two professionals, Amit and Luke, when they realized their love for working at home. Jelly is social networking minus the fancy software, minus the technology, and instead relies on people connecting with people in a co-operative work environment. Sound confusing and interesting all at the same time?

Jelly takes professionals from all walks of life, from different professions and utilizes a general meeting place (typically a home or apartment of a member). In this arranged meeting place the individuals network, share, and talk about their ideas and professions. A general think tank is created with professionals in such industries as programming, design, editing, blogging, writing, playwrights, musicians, and marketing/advertising. The ground these people cover in the average work day is catapulted forward with the ideas coming from other professions. It's a very "thinking outside the box" type of gathering that has picked up steam since its creation in 2006.

The Jelly group meets once a week and professionals bring their laptops and other mobile tools, pick a spot, and get to work. People are working in the kitchen, bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, I even saw a few using the bathrooms as work spaces. This concept definitely goes against the grain of corporate beliefs, but it's proven ground for our young professionals. Sadly not every job fits into the Jelly mold; it seems that Jelly is a fit for those in the creative, freelance, and/or entrepreneur fields.

An article appeared in Wired magazine regarding this concept and highlighted how the professionals truly felt their work grow and attract a segment of the population that they had previously been unable to attract to each of their works.

These networks that are formed are true business alliances, and week after week they develop into long term friendships. Having other pairs of eyes share in your work is a great way to field test your concepts, writings, and programs.

Here is a video that follows an actual Jelly event:


What is Jelly? from Amit Gupta on Vimeo.

This is not to be confused with the other popular Jelly video:



Okay, joking aside, look for a Jelly meetup on this site for your local area and participate if you can.