The Power of Events

We constantly hear about how we limit our relationships with others in favor of residual conversations on social media. I’m sure there’s a lot of truth in that. Perhaps it is due to the haste that accompanies us every day. We have more and more tasks, plans, things to do in a fairly short time. As a result, we often neglect interpersonal relationships. But I believe in the power of events!

InternetBeta 2009

For me, this was the case with the InternetBeta conference in Rzeszow. When I signed up to participate in it in 2009, I represented the Marshal’s Office of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship and UMCS in Lublin. I was a freshman doctoral student who talked about cities on the Internet. Not knowing anyone at all, I went to the event alone, unsure of what to expect from it. I decided to participate in it to leave the world of scientific conferences, show myself in a different environment, and create my image as a specialist in territorial marketing (I wrote a doctorate on this subject).

What I saw there surprised me every step of the way. There was a real organizational gap. I was used to tables covered with green cloth, behind which there were speakers, while here on the screen in the main room I saw an online broadcast on Blip (yes, there used to be something like this).

I won’t forget how surprised I was to see people sitting with laptops during lectures instead of with notebooks! I took a picture of the impression!!

This one 😉

Every presentation made me feel like Indiana Jones. Each was a new discovery. I already had Facebook, and naszaklasa.pl. That’s when I learned that you could create fan pages for institutions, companies, run campaigns…

The evening at the party, I joined, among others, Dominik Szarek and Marcin Jaśkiewicz. Men completely unknown to me told me that they created KrakSpot in Krakow. They explained what barcamps are, what the whole idea is about, and… I admired it completely.

As it turned out later, they knew a large part of the participants, and by the way, I started to get to know them.

Once again, I would like to thank Mateusz Tułecki, the organizer of the event, for what he does by integrating various Internet-related environments in Rzeszow!

Women in the World of Technological Events

However, this conversation caused something else. Less than a year and a half later I started with barcamp KielceCom in my hometown of Kielce. Together with Łukasz Nowak and Piotrek Kargul, we decided to check how such an event would work in our hometown.

We started organizing original meetings, and well-known (especially today) Internet entrepreneurs attended them. They talked about the development of social media, the mobile industry, computer games, and e-commerce. We organized several such events that allowed me to meet the most recognizable people in the environment. I talked to them about the challenges and opportunities offered by the use of new technologies, and I fell in love with this industry more and more.

Over time, I began to participate in other events in the country, getting to know what life looks like outside Kielce, which was getting tighter and tighter for me. And I couldn’t have ended up in any other place than Warsaw.

The Power of Women and Wenusjanki

That’s where I decided to start my own business. In a strange city, I felt a little lonely, so I wanted to organize something that would allow me to make new friendships and acquaintances. I invented Wenusjanki (transl. Venusian Women). I did not want to limit myself, and the experience of driving in different cities showed me how nice it is to have friends in Krakow, Wroclaw, or Gdansk.

That’s why I set out from the beginning to build our community of women active in several cities. I wrote about the whole initiative earlier. For over a year I suspended its activities. What Wenusjanki has given me is an incredible load of experiences, tremendous emotions, and many really valuable connections that I maintain to this day.

I met thousands of women (annually we had nearly 2,500 of them out of 25 events). I am in constant contact with some of them. We meet, we talk, we go out together. Thanks to Wenusjanki, I have tamed Warsaw, Krakow, Wroclaw, Poznan, and the Tri-City (I do not count Kielce, because it is my hometown). They weren’t so strange to me anymore, because there was someone everywhere I could write, meet, or talk to. This initiative has given me great friends, lots of warmth, and support.

Such initiatives generate many opportunities, which the participants of the events organized by us had a chance to see. Thanks to KielceCom, a lot of people could become friends with new technologies. Partnerships have been established and are ongoing to this day. Wenusjanki helped women find jobs, employees, or subcontractors; it showed the power of the gentler sex.

I am very happy when our work makes not only us organizers grow, but also when others can get to know each other, exchange experience, and find support. It’s incredibly constructive and motivating.

Interestingly, I will tell you that we are about to start another initiative: this time, supporting companies in the field of education about international expansion. I am already looking forward to this project, and the global character is probably a natural continuation. First, there was Kielce, then selected cities in Poland, and now it’s time for an international dimension.

More information on new events coming soon 😊