On Tuesday, October 12, MediaBistro held a Drink for Media mixer at Brasa. This event was open to all "full-time media" workers, including writers, editors, and more. MediaBistro hosts these events to allow those of us working in a content or creative industry to meet and mingle in a non-professional setting. According to the organization's site, "…(t)hat includes editors, writers, television producers, graphic designers, book publishers, people in production, and circulation departments—in industries including magazines, television, radio, newspapers, book publishing, online media, advertising, PR, and graphic design."

I arrived after the evening had already been underway for about an hour. The mixer was quite obviously taking place up the stairs across the balcony that overlooks the bar. As I stood in line to check in, the volunteer handing out the ubiquitous rectangular nametags suggested I go straight to the bar if I wanted to order a drink right away. Seeing the server slowly navigating the crowd that was packed along the length of the balcony, I decided to follow her advice.

Glass of wine in hand, I once again climbed the stairs and began the twisting and turning procession to reach the far side of the balcony. I noticed, along the way, that attendees wore a range of attire, some dressed casually, others in business clothes. The event attracted a good mix of men and women, who appeared to range in age from 18 to 80. I suspect had a census been taken, the majority of the guests would have fallen in the mid-20s to mid-40s age demographic.

As I began to work my way slowly back from the far end of the balcony to the staircase, I met a broad range of media workers. An editor for a Seattle daily newspaper was holding court with a couple of writers for weekly and daily papers in our area. I introduced myself to one woman who worked for an advertising firm who left a job with a national magazine in New York City in order to move to Seattle. Another woman who recently made the move from NYC works as a freelance writer for a number of ventures; she had just come to this event from the Uncapped zine planning meeting held earlier that evening. Other folks I chatted with included some freelancers who specialize in writing for corporations on topics such as computer technology, financial services, and business development; a real estate agent; a script writer; and a makeup artist.

MediaBistro makes sure that a volunteer takes digital photos of the crowd during the evening. One of the photos I was in made the Party Photo page for this mixer. (That's me in the right-hand photo in the second-to-last row.) Though the events are meant to be social only, you can expect that more than a few attendees pass out business cards, flyers requesting submissions, or other promotional materials. Also, the MediaBistro hosts will point out information you can take with you about upcoming classes offered by the group.

The cost of these events is nothing but the amount you spend on drinks. In spite of the cramped quarters along the balcony at Brasa, I enjoyed having the opportunity to meet other professionals who work in a broad range of media jobs in our area. Visit the Seattle event announcement for details on coming events. MediaBistro also hosts events in several cities; visit the MediaBistro Events page to find out about mixers and classes near you.