So, the Kunshan Beer fest has just finished, and I'm writing this blissfully unhungover (it's been a day or two since I went). For drinking, it was a great event with many and varied beer companies including some German beers that I've never seen in Shanghai. Thanks to the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, I had VIP tickets for the German tent, meaning lots of carousing with the (mostly German and Chinese) crowd.

Networking-wise, it wasn't so hot -- not a single card got passed out as far as I could see. Mostly because outside the German tent it was largely locals who were there with their friends, and inside the tent it was too loud to meet people and was organised to give sponsors separate tables.

All in all, definitely worthwhile, but only if you're a drinking fan. Great place to take existing contacts to strengthen a relationship (beer is a fantastic equalizer) but not so great for meeting new people.

TGIF

Organised by ChinaBiz Speakers, the inaugural TGIF meeting was small but really rather good. Since it was publicised through Facebook, I got a chance to meet people I'd only known online, which is always an interesting (and in this case, pleasant) experience. With only six attendees, which later dwinded to four, it was definitely a case of quality over quantity which really showed in the conversation. It just goes to show that numbers aren't everything and it's possible (and in fact easier) to make great connections at small gatherings.

BarCamp Shanghai 2007

The world's premier geek "unconference", BarCamp, made it to Shanghai for the second year running. It was a much more equal mix of locals and foreigners this year, with a lot of familiar faces from the 2006 Shanghai BarCamp. Lots of interesting (for geeks) talks, including a "command-line camp," a series of talks about VC funding and a discussion on open-source business practices. While the event's not really suited to a non-geek crowd, as a geek myself I learned a lot, met some great people and had a chance to reconnect with old friends from last year.

Waiwhite Dragon Cocktail Night

As the publishers of Shanghai's Who is Who Guide, Wai White Dragon should certainly know how to throw a bash with the right kind of people. They didn't disappoint. At their invite-only event at Bar789, I met a lot of CEOs, GMs and a deputy consul or two. Judging by their gala a few months ago and this cocktail night, Wai White is doing a great job of positioning its events as THE place to meet high-end people (outside of the chambers' sporadic balls and galas)

The Good Lots of people Lots of new faces Came away with several useful contacts

The Bad Less mingling than previous interchambers Not much ambience Food could have been better

The latest interchamber mixer was a bit of a mixed bag. Like every other interchamber, the crowds were massive, though this time around the group dynamic seemed a little different, with more people staying in groups for longer. Depending on who you want to meet and why you want to network, this could be a good or a bad thing. Good because you can get to know people better, but not so good because (politely) breaking into a group can be more difficult than finding an unattached person to talk to. Personally, I would've liked to have had more mingling going on.

People-wise, there were a lot of new faces compared to the previous interchambers, with a good mix of locals and expats. Quite a few attendees mentioned that the quality of the people wasn't up to that of previous interchambers, though it's difficult to judge since everyone goes there to meet different people. I came out of it with three or four useful contacts, and less cards than I'd usually gather from an interchamber event. Of course, quality counts over quantity, but I'm pretty sure I got the same amount of useful contacts from the previous interchambers too.

The only other things are pretty minor: The food wasn't up to the usual standards of interchambers, being mostly non-finger-food, making it difficult to juggle a plate, a fork, a wine glass and cards all at the same time. Also, the lack of any background music didn't do much for the ambience.

At the end of the day though, what counts is what you get from a networking event. Despite a few negative points, I got some good contacts to follow up on. It's with this in mind I can recommend the interchamber mixers, even though this one wasn't quite up to their usual high standards.

Held in the majestic Children's Palace, Wai White's Who is Who Grande Gala was one of the best events I've been to in a long time. The venue was amazing, the crowd consisted of some of Shanghai's movers and shakers and the champagne was free-flowing.

{flv}whoiswhomix{/flv}

Canuck Connection: Apr '07

Much, much bigger than the last Canuck Connection we reviewed, this event got over 200 attendants, including some pretty high rollers like GMs and Consuls. Mostly Canadian, with quite a few locals and some other nationalities thrown in. Good value and lots of networking.

Overseas Chinese Network: Apr '07

More of a social event, the OCN mixer drew out a huge crowd of overseas Chinese for an evening of quality networking. Lots of Australian and American Chinese, one or two British Chinese and about three or four Europeans. Lots of locals too. Interesting to be the only Euro in a room of Chinese-looking networkers...

NextStep Tuesday: 3 Apr '07

Good event, met some useful contacts. NextStep has made a great splash on the networking scene, and it's encouraging to see that they're maintaining their good work.

Fortune Cookies Media Night

By Sheldon 'Tono' Adams

Highly recommended for those involved in media and the arts. Not the place to go if you are looking for logistics solutions.

Price	Registered: 50 RMB Unregistered: 80 RMB
Food	Didn't see any but there might have been some hiding around somewhere
Crowd	Over 150 people, good turnout. Well-mixed between locals to expats and industry to freelance individuals (as it was a media networking event). Many freelance writers, fine artists, photographers, and web designers were matching up well with corporate agents and/or making new friends.
Vibe	Energetic especially since Underground Lounge was packed. Being that it was a media networking event the atmosphere was more casual, friendly, and "interesting" than one may find at other events.

• Good range of people - less than last time though
• Quite a lot of entrepreneurs, around 50% of the attendants by my estimation
• Lots of new faces since last time
• Quite a good offer price-wise -- no entry fee and 35 RMB per drink
• Actually got a couple of good leads out of it

Keep reading to find out what kind of crowd attended

By its very nature, a seminar about how to improve your networking attracts a good networking crowd. The mix was about half local and half expat and everyone was very approachable. Amongst the expat side was a wide range of nationalities, including French, English, Singaporean, American and a couple of Danes, quite a rare sight (for me) in Shanghai. Jobs-wise, there were quite a lot of lawyers and trainers/coaches, with a smattering of consultants and finance people and the usual random assortment.

Atmosphere: Ultra casual and friendly, come as you are. More chatting on Shanghai lifestyle than on business. Relaxed Sunday coffee talk. Michael, who runs the website, is a wealth of information on Shanghai living.
Goodies: 10% off food and drinks for those who are part of the event.

• Live jazz music, great view, easy going Canadian atmosphere
• Events: a women's day quiz with prizes given out, i.e. a Canadian hockey jersey, Diana Krall CD
• A 50/50 draw to raise money for cleft lip syndrome, prizes given out
• About 50 people of mixed ages, a few Chinese Canadians or ex-Chinese MBA students that studied in Canada, quite a few people linked to government, some entrepreneurs and real estate and insurance people.