The Man in Sydney

15 July 2007

15 comments

A Blue Perspective: The Man in Sydney

When you tell fellow Melbournians, they howl with disdain. When you tell Sydney-siders, their first response is a quizzical "Why!?". But I've gone and done it anyway. I've moved to Sydney.

To me, it makes plenty of sense – it's more a personal move than anything else. But there's also a vibe about the Sydney web scene that's always been lacking in Melbourne. Community spirit just never seemed to catch on south of the border. It was always the same few faces that turned up regularly to Web Standards Group meetings, and the attrition rate at Melbourne Massive left a bitter taste in my mouth. Maybe that Melbourne coolness was just getting in the way of doing stuff.

I don't mean to belittle the efforts of those who did and are supporting the Melbourne community. There's no shortage of talented people there, and I made some great friends through web-related meetups. Hopefully I can still watch the Melbourne scene grow and flourish on my many trips back home ... it'll always be home.

In the meantime, I need to start wearing more flip flops and shorts at inappropriate temperatures. If you see me around town and I've got it wrong, come up and tell me.

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Comments

  1. 1/15

    Cheryl commented on 15 July 2007 @ 18:42

    I give it 6 months before you own a pair of Tsubis...

  2. 2/15

    Scott G commented on 15 July 2007 @ 19:30

    C'mon! Tsubis are so last year... at least the last ones I saw on a chick looked like old, used sweatpants?

    You have to at least go hang in Paddo and get your metrosexual on! welcome to sydney dude ;-)

  3. 3/15

    Lindsay commented on 15 July 2007 @ 21:50

    Welcome to the 'hood cam.

    Don't let that Lucas guy corrupt you :)

  4. 4/15

    Dushan Hanuska commented on 15 July 2007 @ 22:53

    Welcome to Sydney, mate!

    I made the move myself several years ago! I miss Melbourne very much. It'll always be my home.

    On the other hand, I must say, I like Sydney as well. I met lots of interesting people, made lots of friends and also got married here.

    I wish you all the best!
    Dushan

  5. 5/15

    Nick Cowie commented on 15 July 2007 @ 23:49

    Good luck with the move and if it does not work out, you are always welcome in Perth we have a pretty good web community here.

  6. 6/15

    Michael Koukoullis commented on 16 July 2007 @ 00:47

    Apparently pastel coloured clothes are the way for the Sydney scene.

  7. 7/15

    Tino commented on 16 July 2007 @ 02:30

    It is one of the nicest city ive ever been. You will love it!

  8. 8/15

    Maxine Sherrin commented on 16 July 2007 @ 08:54

    Yes, whole busloads of people were stopping to stare at the site of Cam walking down the street in shorts (albeit long ones) on a freezing (oh, that would be about 16 degrees for us) day last Friday in Sydney.
    Yes, by September I expect to see him rocking up to do his Web Directions presentation in a Stubbies and pair of pluggers :)

  9. 9/15

    mattymcg commented on 16 July 2007 @ 10:13

    "Community spirit just never seemed to catch on south of the border"

    It's obviously a little difficult for me to read that, possibly less because I disagree with you and more because the truth can hurt sometimes. I don't begrudge your move to Sin City, of course, and I acknowledge it can be hard to convince Melburnians to get their arse along to an event, especially when it's 5 deg C outside.

    Having said that, attendance has wavered between 50 and 70 people to recent WSG meetings. Considering we do have half the population and haven't been doing this as long as the Sydney folks, I'm not giving up on the Melbourne scene just yet ...

  10. 10/15

    Grumpy commented on 16 July 2007 @ 10:13

    Ahhh Michael ... so much more more than a room mate, a veritable font of fashion advice. Looking forward to seeing him work his magic on the Toolman, too!

  11. 11/15

    Cheryl commented on 16 July 2007 @ 10:39

    Michael - "Apparently pastel coloured clothes are the way for the Sydney scene."

    I was just reading in a fashion magazine about the importance of having staples in your wardrobe that aren't about fads or fashion... they then went on to say "so when you're buying new jeans, try to get colours that go with everything such as watermelon or peach".

    Yeah cos watermelon jeans don't look ridiculous or anything...

  12. 12/15

    Mr Funk commented on 16 July 2007 @ 10:42

    Watermelon jeans? Wow. Still, better than the "fashion" here in Brisbane. In the last 3 months, everybody under 25 has decided that faux-emo is the new hotness. It's absolutele everywhere. And dress-sweater-teeshirt combination attrocities that make any woman look frumpy, no matter how attractive she may have been. *Shudder*

  13. 13/15

    Lucas Chan commented on 16 July 2007 @ 10:58

    "But there's also a vibe about the Sydney web scene that's always been lacking in Melbourne."

    Actually, putting my love of Melbourne aside I'd say I have to agree with this for the most part. For a city with such a large creative vibe the web nerds do seem a little quiet. I certainly feel like I could be doing a lot more to contribute to the scene down here.

    Even niche music & visual genres thrive in Melbourne because the participants have so much enthusiasm for what they do and don't think twice about supporting each other.

    This is why I travel to go to Web Directions/SXSW/etc because there's little happening web-wise in Melbourne from which inspiration can be drawn.

    Much props to Matty M and co for all their efforts with WSG. The Melb web community needs more guys like this.

  14. 14/15

    Lachlan Hardy commented on 16 July 2007 @ 20:59

    Welcome, Cam. It's about time we turned things up a notch here in Sydney. I'm pretty sure this dial goes all the way to 11...

    As for Melbourne, when Matty and I were running the WSG meetings, they were always good events. Plenty of people and plenty of great discussion. But I still remember that we always asked who was there for the first time, and every time we asked somewhere around 60% put up their hands. I never worked out why those folks don't come back

    Everybody has their theories, but I think it just requires more pushing. More people who are willing to throw themselves in the deep end. More people to start more events

    Keep up the good work, Matty! And everybody else who sticks their oar in. It's the only way to gain momentum!

  15. 15/15

    Tomek commented on 17 July 2007 @ 01:40

    Congratulations! I think it's brilliant idea! btw. "I need to start wearing more flip flops and shorts at inappropriate temperatures" I saw some pics of You at flickr so please don't do it again:) It was funny only for short period of time.

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