This question has come up a few times in the Social Media Breakfast Maine LinkedIn Group so I thought I could make a list here too. When people are looking to move to the area, move back to the area or to be more connected in our little city – they look for good networking opportunities with business people like themselves. Here in our lively city there are events and opportunities like that all year long.
Here are a list of great networking opportunities right here in Portland:
- Maine Tweetup – Held about once a month the Maine Tweetups (#metweetup) are a great place to connect in person with people you can continue your conversation with after the night is over on Twitter. There is a Maine Tweetup Facebook Group that seems to be the best place to hear about the next gathering.
- PechaKucha Portland – PechaKucha is for the creative types. It is a really neat event that meets every few months. Area designers and creatives present their work in a unique format. They have a Facebook page and website where you can hear about upcoming events and calls for speakers.
- Portland Green Drinks – Greendrinks is held the second Tuesday of every month at various locations around the city. The goal is to connect people from Portland who are interested in environmental and sustainability issues. You are encouraged to ‘bring your own vessel’ (beer drinking vessel) and you can fill it up as long as the beverage supplies last. Really energetic room.
- Propel – Propel is affiliated with the Portland Regional Chamber. Their mission is to cultivate and foster the interests and careers of young professionals in the area. They have regular events, mixers and the popular Entreverge Awards. You can find out about upcoming events they have on their website.
- PubHub – If technology and entrepreneurship is your thing, you should attend a PubHub – the free beer doesn’t hurt either. This event, organized by the Casco Bay Tech Hub, gets together once a month. They feature at least one speaker a month to talk about challenges and opportunities right here in Maine. They have a website that lists their upcoming events and a newsletter you can sign up for to get an email when the next event is announced.
- Social Media Breakfast Maine – Obviously! Once a month we learn about things happening in the social media space, connect with our peers and eat bacon. To hear about the next SMBME, you can sign up for our email list (right hand side of the page) and you will hear about the next event first!
There are of course many more events happening all the time. I know folks like the Maine PR Council, 2 Degrees Portland and LiveWork Portland have mixers and events but I am not sure how regularly.
If you know of a regular networking event for area professionals, feel free to tell us about it in the comments!
Happy Networking!
