I have to type this quickly because I am out the door in ten minutes. Never been a “news” blogger till now 
Around Tuesday, people started discussing a tweetup for Friday morning at the Shoal Point Moka House. Yesterday, CHEK TV asked either Vikki Flawth or Tim Ayres (or both) if they could send a camera person to see what the heck we Twitter people do at our tweetups. The answer was “ok”
Problem #1 – no clear organizer of event. It’s a tweetup, for heaven’s sake.
People showed up at 8 am to a mainly empty coffee shop and made their way to the back corner. By the time I showed up at 8:20, one person was already saying goodbye to the eight others gathered there. Believe me, it was not a rowdy crowd, though certainly when you get 8 people at one table there is cross talk. Eight gabby twitter people, doubly so.
Problem #2: Maybe the Shoal Point Moka House isn’t used to gabby people before 8:30?
At the same time as me, a guy from CHEK TV showed up with his broadcast-quality camera and a tripod. No big lights, no boom mic. He talked with Tim Ayers for about 15 minutes while the rest of us yakked away in the background. We couldn’t have been that noisy because we didn’t want to overpower the interview happening behind us.
Around 8:45, a man holding a “to go” coffee mug stands beside our table and asks who we are. I thought he might want to join us, actually until I took a second look at his face and it was clear he was none too pleased. He said he was OK with a group of people having coffee, but definitely NOT ok with the TV camera.
Problem #3: Yes, someone should have given the owner a heads-up about CHEK. But that’s related to problem #1. Perhaps we could have gone somewhere else.
Here’s the part I don’t get. If I owned an establishment as large (and as empty) as the Moka House, I would welcome the free publicity. Yes! Come in and enjoy the coffee, the wireless internet and the room for socializing! Business people with a penchant for sending each other tweets are welcome here!
We felt like we had done something very wrong for even being there. And that’s where the bad feelings set it.
Hope that helps the people following the grumpiness on Twitter today.
It is a shame, but not all business owners are all that savy. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance of free media. A TV camera in your business? I would roll out the red carpet. Maybe he/she didn’t know before hand, but that is a minor issue. If other patrons didn’t want to be seen on TV, they could sit elsewhere in the coffee shop.
thanks for the update @wordspring!
Too bad about that. Seems like a bit of an over-reaction, certainly. A heads-up for the owner would definitely have helped. At least he would have had some warning, and we could have re-located if necessary.
Which brings me to another point. Perhaps having two main points of contact for Tweetups would make sense. That way the Tweetup gets organized and there is more than one person for people to get a hold of, if one person is out of town?
Catherine, perhaps you and I can do that? Just throwing it out there. Of course, if someone else is interested, please let us know! Also, since I’m currently dealing with both AM & PM Twitter accounts this will funnel all the info to me, so I can post it on the Events page of the Victoria Tweetup Facebook page.
Catch me on twitter: @ideazone, @yyjamtweetup, @yyjpmtweetup
I think the major problem was that he didn’t bother to introduce himself to either our group or the cameraman. He asked a few questions as if he was just curious as to why they were shooting video of a group of chatty caffeine-lovers (I thought he was just an interested customer). Then, immediately on the defensive, was “No one told me! The camera has to go.”
Sure, maybe CHEK should have called, but really – why not just say “by the way, I own this place, and can you tell me a little more about what’s going on?” In this way he would have seemed interested in our Tweetup and the chance at positive media coverage. Instead, he came off as irritated by our presence and made the eight or so business professionals (with links to hundreds if not thousands of other like-minded people through Twitter) feel awkward, uncomfortable, and unwelcome. In short, he was rude, and I’ve no appetite to return to that location.
Ouch…
Alarm clock difficulties meant I didn’t make it, which is a pity, but I’m glad I missed the dark cloud over the table.
You’d be surprised how strict coffeehouses are with cameras/recording devices. I once tried to take a picture of the interior chandelier in the Douglas St. Dolce Vita, and I was told I couldn’t do that. Politely, but quickly and firmly.
I think they adopt this ‘policy’ to protect patrons and cover their own backsides by avoiding the possibility of a patron complaining to them about being on camera or video without their consent, since the inside of a privately owned shop is no longer public property. It’s a pity, and a little puzzling to me even still, but I suppose in Victoria – a city of international spies – one must stop at nothing to protect one’s identities.
The man was just mean & handled it all wrong. It should have been cleared with him in advance… but jeez. How many coffee shops are there in Victoria? I had never been there until this morning. Up until I saw the owner, I was enjoying the place & would have probably found my way back there again. AFTER his bitter and rude interaction with us, not only will I never go back… but I will make it a point to discuss his attitude and lack of business sense with everyone I interact with all weekend. I am sure his competitors will thank him. This is a very good example of how the Social Networks / Twitter world works for business guys. The Ultimate word of mouth system. It can work for you, or (if you are a meanie in a coffee shop) work against you. It works faster & stronger than ever before. It may change delivery systems, but it’s only going to grow IMO.
No one could be seen but us by the camera. We were quietly sitting in a back corner, there was hardly anyone else there. We all bought food & coffee, like any other group (there had been a group of 12 or so bicyclers there who left just as I arrived). We must have spent a good $50 between us, if not more.
Yes, it might have been protocol for someone to ask Moka Hs Shoal Pt if it was okay for a news camera to film our tweet-up BUT there is NO excuse for such overt aggressive rudeness directed at CHEK TV camera op.
I have been going to Shoal Pt Moka Hse since it opened, for lunch, cafe writing in the morning, meeting friends and clients and students on a regular basis. I was planning another event next month with 15 or 16 people going there for coffee/snacks after. Not now.
I will NEVER go back to Moka House Shoal Pt. I will take my business to The Superior Cafe or Ogden Point Cafe.
@Marri re. coffeehouses and filming/ photographing: Your comment reminded me that Starbucks won’t allow any inside-their-cafes photography, nor does the company condone *any* reproduction (in photos, etc.) of any of their copyrighted logo materials. (There was a big brouhaha around that in 2003 or so.)
…Which kind of suggests that tweetups covered by the media would be impossible in Starbucks, for what that’s worth. And I think Marri makes a good point that these “third places” (coffee houses) aren’t public places (where it is legal to photograph & film) – they are private, and she’s probably on the money in writing that they have an interest in protecting their customers’ privacy.
It does sound a bit like CHEK-TV fell down here, too. They’re the media pros who should be aware of policies and issues around filming in third places…
Anyway… Sorry I missed the tweetup. I’ve come to recognize that I’m just kidding myself if I think I can be “social” at 8am, though!
Yeah, I think it’s a good point that perhaps just assuming it would be okay was a mistake… and I would have been okay if that was explained to us in a civil manner. It was the aggressive stance and rudness that turned me off. But he didn’t stop us from filming, he just asked that it be completed soon. So why all the fuss, then?
Maybe we could have a Tweetup at Floyd’s Diner on Quadra Street. Great food and totally cool setting. It’s big enough to accommodate a big group (and cameras).
I had a similar experience at this coffee shop in the past. I don’t go there anymore. Same with the Serious Coffee at Fort and Foul Bay.
It’s like going to your over-bearing aunt’s house and giving her your money.
[...] was Catherine Novak’s post about the Shoal Point Moka House tweetup two days ago. I mentioned that Starbucks, for example, has policies around filming/ photographing [...]
Sounds like the owner had “control” issues, and handled things badly. Good lesson for next time. Inform owner, ask if any guidelines, etc…
Live and learn.
B.