Byte Night: Bringing tech together

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His experience last year echoed Deek’s description. “It was exceptionally cold last year… I remember the feeling that this is an experience, a glimpse of what this must actually be like. A glimpse, and not a very pleasant glimpse,” he said, adding that he had a hat, thermal clothing and more to keep him warm, unlike the young people actually living on the streets.

Because of that experience, Byte Night is much different than many other charity fundraisers, where the volunteer raises cash by cycling around a nice climate or hiking in a lovely locale, Deeks noted. “You want me to pay for your holiday?” Deeks questioned, saying Byte Night at least has a symbolic connection to what homeless people go through. “I can’t see the connection between blind people and cycling through Vietnam,” he said.

IT community

Byte Night started off as an IT-centric event, and though it’s grown many times over since then, it remains a tech community event. While not every firm or individual sleeping out that night works in the technology industry, most have a connection of some sort, Deeks said.

While adding more support has some benefits, Deeks said he likes that it’s an IT sector event. “People need to have some sort of comonnality,” he said, saying that if they see others they know doing it, they feel like they can too.

While the event could have appeal outside of the IT industry, Deeks said he’s not sure he wants to lose the sense of community the shared sector connection may bring.

“It’s also proving a good way of getting some team building together,” Snadden said. “It’s a novel and humourous way of saying you get the opportunity to sleep with the boss.”

Snadden explained that the event is a great networking opportunity. “It’s good to catch up with competitors and collaborators in the industry,” he said. “To connect up with people in the ecosystem that is the IT world.”

Such opportunities are rarer these days, he added. “There are fewer occurances where the industry comes together… People in the business day don’t have time to go out. This is far, far more justifiable.”

It’s just not justifiable, Deeks claimed. “In a recession, it’s so much more admirable,” he said. “People are under a lot of stress and pressure in their day jobs.”

But, the pressure on already vulnerable people is even worse, he added. “Homelessness becomes more of an issue in a recession."

Social networking

There’s another tech angle to the Byte Night story, and to many fundraising events of late. While many sleepers raise cash the usual way – running 10k, holding band nights or cake sales – social networking has been a boon to fundraising.

Snadden said that technology is a very efficient way of raising funds. He’s made use of his client databases, sending out notes via email and social networking sites to people he hasn’t spoken to in while – helping him raise funds while reconnecting with contacts in the process. “I’ve mailed my LinkedIn connections for the fist time this year,” he said. “It’s a very effective way of staying in touch with people not in Outlook or your mobile phone.”

On top of that, much of the fundraising is over Just Giving, a website set up to make it easier to raise cash online. Speaking of which, the IT PRO and Know Your Mobile Just Giving page can be found here. See you on Byte Night…

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