Come to meet people from the local software development industry. We'll share tips and stories and find out who's doing what in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. Make those network contacts that are so essential in our careers.

Regular meetings open with a short technical presentation to kick off our discussions. Then, following Q&A and possibly a door prize draw, we have our round-the-room introductions and open networking.

For the introductions we invite all participants to introduce themselves and to let us know what they'd like to talk with others about. This is when connections are made so think about what you would like to say beforehand, especially if speaking in front of a group seems difficult.

Social meetings skip the presentation and round-the-room introductions and jump right in to open networking, possibly with a door prize draw. We often invite special guests such as recruiters and speakers so that you have a chance to meet them face-to-face.

Of course our "network" is about more than just our meetings. Beyond our members' personal networks we have an opt-in mailing list plus our groups on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Yahoo! See our About Us page at http://softwaredev.meetup.com/17/about/ for more details.