Taking our community to the next level

[primesuspect]

Taking our community to the next level (http://icrontic.com/articles/taking-our-community-to-the-next-level)

[AlexDeGruven]

1,000 kinds of awesome right here. I have so many ideas, if you ever want to bounce anything off a wall, I make a pretty good one.

[Winfrey]

Whoah! I like what your thinking:vimp:

:life:

[fatcat]

first

on a desk @ icrontic inc.

[Thrax]

Get in line. ;)

[Brahm Windeler]

A dedicated coworking-like space in the metro Detroit area would be great. Me and a guy I met through my own coworking community creation efforts (who was behind the now defunct techpersona.com Detroit techie news site) have been talking about it for over a year now.

I'm not sure if you saw my tweet, but I know a guy in Pontiac who has <a href="http://workfly.com/" rel="nofollow">a space</a> that wants to do something similar. Let me know if you'd like me to put you in touch with him.

Up until now, the major limiting factors have been lack of community and money. It's hard to make the leap of faith to start something like this without having a reasonable plan for income to cover rent and such.

This has also been a difficult proposition due to the spread-out nature of metro Detroit and its tech-savy workforce. I've been jealous of the coworking sites that have opened up in more densely populated urban areas. Even <a href="http://workantileexchange.com/" rel="nofollow">Ann Arbor has one opening up</a> in the coming month.

I'm glad to see the recent increase in community interest. One of these days I'll make it to one of your Sunday coworking sessions.

In the meantime, let me know if I can be of any help.

[fatcat]

Get in line. ;)

ok

first of the "I dont live 5 minutes from ICHQ" group then :cheers:

[Gargoyle]

I'll move to Detroit.

I'll do it.

[primesuspect]

They all will :rarr:

[WagsFTW]

These are very exciting ideas, and I love them! :) I like where your ideas are headed.

[Bobby1211]

I seriously asked my fiance if we could move to Detroit. She said no :-(

[Gate28]

ICrontic Internet | Gaming

I dig it. I've been mulling around opening a LAN center when I'm old enough to do that stuff on my own since the one I visited regularly closed down last year or the year before.

[Cliff_Forster]

"I seriously asked my fiance if we could move to Detroit. She said no :-("

And your point is........

[Bobby1211]

The point is community. Did you read the article? I would love to help in any way opening a place as nice as Icrontic.com. Imagine earning a living being helpful and doing what you love. That is my goal in my own community. My fiance being a major part of that means her opinion means a lot. So the option to help the guys open a place is not possible for me. Though I would still love to help pimp the place out online :-P

Also the way you worded your post came off very harsh. That is the opposite of what this is all about.

-Bobby

[Thrax]

He was jokingly asking you why you weren't moving to Detroit anyhow.

You misinterpreted.

[AlexDeGruven]

I saw it more as a 'Why do you need to move to Detroit to help?', myself. Either way, not harsh as it was interpreted.

[Kwitko]

Dibs on bartender.

[Bobby1211]

Pardon my defense mechanism. Hopefully no harm no foul.

-Bobby

[UPSLynx]

and suddenly, my future life plan that was built by years of planning and thought recieves a massive bump from the 'what if' department.

oooooh boy...

[primesuspect]

That's what we do :D

[Gnome Queen]

Dibs on the master bedroom at the house that we're going to need now to house all the people that suddenly want to move to the D. :D

[Gargoyle]

We need a coffee shop/LAN center with second floor loft apartments.

[CannonFodder]

Do want. But Detroit??

[primesuspect]

I mean, that's where we are, so...

[primesuspect]

To take that further:

Detroit has an extremely vibrant young entrepreneur/freelancer workforce. The thriving social media scene has given us a glimpse into a region that is young and saavy enough to understand that manufacturing/blue collar work isn't going to be here for us, and yet wants to stay here because Michigan is an absolutely beautiful place to live. The Detroit region is a great place to be right now for people like us.

[CannonFodder]

The exact same thing could be said of a place like... Madison, WI. Which I like better. And has better urban planning.

[primesuspect]

... and is not where the owners of Icrontic live.... :crazy:

[Thrax]

Which means tough shit for all y'all.

[Annes]

The exact same thing could be said of a place like... Madison, WI. Which I like better. And has better urban planning.

I have heard nothing but awesome things about Madison. Makes me want to give the place a visit.

[Snarkasm]

/me lives in Madison.... :p

ICRONTIC SLIGHTLY WEST GO

[RyderOCZ]

* Snarkasm lives in Madison.... :p

ICRONTIC SLIGHTLY WEST GOBut working on moving to Europe.. Icrontic slightly East.. go.

[Snarkasm]

ICRONTIC EUROPEAN ADVENTURE GO

:D / :(

[ardichoke]

ICRONTIC EUROPEAN ADVENTURE GO

:D / :(

Icrontic EuroTrip what? Where's the twins?


What does this say here.... hmmm.... YOU MADE OUT WITH YOUR SISTER!

[Kwitko]

Charlotte, NC or Charleston, SC. Just sayin'.

[Nate_LapT]

wow, how I find this thread today, I have a business plan all written out to support a 75 system center. btw detroit is prime right now for a new one.

For anyone that doesnt know, I have been researching this idea for the past 8 years, I just dont have the funds to pull it off myself, and a location of such is going to cost about $300k to pull off.

This type of biz has to be done EXACTLY right or it is prone to FAIL within 6 months. I have seen it, experienced it, and have learned from the 300 centers that failed last year alone

Few things I dont mind sharing,, overhead needs to be trimmed as low as possible, and with room to shrink, rent needs to be a low as possible too, and funds need to be in tack to keep the place open for 12 months without making a dime each month. These are common sense things, but lots of people over look these with the theory "If I build it they will come" LMFAO and as I said, I have SEEN it happen.

[UPSLynx]

darn it darn it darn it.

The closer this comes to fruition, the closer I come to Detroit.

I'll tell you, this idea has been in the back of my head, and it's bugged me since the original post date. Frick. Do want ICHQ-HQ, ...

[Koreish]

How big would this building be if you plan on hosting all these different types of events? I suppose it wouldn't have to be to big for anything other than the LAN but if you're going to have people living in or around it for a week at a time I would imagine it would be of decent size. Which costs money.

[Nate_LapT]

I know lan centers that fit around 30 pc's in a 1500sq' space, but thats all they fit. 30 is about the max for that size.
Depending on how big of sections they are thinking I would say 2500 would be the min space required to work/play comfy.

[leishi85]

IC Shanghai?

OMG, i don't live in michigan anymore, how the F am i gonna make it to the D easily now???

[Nate_LapT]

why would you leave the D?
oh well you'll be back, EVERYONE comes back!

[leishi85]

i'm afraid not in the near future (unless i get fired from my current job soon, hahahahah).

I am going to a exhibition in dec in vegas tho, i will probably make a stop in michigan to visit family and friends. Hopefully, i will make it to ann arbor and detroit too.

[Shorty]

Hey if this took off, you could EMPLOY me. Thus I could move to be closer to such a wonderful group of people. WIN.

[CyrixInstead]

I will visit someday if it's successful!!

~Cyrix

[QCH]

FYI... we housed 60 PC's in an 800 square foot tent. ;)

1500, properly laid out can fit 60 PC's, an office, a lobby, and kitchen and business sized bathrooms. With the state of the economy, rent/lease for space should be much easier to bargain for at a lower cost.

I keep getting flashes of the coffee house... first floor then the basement. 1500 sq' building with full basement.... PLENTY of room for gaming and maybe even sleeping. ;)

[Gargoyle]

I keep getting flashes of the coffee house... first floor then the basement. 1500 sq' building with full basement.... PLENTY of room for gaming and maybe even sleeping. ;)

That's what I keep thinking, too. I'll sign up for barista duty.

Can we employ someone like Sledge to smash the laptops of people mooching off WiFi without buying a drink?

[Nate_LapT]

well with a coffee house style lan you cant pack the isles so tight, people get pissed when kids wander down the isle to their spot and they get bumped while sniping someone. 60 under a tent is different then 60 in a 800sq' building.

[Nate_LapT]

I was also taking into consideration of all the extras that wernt needed under the tent, aka toilet space, counter space, coolers, and if it would be coffee house style the counter space would be quite big to accommodate everything, not many properties have basements, though I do know a current location that is I think 1800sq' at a decent rate, and the basement is free.
along with the eating area/lounge that most coffee houses have. that'll take up some space, maybe 200sq' or so.

[Gnome Queen]

I think that this place might work easiest in a college town- somewhere where you know college students will come to study. It's the only place I've seen independent cafes survive.

As far as the whole lan thing works...I haven't actually seen any businesses that exist for the sole or main purpose of just providing a lan, since most people do that in their basements now a days (or backyards). Feel free to tell me if I'm wrong. For that reason, I would think it'd be easier to set up the place as a cafe of some sort WITH the ability to reformat the layout to accomodate a lan.

[Thrax]

As far as the whole lan thing works...I haven't actually seen any businesses that exist for the sole or main purpose of just providing a lan

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&q=lan+center&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&fp=i7xqt1XgzY0

[UPSLynx]

LAN centers are pretty huge. Think of people, like Kingpin, who don't have broadband internet at their disposal but LOVE to game? Or people who have had their PC thrown out of their car while it barrel rolls down the freeway into a billboard?

If the price is right, and more importantly the community is right, a LAN center will find lots of use.

couple that with beverages and a swank atmosphere, oh yeah.

Leishi, what expo in Vegas? CES? (that my be January, can't remember)

[Gnome Queen]

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=off&q=lan+center&aq=f&oq=&aqi=&fp=i7xqt1XgzY0

I said that I hadn't seen one, which doesn't mean that they don't exist- more that they aren't COMMON, which reinforces my comment that it would be easier to create a cafe like place which can double as a lan than a location specifically FOR a lan.

[Koreish]

Prime mentioned classes too. Assuming that these classes are held on a regular basis and have 20-30 people like a normal class there would most certainly have to be a permanent setup of some sort. If they're going to put in everything Prime mentioned (which would be really kick ass) they're either going to need lots of space or a very, VERY good design.

Personally I would think a two story building(not sure how many square feet) would fit the bill. First floor be an internet cafe with all the swank, and the second floor be for the classes and LANs.

[Winfrey]

Or people who have had their PC thrown out of their car while it barrel rolls down the freeway into a billboard?

We actually didn't hit a billboard. It looked torn to shit before we got there.

[CB]

He was being hypothetical.

[Nemikan]

The cafe isn't a bad idea... but remember that the more things that you involve the more people they need to hire...WAIT I KNOW SOMEONE WHO NEEDS A JOB!
*cough GQ cough*
The cafe would be pretty cool, a free highspeed wireless internet location with fruity drinks / alcohol etc... although those places are somewhat common.

The thing that makes it stand out would have to be the lan gaming place. That wouldn't be difficult, the only issue is lan gaming places are EXPENSIVE. In order to consider yourself a "lan" your going to need at least 6+ computers (and 6 is pretty small) so thats going to add up if each computer is about $1k each...and then have to update them every 3ish years.

Then you also have to purchase games with multiple license keys, and figure out a way around all that. Then theres also the issues with people coming in and doing illegal things on your internet. All sorts of things start to add to the complications of it... so just in starting out would probably be one or the other. Cafe being the easier of the two (imo) due to so many being in existenace already.

What I would love to see... is a place for playing card games / board games. Heck even selling any cards from the most recent block of magic would be pretty cool, and should get some nice funds. If you host MTG tournaments every month, that will draw a nice crowd as well! Some people drive really far just for a tournament.

If you make a place, sell a few things that sell well, maybe the top selling games, i'm sure you can get some money there, along with having a location that is just a GREAT hangout spot, I feel it should work out great.

[Nate_LapT]

The cafe isn't a bad idea... but remember that the more things that you involve the more people they need to hire...WAIT I KNOW SOMEONE WHO NEEDS A JOB!
*cough GQ cough*
The cafe would be pretty cool, a free highspeed wireless internet location with fruity drinks / alcohol etc... although those places are somewhat common.

The thing that makes it stand out would have to be the lan gaming place. That wouldn't be difficult, the only issue is lan gaming places are EXPENSIVE. In order to consider yourself a "lan" your going to need at least 6+ computers (and 6 is pretty small) so thats going to add up if each computer is about $1k each...and then have to update them every 3ish years.

Then you also have to purchase games with multiple license keys, and figure out a way around all that. Then theres also the issues with people coming in and doing illegal things on your internet. All sorts of things start to add to the complications of it... so just in starting out would probably be one or the other. Cafe being the easier of the two (imo) due to so many being in existenace already.

What I would love to see... is a place for playing card games / board games. Heck even selling any cards from the most recent block of magic would be pretty cool, and should get some nice funds. If you host MTG tournaments every month, that will draw a nice crowd as well! Some people drive really far just for a tournament.

If you make a place, sell a few things that sell well, maybe the top selling games, i'm sure you can get some money there, along with having a location that is just a GREAT hangout spot, I feel it should work out great.


HA 6 pc's thats no where near min for a lan center, 12 is min of any one system, being pc xbox or whatever.

A decent system that wont need upgraded for 2-3 years costs $1-1.3k on average.


Games and licenses are easy, there is license management software called Smartlaunch everything is automated, you write all the batch scripts and it launches them. I used to do this on a day to day basis. The license to run the software costs about $33/system

Illegal stuff, that is where a decent router comes in, either buy an expensive router, or build a linux box and load up some decent filters, you can get most of the crap you dont want. then it comes back to smartlaunch you can do ANYTHING with that, view what someones doing, kick them and ban them from your system.

Internet connection, T1 is expensive, but nice for gaming. DSL/Cable is fast but laggy. so most centers get both and run filters to push gaming on the T1 and port 80 ect on the DSL/cable. very easy to do.

Table top space, this can be done in the lobby area, though a bit hard to monitor for charging wise, not many centers do this so pricing is a winged situation. Maybe like $5/person/day for table space.

The atmosphere is what brings people in. They have to want to come to hang out.


heh, I find it funny that my friends down at gigabits are still #1 on google for lan centers.
and if you guys arnt aware of igames.org they manage all tournaments and have direct connections with all the publishers for deals on games and showcases on games.
they also have a center search, and a great members only forums which has ALL the info you guys have talked about and more from owners over the past 10 years.

[QCH]

Sledgehammer ran a Gaming Center in California. Ask him the details.

[primesuspect]

We're not aiming for a strict LAN center here, fellas :D

[leishi85]

Leishi, what expo in Vegas? CES? (that my be January, can't remember)


not CES, it's not related to consumer electronics, the expo is called Power Gen, it's for the power industry, stuff like switchgears, high voltage transformers and such.

[Nate_LapT]

We're not aiming for a strict LAN center here, fellas :D

No lan center is strictly a lan center, most are pc repair shops, video stores, comic book shops, the lan is just secondary income.

Were just shooting the shit about how a lan center in general is ran.

A decent cafe could get by with 12 pc's and say 8 xboxs and not take up too much room of a cafe.

Just saying if you are incorporating a lan center model into a store there are minimums needed for it to run successfuly. throwing 3 xboxs in the corner and a few pc's on a wall wont = a fun gaming experiance, thats more of a icafe where someone checks there email. and thats about it.

[leishi85]

speaking of LANs that are not strictly LAN.

just the way i like it.

you need to run it like this, every geek boy gets a girl to accompany you, ;D

[UPSLynx]

speaking of LANs that are not strictly LAN.

just the way i like it.

you need to run it like this, every geek boy gets a girl to accompany you, ;D


WHAT

oh man, if we did something like that in America, it would either be greatest of great successes, or get us all thrown in jail :vimp:

[Colgere]

WHAT

oh man, if we did something like that in America, it would either be greatest of great successes, or get us all thrown in jail :vimp:

Or both... ;D

[Snarkasm]

Or nobody would want to work there because it's Creeper's Paradise. :p

[chrisWhite]

Guys, I think you're missing a golden opportunity to make this place on a boat. :)

No, I don't think that would actually work.

Lynx, Prime, what do you guys think of Icrontic Studios, that would work, right?

[Nate_LapT]

boat eh, so were sailing the international waters of icrontic eh

[ardichoke]

Hmm... Detroit is only a bit over an hour drive from Lansing. I'd totally come troll an ICHQ LAN facility.

[Thrax]

You're in lansing and didn't come to IC EXPO? Dick.

[Nate_LapT]

or the 4th party? Dick.

[ardichoke]

You're in lansing and didn't come to IC EXPO? Dick.

I CAN EXPLAIN!

I only joined the community like a week before Expo. Also, they do the schedule about 3-4 months in advance at my work... thus time off requests have to be in then. It's a real PITA.

[Snarkasm]

You could have come after work on Friday and hung out until Sunday night.

FOR SHAME.

[Grimnoc]

Neat.

(*yeah, that's it)

[ardichoke]

You could have come after work on Friday and hung out until Sunday night.

FOR SHAME.

Except that I don't work a standard schedule. I'm 4p-12a Sunday-Thursday. Also, refer to the fact that I was (and still am) a n00b to Icrontic.

[primesuspect]

That doesn't stop some people :D

[ardichoke]

That doesn't stop some people :D
I don't doubt that... it does stop me though... I sometimes have anxiety issues around large groups of what are ostensibly complete strangers. Next year, however, I shall pwn EPIC!

[Nate_LapT]

well as long as getting owned by a stalk of corn isnt part of the issue, you should be fine.

[Koreish]

Sir, Sir, he is an artichoke clearly. Can you not see that sir?

[leishi85]

WHAT

oh man, if we did something like that in America, it would either be greatest of great successes, or get us all thrown in jail :vimp:

i don't see how that could get you thrown in jail, it's just that every customer get their own personal waitress/waiter, and the waiter/waitress are dressed accordingly because the customers are gamers, and they are dressed like particular sexy game characters....

sounds pretty legit to me.

[Gargoyle]

Happy endings: 20000 MS Points.

[leishi85]

Happy endings: 20000 MS Points.

hey, we don't officially have that serivce, that "happy ending" is strictly between the customer and the waitress, not provided by us.

we don't know anything about that.

[Crazy Joe]

This needs to happen so bad!!

[DocFrazier]

I love it all, i is also nub at IC, and fit right in. With the IC Inc. how are medical professional positions in detroit? when i finish school, if the pay is right, i'll move there in a heartbeat

[Gargoyle]

We've got a handful of us with advanced degrees, now. I say we start our own college. Accreditation, smeditation.

[primesuspect]

The medical field in general is hopping in MI. Definitely a valid career option for this area.

[Koreish]

And the education field? Wait teachers are needed everywhere. Nevermind.

[Nate_LapT]

just dont hire into detroit schools :P

[Buddy J]

You're just mad because they make you stay 500 ft. away from Detroit schools at all times.

[UPSLynx]

i don't see how that could get you thrown in jail, it's just that every customer get their own personal waitress/waiter, and the waiter/waitress are dressed accordingly because the customers are gamers, and they are dressed like particular sexy game characters....

sounds pretty legit to me.

The more I think about it, the more it sounds like it would work. I just wonder how such a thing would be handled in America as opposed to across the pond.

Hmm. Who knew.

[Nate_LapT]

only issue you run into is discrimination in the hiring process, not sure how companies are capable of filtering out the fugly girls and legally get away with it.

[poofie]

only issue you run into is discrimination in the hiring process, not sure how companies are capable of filtering out the fugly girls and legally get away with it.

they call themselves "modeling agencies"