As many have no doubt noticed, things have slowed to a crawl here, and it hasn’t been for a lack of events here in Chicago. Rather, I’ve decided to take some time away from Chicago Tweetups and evaluate things after that break. After taking this time, I’ve to take a continued break from continuing this site, for the foreseeable future.

This decision definitely didn’t come easily. I started Chicago Tweetups just over a year ago, and for the past year it’s been a project of passion for me. One of the things I think that gets overlooked quite often in discussions of new media and social media is the effect of ‘in real life’ events. I started this site because I felt it filled a void here in Chicago, but as it grew it definitely became one of my guiding beliefs.

At many times throughout the year, I considered expanding the role of Chicago Tweetups. Planning and executing events certainly would be within our scope, but I was never quite convinced that I wanted to take on something to that magnitude.

As the year went on, we gained many fans and I’ve gotten to meet some great people through all of this. I want to thank everyone for submitting events, alerting us to tweetups we hadn’t been aware of, retweeting our posts and just helping spread the good cheer of people getting together in Chicago.

This isn’t goodbye, necessarily. I’ll still be pretty involved in and around the social scene in Chicago, and perhaps I’ll pick this thing back up again.

All my thanks,

Brandon Zeman (@brandonzeman)

If you’ve noticed a lot more facial hair around Chicago this month, there’s a reason. Men have been growing out their facial hair to raise awareness and funds for prostate and testicular cancer. The Movember (Moustache + November) campaign covers cities across the world and has raised some $47 million dollars thus far.

The event will feature a Bachelor / Bachelorette Auction, celebrity guests, raffle prizes and silent auction including: Chicago Bulls Tickets, Signed Mike Ditka and Marv Levy Footballs, and many more high end items. Attendees will be able to mingle, socialize and network throughout the evening, while helping raise awareness and funding for men’s health and cancer!

For more info, check out the release as well as the Facebook event page.

When: Thursday, November 19

Time: 8:00pm-12:00am

Location: Basil Leaf Cafe

Buckle-up, because Windy City Social is holding their second Marketing Challenge and Southwest Airlines, GM and Special Olympics Chicago are the three challenge cases.

In this mini-apprentice like event, people will compete in teams against other teams to come up with the best marketing ideas for the Challenge sponsors.  No one gets fired, but winners do get over $300 in valuable prizes.  Each team will be lead by leaders in the Chicago marketing space.

Save $10 off the ticket price when you use code WCS30 during online registration.

When: Wednesday, November 18

Time: 5:30pm – 9:30pm

Location: Cubby Bear- Wrigleyville

Tech Cocktail makes one last visit to the windy city in 2009!  Tech Cocktail is a highly anticipated event, so register now before it becomes sold out.  Here’s what you can expect:

Join us for Tech Cocktail Chicago 12, a night of fun, mingling with the local technology movers and shakers. Expect to see a handful of new start-up companies showing off their stuff in an expo-style as we wrap up a great 2009 TECH cocktail season.

When: Thursday, December 10

Time: 6:30-9:00pm

Location: John Barleycorn Wrigleyville

Meet fellow Groupies and Groupon employees at SmartBar before the Peter Bjorn and John show! Those 21 and older can share in the excitement of the night’s concert, as well as tips on pretending you know the lyrics for the opening act’s songs, and a heated debate on crowd sourcing vs. crowd surfing. While the Groupon has expired, tickets are still available! See you on Thursday.

When: Thursday, November 12

Time: 7:00pm

Location: SmartBar- 3730 N Clark St

Register for the meetup

Our friend from up north, the always smiling Doni, will be returning to Chicago this month, and you know what that means… a blogger hang! Of course, you don’t have to be a 20-something, or a blogger for that matter to come out.

We’ll be meeting at State, but we can bounce around to a number of other bars in the area afterwards.

Here’s the details:

When: Thursday, November 19

Time: 6:00pm – ???

Location: State Restaurant & Cafe, 935 W Webster (short walk from Armitage brown or Fullerton red line)

From the SXSW site:

The Hideout in Chicago is the place to be! On Tuesday November 10 from 6-8 pm, staffers from the music conference, festival, and sales departments will be on hand to discuss SXSW 2010’s new features and plans. Space and free beverages are limited, and our guest list will quickly fill up. So RSVP before next Friday November 6 to MusicRSVP@sxsw.com. Speaking of deadlines, Friday November 6 is also the deadline to apply to showcase your band at SXSW 2010. Do it today!

So Chicago, come meet and mingle with other music pros (21 and up). There will be a SXSW 2010 Music badge giveaway so don’t forget your business card. And we’ll see you there on Tuesday November 10! (Thanks to Len Kendall for tweeting this).

The second installment of Let’s Create promises to be a blast! If you’re unaware, Let’s Create is a chance to learn about creating new media and mingling with producers that do that today. Let’s Create will take place at Office Port, music will be provided by Midstates and the Choir of Ghosts, and drinks will be sponsored by Lakeshore Branding.

Sign up on the Let’s Create Eventbrite page.

When: Tuesday, November 10

Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm

Location: Office Port, 9 W. Washington

Before their Consumer Forum conference (which you can win a 2-day pass to at this event), Forrester is hosting a tweetup at Eno Wine Room.

If you’ve wanted to meet some analysts from Forrester, this is your chance. Come out for some good conversation, snacks, and a cash-bar in a beautiful setting that is Eno Wine Room.

Claim your spot now on their Eventbrite registration page before it fills up- there’s only 50 spots available!

When: Monday, October 26

Time: 6:00-9:00pm

Location: Eno Wine Room inside the Fairmont; 200 N Columbus

Can you believe it’s only been a year? Social Media Club Chicago is celebrating their first year in existence, and of course you’re invited!

Communities and Social Media

Come see familiar faces like Ramon DeLeon and Sarah Evans on a ‘communities and social media ‘panel that will also include Katy Lynch from Where I’ve Been and Gerald Haman of SolutionPeople. Bring your appetite, because Domino’s and Garrett’s Popcorn will be providing the grub!

For more information on the panel speakers as well as to register for the event, visit the official Eventbrite page.

When: Thursday, October 22

Time: 5:30-8:30pm

Location: Kimball Office, 325 N Wells, Suite 100