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What’s On in Sydney in March
The team at eXpertLocal have put their heads together and compiled a list of what they think will be groovy and cool in the month of March in Sydney.
For the colour, life and celebration of difference you simply can’t go past the Mardi Gras Parade. Whether it’s your first time or your 35th, see Oxford Street come alive with people and party! Why not get a group of friends together to enjoy the fun?
International Women’s Day
The day is generally 8th of March to celebrate all things wonderful and womanly. If you love films and talks, Think Act Change is hosting a ‘Half the Sky’ screening with panel discussion. The Sydney Feminists are holding an International Women’s Day March on Saturday March 9th. You can see amazing films all around Sydney as part of the WOW Film Festival from March 5th to 15th. Or host your own and celebrate the amazing women in your life (or that you are).
St Patrick’s Day
If you’ve ever wanted an excuse to drink Guinness, get all greened up and chase a leprechaun, here it is! St Patrick’s Day is March 17th and in Sydney, it means an awful lot of people wearing green, drinking green beer and shouting “to be sure, to be sure” in pretty bad Irish accents. What a perfect excuse for a bar crawl around Newtown, Surry Hills or your local area?
Earth Hour
We’re taking the lights way down low and focussing on sustainability on March 23rd with Earth Hour. An event that started in Australia and has got the whole world on board, Earth Hour is about turning the lights off for an hour to remind us about energy consumption. This year, you can also pledge to use renewable energy sources as well as host your own party and events. Think dining, music and having fun by candlelight, all for a great green cause! Make your tribute to Earth Hour today!
Easter Long Weekend
With countless bar events, parties and general revelry going on, Sydney has a lot of things to see and do over the Easter Weekend. We’re keen to hear from anyone who’d love to bring a little magic to this Easter such as a chocolate tasting tour or Easter Egg hunt?
A couple of awesome events you may also want to check out are:
Yulli’s Screening Room “Beers and Bards” fortnightly in March- 5th and 19th for an earful of poetry and a mouthful of tasty craft beer.
Brett Winterford’s ‘Hey Make Believer’ tour hits the Basement on March 8th.
Pets at the Pub is a dog friendly wagtastic good time with dog socialisation, competitions, human fun and fund raising all tied in one neat little package on Saturday March 10th from 1pm at the Alexandria Hotel.
Ambient rock at it’s very best, Sydney’s Bird’s Robe Collective does it again with bringing USA band “This will destroy you” to the Annandale Hotel on Wednesday March 20th. Possibly the best excuse ever to support the ‘Dale and get some music under your belt.
The Chinese Laundry continues to rinse away the dullness of the working week with sizzling Friday and Saturday nights- with the amazing Utah Jazz on Friday 22nd March.
The Lewisham Hotel comes alive with ‘Sydney Livehouse’ every Thursday in March. Catch Tiffany Britchford and guests for this Thursday residency by local bands.
How to…write a tail kicking experience on eXpertLocal!
So you’re keen to get the experience ball rolling on eXpertLocal but not sure how to go about it? Consider this your guide to posting an awesome, tail kicking experience on eXpertLocal every time!
Remember the newbie:
The members looking for tours on eXpertLocal may never have experienced what you are offering before, so make sure you give enough info help understand your tour idea. Make use of the “what do you need to bring” section so people aren’t unprepared, even if that means reminding them to wear appropriate footwear, bring ID or sunscreen. The best experiences have enough info to help people get the gist of what happens as well as what they need to bring along.Have fun with it:
Let your passion and experience shine because ultimately, that will attract the curious customers and like minded enthusiasts alike. Don’t be afraid to show your love for your chosen experience and how much you enjoy it. That joy is bound to be infectious!Pictures really help:
Human beings are very visual, so try to pick a picture that helps attract people while bridging the knowledge gap for anyone who may be new to your concept. Make sure you include a decent photo of you too on your profile page as this aids in building trust and showing a little bit of your personality (not to mention making you easier to identify when it comes time to meet!).Be yourself:
As you’re the host, people want to get to know you, right? So use your personality to write up your experience the way that reflects what you are like. If you are funny, use humour. If you really know your stuff, it’s OK to show a bit of that knowledge off. If you are using eXpertLocal to meet new friends with similar interests, let people know. Just let you shine through!The bottom line: The members of eXpertLocal are people just like you. No one expects you to be a comic genius or a super amazing writer. Just be you, include enough information that helps people get to know your activity, and post the kinds of things you enjoy doing.
Yes folks, it really is that simple.
So what are you waiting for? Why not try posting your first eXpertLocal experience today?
Why collaborative consumption?
Collaborative consumption (or the sharing economy as it is also sometimes known) is a movement born out of growing concerns for the environment and the increasingly worrying financial situation brought on by the GFC.
The idea behind it is to share what we own with other people in the community, whether that is a drill, the housecleaning, a room of our house or in eXpertLocal‘s case, knowledge and experience.
Of course this is not a new concept. Borrowing things off friends, housemates sharing chores or kipping on someone else’s couch are nothing special. Nor is barter, getting someone else in to clean your gutters, bringing people together to prepare batch meals or having a mate show you around when you arrive in town.
But collaborative consumption is significantly different to these grass roots actions. Here’s why:
- It’s a shift in thinking away from simply just thinking about what we need at a particular time and either spending money on it or missing out. We know there are too many ‘things’ in the world we don’t use to the best advantage, and so growing number of people are finding special ways to reduce the impact of our wasteful ways through sharing.
- The Business Model is stronger. We grew up with second hand stores and hand me downs, pitching in at our various community groups and schools and so on, but with collaborative consumption, we’re taking those commercial elements and mixing it with charitable thinking and declaring it’s OK for the two to meet. We’ve come to understand that the best way to create something sustainable and have it for the long term is for it to be self funding as opposed to asking for donations. And it’s working.
- It’s seen as socially acceptable behaviour. Wearing the 2nd hand uniform at school was not a point of pride 20 years ago. Negative words and nicknames like “tightarse” were used to talk about anyone who didn’t want to splash their cash about. Now being a status orientated, conspicuous consumer is really, really uncool. We see evidence of the harm we’ve done to the planet with our greed. So making the most out of things, whether that’s through sharing, recycling, upcycling or reducing what we consume, is not only smarter, it’s cooler too.
- Community is more important than ever. We’ve realised looking after each other and having people in our lives (rather than things or money) is much more fulfilling. We know it helps our health and wellbeing overall. So collaborative consumption is another way of bringing people together.
eXpertLocal fits these criteria and more.
The main motivation behind eXpertLocal is to bring people together and remove the sense of alienation we feel by connecting us for all kinds of experiences.
We want to empower our members to create the kinds of activities they enjoy doing and make friends through sharing them with someone new. Of course we want to cover our labour costs and have money in the kitty to expand, but this isn’t the sole driver of what we do. We’re also still playing with where the revenue will come from because we’re keen to run free activities too.
eXpertLocal creates a vibe where any one of us can be an ‘expert’. If you speak several languages fluently, you can be a tour guide to show newcomers to Australia (whether they are tourist or International student) around the place. If you love food and fine dining, you can show other people your favourite places to grab a meal. If you’re a dojo that offers trials to new members or special events, you are more than welcome to promote your offerings on eXpertLocal. We’re all good or passionate about something, so why not share it?
While collaborative consumption might have been born out of problematic times where money was tight, the environment looked in trouble and jobs were on the line, the lessons it brings are true no matter what the circumstances. Making change, being sustainable, acting smarter and connecting are all wonderful things.
So why not join us?
To find out more about collaborative consumption in Australia, check out the A to Z of Australian Collaborative Consumption.
To find out more about eXpertLocal and what we offer, check out our latest experiences.
Why Host?
You, yes YOU! You can be a host on eXpertLocal
We’ve not even officially opened our doors but eXpertLocal are looking for hosts. Imagine our surprise when the first question on everyone’s list seems to be “Me?! What do I know?”
Guess what? ANYONE can be a host on eXpertLocal. Rather than make it a place for formalised tours, we want to create a community where everyday people share their knowledge. We’re all everyday experts on the things we love.
The things we are passionate about are usually the most interesting topics in conversation or the things people admire us for and say “wow, I never knew that!” or “that’s awesome, how did you find that out?” We’re on a mission to create more of those moments happening!
Why would you want to be a host on eXpertLocal?
- You can work your own hours: By setting up a tour, you choose the dates and times for your tours and people book directly from you. So it’s a great 2nd job, something to fit around uni or simply a pocket money earner on your own terms.
- You set the tours: If you know every cool bakery in town, where the best beginner surf spots are or want to show someone a city or scene in another language, you can. The tours aren’t suggested by us, they are run by you! So you tell us what kinds of experiences we should have by creating them.
- You can make money: After rinsing out your wallet over Christmas and New Year and being the first couple of tours on offer, you have the opportunity to feel less pain in the hip pocket region than you otherwise would.
- You can make new friends: By sharing your scene or part of the local area with a bunch of people, you could find new friends through like minded interests. And you can never have too many friends into the same things as you!
So what are you waiting for? Drop us a line via support@expertlocal.com to discuss your big idea, or upload it directly to www.expertlocal.com and kick-start 2013 with a cool new adventure!
A to Z of Hosting Ideas
After spending a little time in a hammock in Hawaii and being up close and personal with a few too much cheese and cider, the team of eXpertLocal have come up with an A to Z of suggested tours you could host!
A is for art gallery tours. With a huge number of small, pop up and interesting art installations in Sydney, a locals guide to all things art is totally a must!
B is for beer tasting. Between the Red Oak Brewery, the Mac and several awesome craft beers on tap around the place, someone would make a big splash if they showed the best places to get your beer tasting on!
C is for community gardens. Bringing the locals together for food security, fun and just plain food, running a community garden tour or showing people how to create their own would be an awesome idea, don’t you think?
D is for driving. If you have a passion for motoring and motor cycles, what’s topping you from getting people together who feel the same way for some motoring enthusiast days of exploring Sydney and surrounds?
E is for education and learning. There are plenty of cool talks, drinks and generally inspiring talks throughout Sydney on a variety of topics. If you know the places to go to make your brain sparkle on a regular basis, why not ask others to join you?
F is for fishing. A great way to spend some time in contemplation and conversation, a simple fishing tour to your favourite spots could be a real hit with Sydney newcomers and lifers alike!
G is for gigs. We’re in a live music revival for sure, but sometimes it’s really hard to know which bands and venues are the better ones for the kind of music we like. So why not take the pot luck out of finding gigs in Sydney and become the resident Gig Pig for eXpertLocal?
H is for horse riding. From Centennial Park to the trails in our National Parks, if you love horses and want to share your favourite rides, why not try hosting a tour?
I is for In the Know. If you are a trendsetter who is always a head of the curve on restaurants, cafes, clubs and more, why not put that special knowledge to good use and make a little moolah on the side?
J is for jokes and comedy. Sharing the best places in Sydney to get your laugh on both professional and amateur level is sorely needed. Could you be the tour guide of 1000 smiles?
K is for kite flying. Can you imagine the simplicity and joy you could discover with kite flying tours in Sydney? Over the beaches? Cliffs? The parks? Awesome!
L is for lunch, dinner and all things in between. From the best sandwich to the best value degustation, if food is your thing we need you!
M is for movies and films. Be your own ‘David and Margaret’ gang and explore the latest cinema releases. Nothing could be cooler than checking out a film and hitting a nearby coffee shop to talk film with your 10 new friends, right?
N is for news and politics. Driving everyone nuts with your passionate political debates and news commentary on Facebook? Why not take it to a whole new audience and organise a newshounds night and talk about it with people who are as passionate as you are?
O is for opening up the local area you love to new people. If you are sick of myths about your suburb or want to show what it’s truly like to live in your suburb, why not show what it has to offer through your eyes? You can run a suburb or town tour- walking, cycling and more!
P is for personal training and exercise. If your deal is to run the sea walk from Bronte to Clovelly or take on Heartbreak Hill on a regular basis, imagine how much inspiration you could gain from finding friends who enjoy doing the same.
Q is for quick stops at small bars. A drink and a walk around Newtown, Darlinghurst or Redfern could be very cool, very quickly, don’t you think?
R is for riding your bicycle with other enthusiastic people who are looking to keep their wheels spinning around this beautiful city of ours and meeting others who feel the same.
S is for street art, skateboarding and slumming’ it. Bring back the counter culture and invent your very own Dogtown in Sydney by knowing the places to go for the best bowls and graffiti.
T is for train spotting. Wouldn’t it be cool to share that with someone else?
U is for underbelly arts and a variety of other cool festivals and amazing things on the local calendar. Having a gang to go to for Underbelly, Peats Ridge, Flickerfest and more throughout the year is much better than bending the will of disinterested friends, right?
V is for vino. Because knowing the cool places to go and taste it is a much underrated skill.
W is for water sports. From skiing to sailing, surfing to swimming, Sydney needs someone willing to spread their water wings and show the awesome places to go.
X is for the spot you’ll mark on local culture, no matter the tour you choose to run.
Y is for your guide to gay Sydney, Goth Sydney, girl’s Sydney and everything in between. Subculture tours are often the coolest.
Z is for zazzy fashion tours. Be your own fashionista and show the rest of us the way with your very own personal shopping tours.
So there you have our magic wish list. Care to add something?
