About two years ago I found out that a French OSGi expert (Jerome Moliere) actually lived around the corner. It was quite a surprise because I live in the nick of the woods in a small village in the south of France. However, it is a pretty good combination, the south of France and somebody you can discuss OSGi with. There are a large number of pretty good lunch places within 15 km radios and there about 30.000 wineries in a circle of about 100km. So since that day we regularly meet for lunch and enjoy the good life.
So why should you care? Well, I ran into a link to a Google Shared Spaces. Google shared spaces is one of those powerful but simple ideas. A shared space is a link where people can share information that is then visually aggregated. You can share a map, voting, a drawing, text, shopping list, etc. Anybody that has the link can modify the shared space. I had to think of one of those shared spaces when I saw the Map cluster. Would it not be fun to find out who in your neighborhood has some interest in OSGi? Having lunch or a drink in the local bar might be really helpful. Just think of how much more fun it is to complain about class loaders when you're not alone? Or just think how nice it is to show something cool that you've made to someone that actually has a clue?
For this reason I've created a shared map where you can just add your name and location to the map. I know we developers are not known for our outstanding social skills but it is worth a try! So do not be shy or lazy. And if you get a good chapter together you can always invite me for lunch!
You can find the map here: http://goo.gl/61MKk
Peter Kriens
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