No, we can’t work magic and get you home. But we have had lots of offers of help, support, hotdesking, accommodation and networking for our members from our Mobile Monday friends around the globe. So if you are stuck somewhere, work in the mobile sector in some way, do have a look to see if there is a Mobile Monday chapter in the area and get in touch with them. Most of them are listed on the global Mobile Monday site, but some newer ones may not have made it up there yet, so do make full use of Google, Twitter, Facebook etc to find your local chapter. I’ve listed below the chapters who have specifically offered help, but even if the chapter local to you isn’t listed, don’t let that put you off contacting the local organisers.
And if you’re nervous about approaching someone, please be reassured that I haven’t met a Mobile Monday organiser yet who hasn’t been open and friendly – and I’ve met a fair few over the last couple of years. So since this is a global network, let’s make use of that fact in these very unusual circumstances. And as it’s Monday tomorrow, you may even find there’s MoMo event happening near you too.
And we’ve already managed to help one of our members connect with people in Shanghai. So it works!
I’m currently collating the specific offers of help from around the world and can confirm the following:
Mobile Monday New York – get in touch with David Harper. He can offer desk space and other support.
Stuck in Washington DC? Then our friends at Mobile Monday Washington can get you a free trial of Myra Fitzwater's famous TEQCorner "day office" on Tyson's Corner, VA (just steps away from DC's subway's FUTURE Silver/Dulles line). Simply contact Myra by email or phone to organise.
For other help and support via Mobile Monday Washington DC, please contact Mark Chernisky by email.
Mobile Monday Buenos Aires – get in touch via email for help, contacts & support.
Mobile Monday Shanghai – get in touch with Ranjit Singh who will be happy to introduce you to like-minded people and help out where he can. Lucy Lee from Shanghai has also offered her support.
Mobile Monday Austin, Texas is organised by C Enrique Ortiz and he is the man to get in touch with for help and support in Austin.
And if you're stuck in Philadelphia and the mid-Atlantic region, why not take up Mobile Monday Mid-Atalantic founder JP Finnell's offer to find out why Philadelphia is called the City of Brotherly Love! You can get him on email or phone.
Mobile Monday Chicago has an event tonight (i.e. 19th April 2010) which is free to attend. If you're stuck in Chicago, you could do worse than hang out there this evening. They're going to be talking about the iPad. RSVP required.
Mobile Monday Germany: If you’re stranded in Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Berlin & Munich then get in touch via email in the first instance – they can help with office space, advice and support: http://ning.it/529oT3. For specific help in Hamburg, then Axel Hoehnke is your man. Contact him by email or phone.
Mobile Monday London – that’s us! If you’re stranded here, please contact Helen Keegan (that’s me in case you were wondering!) and I’ll do my best to help you. You can also tweet us or join our email group and email the group with specific requests for contacts or help.
If you need space to work in London while you're stranded, then The Tuttle Club at the Centre for Creative Collaboration is opening up its doors to people this week. It's not a formal office space, but it's friendly, has good wifi and is pretty central near King's Cross. You'll also find some good conversation there with Lloyd Davis amongst others. You can't just turn up though, please let them know you're coming first by signing up on their wiki page. You can find more details here.
Other UK help – since our network is UK-wide and we’ve already had an offer of support of both accommodation and office space in the Bath area from Mobile Monday London regular, Chris Book. And an offer of food and accommodation and a pick-up from Gatwick Airport if needed from Victoria Richardson.
Mobile Monday Russia is based in St Petersburg – Michael Novikov is your man for help, advice and support.
Mobile Monday Malta – For anyone stranded in Malta, then Clyde Piccinino is your first port of call.
We’ve had a couple of offers of help by the very friendly Mobile Monday India crew. Wherever you’re stuck in India, it’s probably worth getting in touch with Suresh T Kumar. He has said the team can help organise food, somewhere to stay, office space or other requirements. Which is fantastic. You can also call Suresh. Or if you’re in Bangalore, then Kesava Reddy from Mobile Monday Bangalore is at your service. If it's Delhi where you're stuck, then VeerChand Bothra or Prashant Singh are very happy to help and host any or our community who are stranded. Call or email Veerchand; Call or email Prashant.
Aage Reerslev who organises Mobile Monday Stockholm (part of Mobile Monday Sweden ) was due to be in London this week and is now stuck at home in Sweden. So if you need anything if you’re there, just get in touch with him by email or phone.
Natali Yesilbahar from Mobile Monday Istanbul has offered similar support.
Shane Williamson from Mobile Monday Sydney is your man if you're stranded Down Under. You'll also find him on twitter at http://twitter.com/shanewilliamson
Stuck in Indonesia? Then Andy Zain from Mobile Monday Indonesia is there to help. He's based in Jakarta so if you're in or around Jakarta stranded on mobile business, you can also get in touch by phone.
Travelling through Europe and stuck in Zurich? Then get in touch with Matthias Sala who runs Mobile Monday Zurich by phone or email.
You can get help and support from Mobile Monday Sofia in Bulgaria from Spartak Kabakchiev (what a great sounding name!) by email or phone.
Even though Mobile Monday Brussels organiser, Tanguy De Lestre is currently stranded in France himself, he expects to be back in Brussels by train on Monday morning. To get in touch for help in and around Brussels, please email Tanguy here. Update: Tanguy is still stranded in France due to the train strike but can put you in touch with people in Brussels if you need help.
Rudy De Waele from Mobile Monday Barcelona has office space available to share if you're stranded there and they're happy to help you if they can. Rudy's also on twitter http://twitter.com/mtrends
Mobile Monday Helsinki is there for you if that's where you're stuck. Mobile Monday's founder, Jari Tammisto has offered support to folks stranded in Helsinki. You can get him by phone or email. He should have been at the opening of Mobile Monday Islamabad today but has been grounded himself. Also, there's a very kind offer of office space and accommodation from Peter Vesterbacka.
For help and support in Italy, then get in touch with Jaana Heikkila who runs Mobile Monday Milan.
Stuck in the Netherlands? Then please contact Sam Warnaars from Mobile Monday Amsterdam.
Mobile Monday Oslo is there for you if Oslo is where you're stranded. Call or email Shaun Thanki if you need anything.
For those who are stranded, I hope you get home safely very soon. And a big thank you to the community for their offers of help. I’ll keep adding to this as I get new information, offers and requests.
Oh, and if you’re on twitter, the hashtags to follow for volcano and transport information are #ashtag and #getmehome.
