skip to site navigation | skip to site content

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

  1. What is WindyBits?
  2. Who publishes this site?
  3. What kind of events are listed here?
  4. How are the calendar events aggregated?
  5. Why are some of the events duplicated?
  6. How do I add a single event to the calendar?
  7. How do I change or delete an event I’ve already submitted?
  8. How can I automatically submit my organization’s events to WindyBits?
  9. How do I add an event to my personal calendar (e.g. in Outlook)?
  10. How do I customize the WindyBits calendar to see only the events I want to see?
  11. How can I view the calendar in a traditional 31 day month format?
  12. What’s up with the “May Report Remix” thing?
  13. What are the best places to find out about Chicago technology?
  14. Didn’t this site used to be different? Where are the articles?
  15. Can I place an ad on the site?

What is WindyBits?

WindyBits is a modest little website dedicated to aggregating and centralizing information about what’s happening in Chicago technology. The focus of the site is an event calendar. I also do a bit of lightweight news aggregation, and you can grab the news feed if you’d like.

Who publishes this site?

Tom Sherman. I’m just a guy living in Chicago who likes to follow what’s going on technology. I have a real job (this is just a minor hobby, although a few people have noticed the site). I have no financial interest in any Chicago technology company, and I’m not trying to make any money from this site. Oh, and I have a blog, if you’re bored.

What kind of events are listed here?

My goal is to list any events that are of interest to the average, tech-savvy Chicagoan. This includes:

  • General tech events and parties (e.g. TECH cocktail and Silicon Prairie Social)
  • Technology-specific user groups (e.g. a PHP meetup)
  • Entrepreneurial- and startup-focused events (e.g. a seminar on pitching to VCs)

Please keep these guidelines in mind when submitting an event.

How are the calendar events aggregated?

The calendar on the WindyBits homepage is actually a mash-up of several calendars: the WindyBits calendar (you can get it as a feed or in other formats), TechVenue’s Chicago calendar, and others.

Why are some of the events duplicated?

Because I’m aggregating several calendars and presenting them in one view, there will be duplicates if two calendars have listed the same event. I don’t have a good way to de-dupe entries.

How do I submit a single event to the calendar?

Just fill out the form at the event submission page. Include as much information as you’d like, especially URLs to your site. They’ll be automatically hyperlinked in the calendar listing.

How do I change or delete an event I’ve already submitted?

Contact me and I’ll fix it for you.

How can I automatically submit my organization’s events to WindyBits?

You need to create a public calendar in Google Calendar with your organization’s events. Although Google allows individual users to add a calendar via URL (pointing to a .ICS file), Google does not allow a website publisher (i.e. me) to embed those calendars on another site. To be included on the WindyBits homepage, your calendar must be in Google Calendar and specifically set as public.

How do I add WindyBits events to my personal calendar (e.g. in Outlook)?

You need to import the iCal file into Outlook, Thunderbird, etc. Go get the .ics file(s). This blog post explains the process well.

I can heartily recommend Google Calendar as a means of organizing a personal calendar and seeing other calendars. If you prefer Outlook, I can recommend SyncMyCal to keep your Google Calendar synchronized with Oulook.

How do I customize the WindyBits calendar to see only the events I want to see?

You can’t customize it too much, but you can click the little arrow in the top-right and de-select individual calendars that are aggregated on the homepage calendar. See screenshot below:

How can I view the calendar in a traditional 31 day month format?

Click the “Month” tab. See screenshot below.

What’s up with the “May Report Remix” thing?

Ron May, the ever-present gadfly of Chicago tech, has for many years written a newsletter about the Chicago tech scene. It has a lot of extraneous junk in it, but it’s probably still the best source of Chicago tech news. Problem is, Ron can’t/won’t (I suspect can’t) publish it on his site using decent HTML. Therefore, I decided to remix it using some AJAX (thanks, MooTools), CSS, and a whole buncha yucky string manipulation. Hope you enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Check out the Chicago Tech Resources. The Sun-Times and Midwest Business do a good job with news. TechVenue does a great job with events. And Ron May publishes anything you’d ever want to know about Chicago tech–and about 10x that amount in things you’d never want to know.

Didn’t this site used to be different? Where are the articles?

For a time, I wrote original articles for WindyBits. Then I decided that the site would work better as an aggregator of events and news rather than a publisher. So I changed the site, and I think it works better now. If you’re looking for one of the old articles, you can still find them.

Can I place an ad on the site?

No. I’m not trying to make any money on this thing.