As a marketer concerned primarily with technical solutions, many hours are spent with my computer. And at the end of the day it seems like there’s nothing like human connection and inspiration. For this I like to attend the weekly One Million Cups event at the Kauffman Foundation near the Plaza in Kansas City. This morning’s event had  two inspired speakers, as usual, and provided inspiration to a room full of people.

One of the founders of the event, Nate Olson, once read that communities are built through a million cups of coffee. Although there’s tea now as well, provided by Hugo Tea (one of the recent presenters), the community builds every week.

A year after it’s first meeting, the program is spreading around the country, connecting entrepreneurs, developers, investors, consultants,  and marketers like myself.

While a  ton of the presenters have technology based solutions, we all need human connection. A survey of participants completed earlier this year supported that. People reported that  that face-to-face contact was the big draw to the weekly events.