I could simply end this post right there, but I suppose that’s not much fun, is it?

Well, there’s been so much that happened today that I almost don’t know where to begin. People have come from Kansas, NYC, London, and elsewhere to join in the new media love-in that is Podcamp.

I’d admit to being a bit shortsighted about this event. When I first heard the idea for Podcamp, I didn’t quite get how Barcamp, a multidisciplinary unconference about all things geek (including podcasting) would look if you filtered it down to just Podcasting and Vlogging. If you took out all the non-podcasters, who would come?

Christopher S. Penn and Chris Brogan had the foresight to realize that the Barcamp model is by nature self-exclusive. Because it’s an extremely technical event and everyone who comes is expected to present, people will refrain from participating for fear that they’ve got nothing to say. With podcamp, those who are new to podcasting are instead encouraged to come and learn.

The more inclusive atmosphere has created a ton of participation. At last count, nearly 400 people had registered for podcamp. Andrew and Joanne of Rocketboom are here (and yes, Amanda is here too, but those hoping for drama and subsequent mud-wrestling grudge matches have so far been disappointed .) C.C. Chapman is here. Steve Garfield is here. Chris MacDonald is here. These are mini-celebrities of the new media world, and yet they’re all completely down to earth, hanging out and chatting with everyone late into the evening.

The panels I’ve attended have been excellent, and I’m looking forward to catching the ones I missed via podcast later.

While I’ve been writing this, I’ve also been prepping the “warm up” show for tomorrow that will be played over the sound-system while everything gets set up. Speaking of The Alternative Music Show, tonight, Chris Penn asked if I had some shows with me to play during the after-event. Considering I was hauling nearly everything I own, I would have been ashamed if I hadn’t brought a few episodes with me!

While we all chatted, ate, and drank, songs from C.C.’s warm-up and the GlitchCast Rewind editions of The Alternative Music Show played from the speakers. It was strange to hear music that I was so incredibly familiar with coming out of bar speakers all night, and a very nice touch to the evening. Several times, people came over to me and asked who someone was because they really liked them. I love getting instant feedback like that!

Okay, I’ve got to crash so I can get up tomorrow for day two! I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Podcamp is awesome!

I nearly missed Barcamp Second Life, but thankfully, C.C. Chapman posted some photos live from the event to his Flikr feed, which showed up in my feedreader.

I popped on in just in time to catch a live music performance by foxyflwr cure, and to chat with some of the folks there.

There’s really no explaining how interesting the secondlife phenomenon is unless you’ve been there yourself. There’s mindbending moments when you’re really there.

My first sunset in SL was one of those very experiences. There I was, hovering high above a fairground, and suddenly I’m struck by the sheer beauty of the sky turning orange, and then the sun slipping slowly below the horizon to leave a purplish grey twilight.

I had to shake my head and remember that it wasn’t real… The combination of the beauty of the rendered sky, the almost imperceptible creeping of the sun over the horizon, and my mind filling in the rest made arguably as powerful as any sunset I’ve seen in real life.

Today’s concert, played live in front of our barcamp audience, was one of those moments. It’s just something you have to experience for yourself.

You can see more pictures from Barcamp SecondLife here or check out everyone’s barcampSL pictures here