GlitchNYC

What is Barcamp

April 21st, 2006

BarcampBoston is coming up, and one of the members of an email group I’m on wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. The following was my response. I think it sums up barcamp fairly well from a personal perspective, so I’m reposting it here.

Barcamp is, simply put, an unconference. No vendors, no high level keynote speakers, no preset agenda.

People get together in a space (which is often loaned by a local business) and talk about things they want to talk about. You’re very much encouraged to present if you go. Attendees are also enlisted to run all the tech, bring wifi nodes and projectors, and do just about everything (including developing the presentation tracks) themselves. It ends up working surprisingly well.

Oh yeah, and it’s free.

At BarcampNYC, I heard presentations from people who were actually excited about what they were doing. I chatted with Andrew Baron of Rocketboom and got inspired. I gave a well-attended talk with John Resig on “gaming social networks” and using myspace for promotions. I met and began working relationships and friendships with Amit Gupta, Chris Messina, and Tara Hunt. I connected with bloggers, podcasters, coders, and “web 2.0″ business people.

At BarcampAustin, I chatted with Matt Mullenweg from wordpress and sat next to Doc Searls for hours as we attended the same talks. I heard about the municipal wifi network Austin is building and the business and technological opportunities there. I talked endlessly with folks about the potential of IPTV and why 100mbps to the home might not be enough. I heard the beginnings of Tara’s Pinko Marketing and how she’s using and building upon the cluetrain to promote Riya. I learned more and interacted more in the 1 day at BarcampAustin than I did at the whole of the much bigger and more expensive SXSW.

People don’t just present, chat, and connect at barcamp. Sometimes they just sit right down and code. Mashups and new projects have resulted. It’s an incredible event that’s spreading across the globe like wildfire. You don’t need a massive convention to convey and consume good ideas… We don’t need a “convention industry.” We don’t need to fly all over creation to meet the movers and shakers - we’ve got plenty in our own backyards. We just need to start getting together.

That’s what barcamp is about.