Unconferences in Business Week

May 6, 2007 · Comments

I was very happy to see this Business Week article about unconferences, especially because it mentions PodCamp, but also because it is a mainstream mag talking about something very dear to my heart. (Thanks to Steve Garfield for pointing this out).

If you haven’t been to a PodCamp (or a BarCamp, FooCamp, CaseCamp, or any of the others), here’s the quick rundown:

  • They’re free to attend. Sponsors pay (thank you sponsors) to support the community.
  • Everyone has a chance to participate. If not outright leading a session, everyone is encouraged to direct the way the event goes, and participate from the crowd.
  • Subject matter varies. At PodCamp, we talk about new media community tools (blogging, audio and video podcasting, twitter, Second Life, more). At BarCamp, lots of people talk about software. It’s quite often a “make your own” experience, and that’s really what gets you hooked. The subject matter comes from you.
  • People can exercise “the law of two feet,” which means you can walk off if the session doesn’t appeal to you, or worse, if someone’s just blatantly pitching to you (rumor has it there was a huge mass walk-off at PodCamp NYC at one point- good on ya!).
  • Information gets transferred with the least ego possible.

I love the unconference model. The idea of bringing lots of subject matter together, lots of experts and amateurs, and building a community-driven experience is just astounding. I’ve seen several PodCamps now, and one BarCamp, and I get a shiver every time it all comes together. Amazing, truly.

Now, I’m paid to put on a professional event, which is a little different all the way around. But what I can tell you about that is this: everything I learn from PodCamp, I bring to bear on what we’re doing with that big pro event. (They’re not related to each other. One’s my day job and the other is my passion, and the reason I got my new day job). I think that conferences are coming to realize that audiences are no longer interested in sitting idly for pitches. I know I’m not.

I can also say that the speakers we get for Video on the Net who understand the value of community are the types who also come to PodCamps. Know how I know? Because David Eckoff came to both. A big time superstar at Turner, and he speaks at my pro event, but knows the cool kids are also hanging at PodCamp NYC. Pow!

So, I’m really excited to see Business Week giving unconferences a nod. Thank you. Hope to see you at more events, BW.

What kind of unconference could you imagine for YOUR Day job?

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  • This is the first year I was invited to FooCamp and I'm excited, especially after helping organize SoCon07 and sponsoring Podcamp Atlanta this year. Once you attend an "unconference" your view of a conference changes. I went to a business conference afterwards and it was almost impossible to "go with the flow".
  • Congratulations on the article. I know I'm fiendin' for another podcamp experience. Bootcamp Pittsburgh just left me wanting more. Maybe a couple of us Mayhemers will have to make a trek to some of these other ones the next few months before Podcamp PGH in August.
  • Special education bitch session. Bring beer and your worst parent story, and it'll all be ok.

    In all seriousness, though, a special education roundtable would be an interesting experience. We all have different levels of expertise to share. I found myself playing department head at a training a few weeks ago, in lieu of the training I was actually supposed to be delivering. This educator just needed advice in another area I happen to be good in. Teachers need to network more, I think.
  • Maybe there are some normal people who work at big corporations and big networks. Maybe.
  • There's nothing that stops the "money" side of things from being authentic or being a conversation.
    It requires a will to connect and mix it up with others.
  • The BW article left me feeling a bit conflicted. On one hand, it's very inspiring to see another aspect of user controlled and generated content blossoming. Money and power lose out to passion and simple people-to-people communication. On the other hand, when I see that people are trying to commercialize the unconference (isn't that a contradiction?), I get the same feeling as when I see huge corporations or Old Media papers or networks blogging. I worry, "what will uninitiated people think when they see this called a 'blog' or 'unconference'?"

    And I don't think it's just me being snobby. As soon as it stops being just normal people, and starts being a corporation, or network or organization, it starts being about money, power and control. It loses the essence of personal communication, passion and honesty that is the hallmark and true value of anything citizen-created.
  • I like this, I’m intending to bring a Podcamp with that wonderful approach it has, to a UK University steeped in the traditional “sage-on-the-stage” approach to conferences.

    Can’t wait for the two cultures to mix and to show people some new ways of thinking/working.
  • Kudos-glad you are getting some old media spin. Hope Podcamp AZ a big smash and you can attend. Who knows maybe I'll be there.
  • Mainstream Media recognizing new media tools is one of the steps in extending the conversation-- each such article brings in many potential audience members, users, and media creators.
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