It was after a long time that i hung out with a community of people where being over ambitious did not feel out of place..!! In fact for all matters, i really felt very subdued there for a while. I felt for a moment out of place for not knowing what the heck to do with my life, unlike many others there, who were there with a definitive purpose. There were startup aspirants, serial entreprenuers, tech consultants, geeky students, and many others who have already made a mark in there lives(atleast from where i am looking currently). From the cool n casual mac/pda carrying janata, to the not so uncommon, IBM/HP compaq carrying techie janata, everyone there had a great time, listening to some interesting talks, walking out of some :) and above all, having a good time networking with people from such different backgrounds yet with same basic ideas, concerns, questions, etc, which grow and mature as you give vent to them. Where web 2.0 became a drag by the end of day(while its the latest buzzword for most others). Where you hangout post-event for five minute lightning talks, on subjects as wierd as 'law was never meant to be just and fair' to which led to an hour long debate on patents(thats the time till i was there.) But it was in those few good hours that it gave me a direction as to where i am and where i need to be. My only saving grace was that i managed to gather the thoughts to myself volunteer for a talk that day on eclipse, which though small, totally spontaneous, and meagerly attended, managed to put me on the homepage of the BarCampBangalore site :). Anyways, all said and done, its an event, the likes of which i would love to be a part of, time and again. Atleast two more barcamps are planned in near future, in mumbai and pune. So if you happen to find out about it, dont miss it. (And its not just for techies).
Those of you still wondering about the title of the post, here goes the History of Barcamp. Foocamp was organized by tim orielly(of orielly books fame)for general interactive talks on any new topics between intellectual people from various specializations, for free. However the list of attendees was by invitation only. And a few geeks who werent invited started there own inspired version of foocamp (which they do not hesitate to acknowledge) and called it..... "Bar"Camp of course. The first one was held unsurprisingly at palo alto. The motive was clear, come to the venue, find the timetable on the board, and fill up the session you want to take if there is any session empty. If you are not enterprising enough or just not in time to get a slot, stand a chance of being on the receiving side of the wide array of sessions that you are left to choose from. Open for all, no invitation, first come first served. It was a community by the people for the people. And now it has gained momentum all around the globe, with 4 conferences already done in india, over the last few weeks, and atleast two more to go. Long live the community..!! :)
Those of you still wondering about the title of the post, here goes the History of Barcamp. Foocamp was organized by tim orielly(of orielly books fame)for general interactive talks on any new topics between intellectual people from various specializations, for free. However the list of attendees was by invitation only. And a few geeks who werent invited started there own inspired version of foocamp (which they do not hesitate to acknowledge) and called it..... "Bar"Camp of course. The first one was held unsurprisingly at palo alto. The motive was clear, come to the venue, find the timetable on the board, and fill up the session you want to take if there is any session empty. If you are not enterprising enough or just not in time to get a slot, stand a chance of being on the receiving side of the wide array of sessions that you are left to choose from. Open for all, no invitation, first come first served. It was a community by the people for the people. And now it has gained momentum all around the globe, with 4 conferences already done in india, over the last few weeks, and atleast two more to go. Long live the community..!! :)
