BarCamp stuffs tech ideas into 24 hours

obmar · BarCamp stuffs tech ideas into 24 hours

BarCamp stuffs tech ideas into 24 hours
Posted: Sept. 4, 2006

Stanley Miller II
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For the uninitiated, the name "BarCamp" doesn't conjure up images of a high-tech meeting of the minds.

But that will be the case Sept. 30, when local technology professionals and enthusiasts will gather at BarCampMilwaukee for a 24-hour exchange of energy and ideas.

The free event, which will be at Bucketworks, a downtown arts incubator, is for "everyone passionate about technology," according to Pete Prodoehl, one of the organizers.

People interested in attending can sign up by visiting the Web site, which is, surprisingly enough, www.barcampmilwaukee.com.

"Geeks aren't always thought of as social people," said Prodoehl, owner of 2XL Networks, a local Web design firm.

"Our biggest struggle here is the technology community is dispersed," he said. "We are hoping to pull everyone together in one place."

Prodoehl and others refer to BarCampMilwaukee as an "unconference," in that it's informal and unscripted, and the sessions are created by the participants. The agenda is loose, and those attending are expected to engage - not just sit and watch presentations by others.

The first BarCamp was in August 2005 in Palo Alto, Calif., organized in less than a week and drawing about 200 attendees. BarCamps have since emerged elsewhere in the United States as well as in Europe and Asia.

"The whole thing is participation," Prodoehl said. "We want people who are passionate, who will ask questions. This is all about sharing and learning in an open environment."

He plans on leading a discussion about video blogging, as well as a session he calls "share your gadgets," in which attendees will be encouraged to bring mobile phones, digital music players, Global Positioning System devices and other electronics for public review.

"The goal is to talk about what's good, what's bad and what is the future of these things," he said.

'I met people like me'
Justin Kruger, who organizes a "casual" technology think tank based in Milwaukee called Fireseed, said he was inspired to assemble BarCampMilwaukee after attending a similar event in Chicago this summer.

Kruger, who went to the Chicago event "on a whim," said he was impressed with the ideas and the people he met.

"First and foremost I came away with some friends," said Kruger, 27. "Second, I came away with business contacts and peers. The thing really important about peers is that I know a number of people successful with entrepreneurialism, but they are older than me. Going to Chicago, I met people like me.

"There were 80 people doing their own technology start-ups," said Kruger, who is founding a new social networking service that coordinates in-person events online. "Within two hours of being there, you feel the vibe."

That vibe includes high energy, creativity and enthusiasm running at a level that would inspire attendees to stay the entire 24-hour run and stay up all night. Or crash on the floor in a sleeping bag.

Organizers promote the potential of the upcoming Milwaukee event by highlighting a similar event in Seattle detailed in the "Seattle Mind Camp Mini-Documentary Video."

Reducing gridlock
The 14-minute online clip includes scenes showing off a narrowly contoured concept car designed to cut down on gridlock, and remote-controlled robots performing various tasks. That conference included presentations from Amazon.com and MSN, and enjoyed a laundry list of sponsors.

BarCampMilwaukee is still seeking some sponsors, including companies interested in funding meals during the conference.

Right now, about 25 people have signed up to attend, and Kruger said similar gatherings in other cities usually draw 50 to 200 people.

"My guess is we won't get 200 people," he said. "Who actually shows up, I don't know. These things come together at the last minute."

Workshops and other sessions are still fuzzy, but there are many possible topics up for discussion.

Many skills
Kruger said one attendee, a former MIT student, might give a presentation on a new fusion reactor "he's been working on, running simulations."

Kruger said he plans on offering up a new knowledge system - a way of storing information - that could improve the technology behind artificial intelligence.

Among the technology industries in Wisconsin, Kruger noted that he hoped the state's videogame design firms - including Raven Software and Human Head Studios in Madison and Guild Software in Milwaukee - would be able to attend.

"I would love to see those guys come out to BarCamp to let people know what's here," Kruger said.