Filed under: Charlotte, science and technology, social media | Tags: area 15, assumptions, barcamp charlotte, social media
What fun! Not knowing what to expect, I attended the first half of BarCamp Charlotte today over at Area 15. Reflecting on my newbie experience, I realized I arrived with a few assumptions, all of which were handily proven wrong.
1. I thought the informal nature of the setup would be frustrating. I’ve been working in a corporate setting where meetings and agendas are arranged months in advance. But in this format, participants pitch whatever topics they want to talk about, either as an expert presenter or as a discussion leader. Then the rest of us vote on which ones we want to see. Despite a few logistic glitches, I found this free-wheeling format to be invigorating and liberating. And wonderfully innovative.
2. I assumed the topics would only be about SEO and/or social media. Not so. Though there were plenty of extremely relevant sessions about those things, the floor is open to many others. Like the kid who taught folks how to make balloon animals. Or setting up photo-voltaics in your home.
3. I figured the average age of the participants would skew young. Boy, was I wrong on that one. Of the 200(?) or so folks at the event, there was a wide range represented. The mix in the room was impressive: small business owners, enthusiasts, and random interested friends (like me) of all levels of expertise and backgrounds.
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Nheeda,
Comment by charlottehomesforsale1 October 22, 2009 @ 3:58 pmI remember you… you’ll remember me by my cord and case sitting next to you.fairy new to Twitter too.
This was my first one too- and thought the same. I liked the democratic style in the presentations,and some were better than others- most were wide ranging and interesting. Glad to see you out here in this space
I blog about Charlotte Homes but have tons of other interests as well.