Filed under: arts and creativity, Charlotte, community services, design research, information design, innovation, social media, Uncategorized | Tags: barcamp charlotte, charlotte design week, idsa southern district conference, richard saul wurman, ritz carlton charlotte, tedxcharlotte
photo via sirconferences
I wanted to quickly highlight a handful of design+innovation events in the Queen City before they sneak up on us! Who knew we were such a hotbed?!
- Perhaps as a preview to TEDxCharlotte, TED conference founder Richard Saul Wurman is visiting Charlotte to host a double feature on 4/7 and 4/8. The first is “Charlotte as a Learning Playground,” which is geared to be “an interactive conversation on Charlotte’s present and future identity.” At $199, it’s a little pricey, but one perk is that it’s at the new Ritz Carlton Uptown, where attendees can enjoy a fancy spread of hors d’oeuvres and try out the locally filtered water through its first-of-its-kind LEED setup.
- Charlotte’s own AIGA chapter is coordinating the city’s first annual Design Week, and they’re kicking it off at Imaginon on 4/13 with a Design Unplugged panel discussion of local creative directors and businessfolks.
- The next two conflict with an innovation event I’m attending in Chapel Hill, but I figured I’d share it here for those staying local that weekend: Barcamp Charlotte is hosting version 3.0 at Area15 on 4/10 and the Southern District Conference for the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is in Charlotte on 4/9-11, themed The Economy of Design.
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.
