Microformats in Alabama13 days beforeDid a talk at IPSA today on Microformats (slides are online for…BarCamp Birmingham: Unconferencing the Magic City

BarCampBirmingham Sessions in a Podcast2006If you missed BarCampBirmingham, here’s your chance to catch up on the…Today we had our first meeting, dedicated to planning a Barcamp in Birmingham. What’a Barcamp? Noo, it’s not camping out in a bar, although that seems like an intriguing idea in itself. Barcamp is a conference, powered by participants, rather than organizers. But don’t let me put any more syllables in the horse’s mouth. The first paragraph at barcamp.org explains it pretty well:

BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share
and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with
discussions, demos, and interaction from attendees.

BarCampAustin2007I am sitting here at BarCampAustin, the precursor to the SXSW 2007…This Barcamp thing has been taking the world by storm. From Paris to Houston, from Amsterdam to Raleigh-Durham, these fiery nerd commotions are popping up all over the place.

HighEdWebDev 20072007The HighEdWebDev 2007 conference begins tomorrow and I am all ready to…Well, why not Birmingham? True, some of my colleages act surprised (thankfully, in jest) that there are actually “internets” in Alabama, and it takes special nudging to get goodstorm.org to officially recognize Alabama as a State-side territory. But in all seriousness, Birmingham is crawling with technolgists, talent, and raw creative power. That’s what comes with being a cultural and technology center, you know.

The first planning meeting went very well. A bunch of great ideas were generated and I think we quickly reached the point of realization that this may actually work. With some elbow grease, initiative and the ever-present spirit of collaboration, we are really going to do this!</strong>
There are still lots of unanswered questions, and very little is set in stone. So, if you’re interested, jump right in! Come on over and help accomplish something beautiful. Not for money or hidden agenda — for karma. Read the barcamp basics, add yourself to the list of campers, or get on the planning wagon. Join the mailing list. BarCampBirmingham needs you.