There used to be a time when the Portland startup community was awash in unconferences. Unconference here, unconference there. On a variety of interesting topics. And while those heady halcyon days of unconferencing may have passed, an interesting one rears its head every now and again. Like this weekend. When it’s the AI/ML Unconference.
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Used to be, Portland had a plethora of unconferences for folks to attend. On any number of topics. But as of late, those opportunities have been few and far between. Luckily there are still opportunities like the Women Led Unconference.
Mugasha continues to make a strong showing in the Portland startup scene. This time it is a little further south. Introducing Startup Weekend Corvallis.
It’s been a while. A while since we’ve had a Startup Weekend in our neck of the woods or Silicon Forest or whatever. The last time we had the chance to participate in this kind of “build a startup in a weekend” experience was about 18 months ago with Startup Portland.
But what a Startup Weekend it was. With five startups launching, including poster-child Mugasha, which continues to make a strong showing in the Portland startup scene.
This time around, the startups will be starting up a little further south. Introducing Startup Weekend Corvallis. Read More
While I love the Portland startup scene, it’s always nice to venture out to some other towns every now and again. Especially towns that are similar to Portland. With interesting startups and strong communities. To see what they’re doing and—hopefully—to borrow some other ideas about what we could be doing around here.
So when the opportunity availed itself to visit Boulder, Colorado—thanks to a brand new event called boco—I jumped at the chance. Read More
What if we could get traditional reporters and bloggers all journalists in their own right in the same room to discuss the issue? Now, we can on August 1 with Portland’s Digital Journalism Camp.
If you spend any time reading news online, you’ve no doubt encountered a wealth of discussion on the death of traditional print and broadcast media and how this rapidly accelerating demise is affecting the world of professional reporters. Sometimes it’s a “the time has come” discussion, sometimes it’s a “blogs are to blame” quip, sometimes it’s “Craigslist has undercut our cash cow.”
Whatever the case, all of these discussions tend to suffer a very similar problem: It’s rarely more than one faction discussing the issue. Rather, it tends to be each party yelling from his or her respective side of the fence.
What if we could get traditional reporters and bloggers—all journalists in their own right—in the same room to discuss the issue? Now, we can. On August 1, there’s Portland’s Digital Journalism Camp. Read More
But I’m definitely not as savvy as the folks who will be gathering to discuss Cloud computing on June 30 as part of CloudCamp PDX.
I can still remember when I first heard the term “the Cloud.” As in, we’re saving that up in the Cloud. My initial thought was “anything having to do with clouds and Portland is going to own that.”
Well, I’ve managed to get a wee bit more educated about the whole cloud thing since then. But I’m definitely not as savvy as the folks who will be gathering to discuss Cloud computing on June 30 as part of CloudCamp PDX. Read More
You know me. I’m always looking for any opportunity to throw out the “Portland has more x per capita than anywhere else in the United States.”
Here’s my latest: Portland has more unconferences per capita than anywhere else in the United States.
What’s an “unconference” you ask? Well, let’s let Dawn Foster, the queen of Portland unconferences answer that one:
Unconferences are usually free and are often local. The unconference is an adhoc gathering shaped by those who attend with the sessions and agenda being driven by the participants. The framework is defined in advance, but the sessions are organized and produced by the attendees. In other words, instead of a full agenda with sessions and speakers clearly determined in advance, you start with a blank grid containing times on one axis and rooms / locations on the other axis; lunches and any other common activities are often added to the grid in advance to provide some basic infrastructure for the event. You never what discussions, demos, and other interactions to expect before the event, but you can count on it being an interesting time!
Now that you know, are you looking for some unconference-y goodness?
Look no further, my friend.
The premier wiki unconference, Recent Changes Camp, is already happening:
Recent Changes Camp was born from the intersection of wiki and Open Space. Since 2006, participants from all over North America and the globe have gathered together for a common purpose: discussing the past, present, and future of the technology and collaborative method that is wiki. RCC is a chance for everyone in the wiki community, something we like to call Wiki Ohana, to meet and have a fun, productive conversation about our passion for wikis of all stripes.
Going far beyond technology, we’re interested in wiki culture and other networks/groups/etc. that share many of the values implicit in it — from cultural creatives, to public participation and free culture advocates. If you use a wiki or you value open collaboration, Recent Changes Camp is created for you. RCC is about openness and inclusion, collaboration and community, creativity and flow. Further down this page you can check out a sampling of sessions we’ve enjoyed in the past, along with pictures and videos from previous events.
For more information, see RecentChangesCamp on Calagator.
More interested in the impact of technology on modern media? BarCamp NewsInnovation Portland might be more your speed:
What happens when a group of technologists, programmers, web developers, designers, hackers and information architects meet up with journalists, entrepreneurs, students, professors and others with interest in news and information?
Amazing new ideas for how we collect, disseminate and consume news, hopefully.
Join us for a one-day un-conference to not only talk about how technology is influencing journalism, but brainstorm some ideas and hack them out by the end of the afternoon.
For more information, see BarCamp NewsInnovation Portland.
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