Unconference

April 29th, 2008 @ 15:10
Posted by: Deirdre

Has anyone heard about this?

Cheap, audience-driven “unconferences” are shaking up the convention biz

Free classified ads on Craigslist threaten newspapers. Open-source software is gaining on Microsoft (MSFT ) and Oracle (ORCL ). Now the convention business faces its own Web-inspired competition: the “unconference.”

Unconferences turn the plodding, predictable business gathering inside out. They’re a hybrid of a teach-in and a jam session, with a little show-and-tell mixed in, and they are attracting hundreds in cities like Austin, Tex., Bangalore, San Francisco, Sydney, and Tokyo. Unlike traditional, $1,000-a-head and up conferences, they’re totally unstructured—the agenda isn’t determined until the opening day of the event. Everyone who shows up is a potential speaker, and those who don’t speak contribute by posting photos, blog entries, podcasts, and video clips of the proceedings. Neckties and heels are noticeably absent. And attendance is almost always inexpensive or free. read more

It’s Woodzie-biz!

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One Response to “Unconference”

John
May 1st, 2008 09:26
1

wow, that’s a great idea. That IS a Woodzie biz. That would certainly be doable. You’d sure be good at that.

In doing things for free or covering costs like that article describes, people are finding other ways to monetize it. Like that Economy Of Free thing I posted. One way is that the organizers get their name known and then get paying clients from that. Once someone’s name is common knowledge on the Internet for doing anything, they can turn that into money. Being an Internet businessperson reminds me of being a rock star or a politician, it’s all about how well your name is known.

That’s the new startup Method Of Operation; watching out to the horizon to see what technology has suddenly made possible that wasn’t before. Then, if it’s a service, offering it for free to make the startup easier. Then trying to engineer a way to make money from it.

At this rate of chance our kids aren’t even going to recognize the way we used to do things.

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- John :
- DAP : I see!
- John : I did a couple of experiments and here's the deal. For needless Def Con 5 security reasons, registered users' names can't be used unless that user is authenticated by being logged in. It was never a problem for us but what they have accomplished is that nobody can chat in your name but you. Non-member's names aren't verified. If you don't want to log in for a quick chat then use a slightly different name than your blog user name. And feel smiley and secure.
- John_test : test
- John : yeah... but it has all the smileys you could ever want!!
- Deirdre : I think you have to be logged in to use the sidebar chat. When I tried to just insert my name it gave me a weird error message.
- John : testing the new sidebar chat.
- John : you guys been outside tonight? The hurricane is pushing sea air up here. Smells like Padre Island.
- M. Fletcher : Thanks for the PA tips. I got it all ironed out, but the thing doesnt like my condenser mic, so ill just use two shure 57's. You guys were all great, and the cha-ching strum was a hit!
- John : When it gets cooler I think Glenn may do it outside more. You would have loved last night, Taylor and Molly sang "Down To The River To Pray" - you could have joined in! Casey sang three original songs and was great. Jimmie sat there and knitted and got up to sing Steve Earle songs behind Brad. Kim parents were there, it was a big crowd. Kim's dad sang. It was a very nice night.
- Taylor : It was fun singing with Molly!
- Deirdre : How was Riley's last night? Can't wait until the weather is right for y'all to set up outside. . .
- John : we're headin' up to Rileys. It's going to be a big night - Casey, Sean, Taylor, Molly, Jimmie... lots of family's coming. Come on up if you can.
- John : That's the goal. I have a little trouble because I'm, supposed to take care of some business in Wimberley that Saturday. But I'm working on that.
- M. Fletcher : Capitan' John, are you camping at Glens river thing?
- M. Fletcher : Miss Jimmie,you are awsome, and you can tell everyone Michael Fletcher said that...!!!
- John : Yeah, we'll be at Rileys... come on. That'll be fun.
- Casey : I typed my name and it showed me as Casey. =)
- Casey : Dad are you going to Riley's tomorrow night? I want to actually play some of my own songs! Let me know if you aren't going so I can give my fingers a break.
- John : it's misleading because it defaults to putting that guest_xxxx in the box, I wish it just left it blank because it looks like it's done it for some reason and that you're SUPPOSED to be this specific numbered guest. For those of you who get that impression, that's not the case - just type your first name over what's written in there. We have no idea what those numbers mean. It should come up blank and say "enter you name here" and that would end the confusion.
- guest_5847 : Even when I type my name in it still shows up as guest. Is it something with the Mac or with not being logged in? ....coming out of the closet.... Art.
- Jimmie : What I like is how I get to know someone through their comments, and if no name is given there can be none of that. If you take credit for what you say it gives others a chance to build a picture of who you are. Bonds and ties can grow. Relationships develop. I have found that this is a pretty safe place for me to be myself, and want to encourage all anony-mouses to give it a try!
- John : YEAH! Be counted.
- Renee : Mama and I are reading the comments and we agree that it's pretty lazy of people (not to mention, annoying) when they don't fill in their name and identify themselves.
- John : That's great. I think "amazing" is the best word to describe the show. Seems like you guys have a lot of fun with it.
- Dew & Celina : We now have a download link in the archives for people having problems accessing the embedded player in the archives.
- Dew & Celina : The show is now archived on our station site at «link» in the Show Archive section. We really enjoyed it!
- John : of course that was way back then Wordpress was first starting and you had to make your own but now there's thousands of great templates for free. There's site after site like this «link»
- John : It was custom coded for us by a really smart guy named Uzyn in Singapore. Then the rest of us kept adding stuff to where it's now as full as the bed on the Beverley Hillbillies' pickup truck. I could probably give you template if you want it.
- guest_3289 : what template are you using?
- guest_3289 : I can't figure out how you get the header and all the little photo thumbnails to change every time you enter this blog. How do you do that? It's great.
- John : I was telling ya... Quicktime is the most efficient stream. I don't like Quicktime for everything but sometimes you just can't beat it.
- guest_5676 : I tried to get in the chat room but it took 5 minutes to type a letter.
- guest_2056 : very sorry about Mitch being laid up. Hope your recovery is as speedy as possible!
- John : Not readily available. Let's import them!!
- guest_2056 : well... I've been listening and enjoying it tonight. Very homemade and that makes it very good. Loved Mitch, loved Glenn and Kim but I was really surprised by Cassell. Wow!! Are her record available in the United States??
- John : I think Dew and Celina's thing is very authentic. One of the best aspects of Americana is the homemade and personal part. I just love it.
- John : I'm using the Quicktime connection. The shoutcast thing seems to drag my connection down. Go here «link» and hit the second icon from the end.
- guest_6847 : I've told several people who are listening. If the other links aren't working for you this might «link»
- John : Dew and Celina.... We're listening to the broadcast right now. Sounds great.
- Tyler : Jamba Juice finally opened up on Broadway and Hildebrand and I'm super excited- my new favorite place for lunch
- guest_4551 : poor Mitch, at least his hands are ok, so he can strum away those blues. get well soon Mitch!
- John : It's so much like poker night... we ought to get a game going while people play just so we can add gambling to the list of Sunday night vices. Bob The Harmonica Player sure was good.
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