Comments on: PodCamp Boston 3 (#pcb3), thoughts vs Podcamp Boston 2

By: Podcamp Boston 3 | The 25th Hour ~karenjcardoza.com~

Podcamp Boston 3 | The 25th Hour ~karenjcardoza.com~ — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:35:16 +0000

[...] it was time to head down for the unkeynote, I settled in to the auditorium and stayed for David Fisher’s presentation on Advanced Audio Techniques, then CC’s Personal Branding session. Of course, it [...]

By: Podcamp Boston 3 and the Social » New Media Development by Greg Demetrick

Podcamp Boston 3 and the Social » New Media Development by Greg Demetrick — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:11:09 +0000

[...] I should be writing a review of Podcamp Boston 3 I think that other people have covered it well enough that I really don’t need to re-hash their comments. If you missed it, you [...]

By: Christopher Herot

Christopher Herot — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:19:32 +0000

This was my first PCB so the comments here and at the conference made me think I missed a good party. More importantly, they indicate that PCB2 set some really good stuff in motion and this year, while different, did not disappoint.

I thought the venue was good – plenty of spaces for informal conversation in addition to well-equipped meeting rooms. And what’s not to like about free, underground parking in the City of Boston? If we used the same place next year I would relocate the sponsor booths to some space on the ground or first floor. That would increase the foot traffic and still give the booth people a chance to duck into the sessions.

By: Nathan Burke

Nathan Burke — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:11:43 +0000

I definitely agree that podcamp Boston 3 was a very different feel than last year. Last year was my first year, and I saw it as an opportunity to learn from people I wasn’t familiar with at all….it was a great way to connect with new people and find out what they are excited about, and I’ve run into those people many times over the past year. This year it felt like an opportunity to reconnect with everyone at once and see what they were working on.

The other main difference for me was that we were able to sponsor this year. The best part of that was being able to give away a couple of flip cams! As far as Rob’s comment- I agree, I thought it was strange too. There were times where I was the only person at a table up there, but I can understand it. Even the sponsors want to go to the sessions and learn…and then run back to the tables for the breaks. I was lucky enough to have someone with me, so I was able to be away from the sponsor table most of the time.

By: Sandy Kalik

Sandy Kalik — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:56:42 +0000

Tibbon–I hear you. The vibe was different. Perhaps more educationally focused, as Chris Penn suggests; but I think we also had a sense for who our friends are this year, where we had less of a pre-built community last year.

As it is becoming more of a destination for learning and sharing, I think Podcamp may be quietly transitioning from unconference to conference (whether Chris and Chris intend for it to or not). We’re feeling the ripples of transition this year.

We’ll have to wait till next year to see what happens with Podcamp, but we have plenty of new friends from this year and last to hang out with in the meanwhile.

By: ChrisClark

ChrisClark — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:24:01 +0000

Good post.

This was my first PodCamp, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I loved the vibe. That’s me on the left, with the FlipVideo, in the photo of the “Mr. Jones” performance. I loved singing along with you guys (I was in a band, back in the day, that didn’t last long, and I jones for singing and guitar-playing all the time) and it would have been great to have even more fun moments like that, but I was very satisfied with things as they were too. I learned a lot.

Can’t wait until next year.

By: the rob blatt blog » Maybe it’s time to rethink the word “Podcamp”

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:15:51 +0000

[...] #1: There’s some conversation going on at David Fisher’s blog What is Noise as well as at Dan’s previously mentioned blog. permalink :: July 20, 2008 at 6:24 pm, filed [...]

By: Rob Blatt

Rob Blatt — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:13:23 +0000

The empty sponsor tables was a bad sign to me, because it meant that they clearly weren’t in a place where the crowd was engaging them. Just because they are at their tables doesn’t mean that they are hawking their wares. It means that you know where to go to speak to someone who cares enough about the community at Podcamp to lay down money and support it, but without someone at the tables I can’t be sure that I’ll speak to them about what it is that they are doing that I should be excited about. You can be engaging, participating and collaborating behind a table too.

I also felt the absence of music this time around. While spontaneity is great, I would have enjoyed knowing that there was going to be music at certain times or between sessions.

By: Chris Brogan...

Chris Brogan... — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:05:13 +0000

I loved playing music with you. I’m not very good (as you saw first hand), but I have a lot of fun doing it. I just love trying. That part was a win.

There were some new folks, but not a massive influx. Wish there were more, but I was happy with who came.

Ditto Mr. Penn. I missed Jeff.

And finally, I agree that this time it was really heavily focused on the learning, which is why it didn’t feel as festive. Maybe a blend next time. : )

By: Christopher S. Penn

Christopher S. Penn — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:00:11 +0000

I think you’re right on with the vibe, and the vibe was different by design. Previous PodCamp Boston events had epic parties, and some even took to calling it “Geek Spring Break”. While I love a good party, I love sharing, learning, and growing even more, and it’s tougher to do that when you wake up still drunk. I love that sponsors abandoned their tables, because it meant they were out engaging, participating, collaborating – everything except shilling and hawking their wares.

I think PodCamp’s energy was different this time – instead of party & fun at the top of the list, it was share and learn. Fun was still had, more than a few people tweeted they were headed to bed awfully late, but PodCamp itself was definitely more focused on the learn/share.

Thanks for being a part of it!

And I definitely agree – Jeff Pulver was sorely missed.