Since deciding not to move to California, I’ve realized that we need to grow a geek community that I can associate with here. I feel so isolated and alone as far as work is concerned, so I decided to spearhead BarCamp here in Utah.

I am in the process of setting up montly meetings for BarCampUtah. BarCamp is a meeting that started up in San Francisco in reaction to FooCamp, which was an invitation-only party given by O’Reilly. Some of the people who weren’t invited to FooCamp, set up BarCamp.

What I’m trying to create is a geek community in Utah. I want to have a monthly meeting where we can “show and tell” or maybe just “hack together.” This video, created by Ryanne, is my inspiration. I want BarCampUtah to be like Super Happy Dev House.

We don’t have a spot where things can go all night, but at first, I’m just hoping for a few hours where everyone can talk and share ideas. This video, also by Ryanne, shows what our little meetings could eventually evolve into. BarCamp in San Francisco is a full-blown conference with sponsors and hosts and lots of ad hoc sessions.

I have been struggling for a good venue that has wireless Internet and room for us to grow. I think I have found us a spot, but I need to wait to announce it until I get the application back.

In the meantime, if any of you have been wishing for a geek community in the Salt Lake area, we are growing it right now. Please send me your information on my Contact Me form, including your full name, email address and phone number and I will make sure that you are included.

It looks like a group of about a half a dozen people are working to get BarCampUtah off the ground:

• Pre-planning thoughts for doing BarCampUtah in conjuction with BarCampEarth. – DevUtah

They are meeting monthly at dinners and the next one is July 26th, 6:30 pm at Brick Oven (111 East 800 North, Provo, Utah). If any of my Salt Lake City readers are interested in creating a dynamic geek community here, this is where we need to be. I have left an email with Phil B. Burns, the organizer to see what I have to do to make this a reality.

Not only are hugely successful Geek Dinners already set up, he has set a day for the BarCampUtah conference: August 26th – 28th, 2006. I am so happy that all of this is coming together so nicely!

I’ll keep you posted.

Today I met with Phil Burns about BarCampUtah. It looks like we are going to be able to get this going!

BarCampUtah will be August 26-28th, 2006.

For more information:

• BarCamp / BarCampUtah

• Main Page – BarCampUtah

• Phil B. Burns

• DevUtah

If you would like to help us set up, teach a class or get more information about BarCamp, please fill out my contact form here:

• Pick Me! » Contact Laura Moncur

Music Credit: Atmospheric Royalty Free Music – Variation on Egmont

Update 08-08-05: You can embed this video into your weblog using Google Video: BarCampUtah: Setting Up Camp

If you don’t know who Robert Scoble is, you’re not going to understand how Internet Famous he is and why going to this lunch was like breaking bread with a rock star. M. David Petersen made a podcast of the lunch and recorded all the amazing things that Robert Scoble had to say.

• GeekCast – Robert Scoble and Local Salt Lake City Geeks Not-So-Anonymous – O’Reilly XML Blog

I have about fifty minutes of video from the lunch. While it’s tempting to just post it all here, I’ve edited it down to just under two minutes of the coolest things that were said.

This is one of those rare times where I filmed the event, but didn’t live it through the LCD screen. I was able to just hold the camera and still enjoy the moment. Some day, the camera will become so much a part of me that I won’t even realize when I’m filming.

David took pictures and he snapped this photo of Mike and me. He happened to capture me looking incredibly bored and sad. I’m not bored. I swear it! Do I always look this sad? It’s not the way I was feeling, I can tell you! I was totally stoked to be there!

I carefully chose my shirt that morning. I wore JETRIS from Threadless. I thought a pixelated Jesus was a completely appropriate shirt for Robert Scoble’s visit to Salt Lake City, Utah.

A special thank you to all who came to the lunch:

Robert Scoble – PodTech
Patrick Scoble – I didn’t hear. Who are you working for?
Gilbert Lee and Tad Giles – The LDS Church Website (These guys have 10 hours of content to translate into almost 100 languages every six months. They totally ROCK!)
Ryan Hawley
Jared L Smith
Tim Stay – Know More Media
Michael Hoover
M. David Petersen – Thanks for recording the entire thing!
Me and Michael Moncur – Starling Studios

P.S. There are three two people who came to the lunch and didn’t get on this list because I didn’t have a card. If you are one of them, contact me and I’ll put you on the list.

I procrastinated working on the Geek Dinner video because I thought that the audio wouldn’t work. I was imagining going through all 60 minutes of audio and thinking, “Man, he said a great thing. I wish my camera could have caught it.” Instead, I had so much good footage that I had a hard time picking and choosing the best. In fact, the interview with Carolyn was so awesome that I am editing that for its own video tomorrow.

It took a lot of ruthless cutting to get this video down to just under six minutes. It’s a long download, but these Utah Geeks (and one nerd) have so much to say about the community here and Utah technology in general. I asked them why the Geek Dinners are so cool and what they thought about the Utah Tech industry.

The best answer: Watch Out!

Music Credit: Atmospheric Royalty Free Music – Variation on Egmont

You can also embed this video on your own webpage:

• YouTube – Utah Geek Dinner: July

• Google Video – Utah Geek Dinner: July

A special thank you to Phil Burns from DevUtah for setting up the monthly Geek Dinners!

Those featured in the video (in order of appearance):

James Carroll
Matthew Reinbold – mutednoise and BloomBurst
Tom Gregory – alt-tag.com
Susie Gregory
Gary Thornock – Gary Thornock’s Weblog
Niki Thornock – Audio Conversions
Robert Merrill – Utah Tech Jobs and SOS Technical
Richard K. Miller – Richard K Miller dot coooooooooom and More Good Foundation
Jordan Gunderson – Jordy Blog
Chris Sandberg – Business and Technology and Answer Wiki

Update 08-08-06 8:05 am: Robert Merrill posted pictures from the Geek Dinner on his weblog: July Geek Dinner Report– Utah Tech Jobs

Update 08-08-06 12:18 pm: The August Geek Dinner will be August 22 at the Los Hermanos Restaurant in Lindon (Google Map) at 6:30 pm. See more here: DevUtah » Blog Archive » August 2006 Geek Dinner

Carolyn Duncan had such an interesting story at the Geek Dinner that I had to do a video just for her.

If you are interested in the Utah Geek Dinners, you can find out more information at DevUtah.

Carolyn’s “real” weblog can be found here: The Carolynn Blog

The weblog she talks about in the video is here: Why Provo Labs Is Hiring Carolynn Duncan

Music Credit: Atmospheric Royalty Free Music – Variation on Egmont

This month’s CodeAway was awesome! I wish I had gotten more video of our conversations. Dave Turnbull showed us his Google Map Mashup for the Pete Ashdown for Senate website. He added my house onto the map of Pete supporters.

Matt Reinbold talked about his two awesome weblogs, mutednoise and BloomBurst. We brainstormed ways to enhance the interactivity and to drive more traffic to them. His coverage of the remix culture on muted noise is excellent. If you like cool videos, go there and see what he has gleaned for you.

I was working on new ideas for The Quotations Page and they suggested some great ones like a MySpace widget that allows MySpace users to post The Quotes of the Day on their page. Halfway through the evening, we realized that Mike’s entry on The Gadgets Page (10 Ways to Make Your Digital Photos Last Forever) was only four diggs away from getting on the front page of Digg.com, so we went online and gave it our three digs and Gary Thornock gave us the final fourth to get us on the front page. Thanks, guys!

Next month, we might be meeting in a more public space that doesn’t need to be super secret and undisclosed. If you were wishing for BarCampUtah, you should come to next month’s CodeAway. It’s like a mini BarCamp!

Update 08-21-06: Matt has posted his recap of the August CodeAway here: BloomBurst – August CodeAway Recap

The date has been set for next month’s CodeAway: Pick Me! » September 2006 CodeAway

Matt Reinbold has set the date, time and location of next month’s CodeAway. So that we don’t have to meet in a super-secret location, we are having the CodeAway at The Sprague Library in Salt Lake City:

September 2006 CodeAway

Saturday, September 23, 2006 1-5pm

Sprague Library – 2131 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT – Google Map

Downstairs Conference Room

Free wi-fi courtesy of X-Mission

You can RSVP via Upcoming.org:

• Upcoming.org: CodeAway at Sprague Library (Saturday, September 23, 2006)

Last month’s CodeAway was so much fun that I’m looking forward to going to this one!

Just a reminder that the August Geek Dinner is tonight. Here are the sordid details:

Tonight at 6:30 pm at the Los Hermanos Restaurant in Lindon (Google Map).

See more here: DevUtah » Blog Archive » August 2006 Geek Dinner

I loved attending last month’s Geek Dinner, so I’ll definitely be there tonight. Mike has been feeling sick, so he may or may not come. We’ll have to see. If you have been reading my blog and want to meet me in person, show up to the Geek Dinner and introduce yourself. I’ll be wearing my “Fractions Speak Louder Than Nerds” t-shirt from Threadless.

The August Geek Dinner was less of a networking opportunity this week because Phil had Pete Ashdown come speak with us about Net Neutrality. Pete is running for the U.S. Senate against Orrin Hatch and is particularly well versed in Internet issues because he is the founder of X-Mission, Utah’s oldest ISP. Here is an edited video clip explaining his position on Net Neutrality.

Music Credit: Atmospheric Royalty Free Music – Variation on Egmont

Pete is running his campaign on a very different platform than other candidates. His website has a collaboration wiki and he is writing a blog (or campaign journal). Any Utah Geek that doesn’t vote for Pete has forgotten how important it is to have a senator in Washington who actually understands what the Internet is.

You can see the complete and unedited video (47 Minutes) here on Google Video:

Thanks, Phil, for bringing Pete to the Geek Dinner. It was a great meeting and I’m looking forward to September’s Geek Dinner.

To find out more about the Utah Geek Dinners: DevUtah

The September Utah Geek Dinner has been announced. You can see the official announcement here:

• DevUtah » Blog Archive » September 2006 Geek Dinner

Here are the details:

Date and Time: September 20, 2006 6:30pm
Location: Los Hermanos Restaurant – 395 North State Lindon, UT 84042 Phone: 801.785.1715 Google Map
Dinner Format: Networking – Our tables will be groups where we allow each person to talk for a couple of minutes. The groups will be mixed up a couple of times so that you eventually get to meet everyone.
RSVP: Add your name to the wiki or add yourself to the Upcoming.org page.
Join: To hear about these events in the future, join the mailing list.

Phil is looking for restaurants with private dining rooms that will hold a reservation and allow us to be by ourselves in it. If you know of any, please comment here or on his site.

Matt Reinbold‘s CodeAway is tomorrow! It’s at the Sprague Library.

September 2006 CodeAway

Saturday, September 23, 2006 1-5pm

Sprague Library – 2131 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT – Google Map

Downstairs Conference Room

Free wi-fi courtesy of X-Mission

You can RSVP via Upcoming.org:

• Upcoming.org: CodeAway at Sprague Library (Saturday, September 23, 2006)

Bring your laptop, your friends and your bragging shirt and come show us your best!

CodeAway
Saturday, October 21st 1pm – 5pm
Whitmore Library: 2197 East Fort Union Blvd. Google Map

In order to get online, you will need to have a valid Salt Lake County Library Card, so get yours now if you don’t have one!

If you want to learn more about CodeAway, you can here:

• codeaway.org

I LOVE it! So come on over to the library!

Music Credit: Atmospheric Royalty Free Music – Variation on Egmont

Last month’s CodeAway turned out pretty well. We had a great turnout! Sadly, the Salt Lake County libraries aren’t going to work for CodeAway. Their firewall blocked so many sites that few of us could get any work done. I can understand why they might block logging into a server, but sites like Yahoo!, Flickr and del.icio.us were inaccessible. They tried to blame it on Yahoo!’s servers, but I logged into Yahoo! using my cell phone and that worked just fine.

November 2006 CodeAway

Saturday, November 18, 2006 1-5pm

Sprague Library – 2131 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT – Google Map

Downstairs Conference Room

Free wi-fi courtesy of X-Mission

Be there and be filmed!

Tim Westergren of Pandora fame is visiting Salt Lake City and having a meetup at the Salt Lake City Main Library. It’s a beautiful location with wireless access provided courtesy of X-Mission. I met Tim at SxSWi last year and he was very personable. He’s a great speaker and an even better listener. Here are the specifics of the meetup:

Where: Salt Lake City Main Library, Auditorium
Address: 210 East 400 South, Salt Lake City UT 84111 (801) 524-8200 Google Map
When: Thursday, January 18th at 7:30 PM

If you have ever used Pandora and want to give him feedback about your likes and dislikes, now is the time! If you haven’t, then try it! It’s a free Internet radio station that is a great tool for finding new music that you will like. I reviewed it on The Gadgets Page here:

• The Gadgets Page » For Those of You Missing Radio, Here’s Pandora

A special thank-you to Braidwood for introducing me to Pandora. I have enjoyed its continuous music and software improvements thanks to her!

I wrote an entry on the CodeAway blog about the January CodeAway at the Pandora Users Meetup. It was an awesome experience for me and my mind is still reeling from it:

• CodeAway » The Pandora CodeAway Meetup

Next month’s CodeAway has been announced:

• CodeAway » February CodeAway

Here are the details:

February 2007 CodeAway

Saturday, February 24, 2007 1-5pm

Sprague Library – 2131 S 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT

Google Map

Downstairs Conference Room

Free wi-fi courtesy of X-Mission

Hope to see you all there!

After months without a Geek Dinner in sight, Phil Burns has finally announced a Geek Dinner.

• Phil801 – Geek Blog » Upcoming Geek Dinner – with Jeff Barr

He will have Jeff Barr from Amazon.com come speak and it’s a great opportunity to network with other Utah Geeks. I really enjoy the Geek Dinners because it makes me feel less alone in Salt Lake City.

Here are the details:

Date and Time: Thursday February 8, 2007 6pm
Location: Los Hermanos – 395 N State Street Lindon, Utah 84042 Google Map

Restaurant website:

• Los Hermanos Mexican Restaurant – Located in Lindon & Provo, Utah

Los Hermanos is a decent Mexican restaurant with typical food for the area. More importantly, this is the first time in months that we’ll be able to get together with a crowd of other technical people.

CodeAway is coming in a couple of weeks. The Sprague Library is a great place, but we can’t really meet there anymore for a variety of reasons:

• CodeAway » March CodeAway: SupaSecret Location!

We need a place that has power, Internet connectivity and allows food. Finding a place that allows all three is difficult, so Mike and I are opening up our house. At least I can depend on my place.

The problem is, I don’t want to post my address on the Internet. You can probably understand why. Here are the details for March’s CodeAway:

Date and Time: Saturday, 03-31-07 1pm-5pm

Location: SupaSecret Location! Contact Laura Moncur to get the address.

Bring: Your laptop with wireless or ethernet connection (we can work with both), treats and snacks, other Utah Geeks

SXSW was so amazing! Last year at this time, I was so depressed because I felt like all my friends were scattering across the country again. This time, I remembered all my great Utah Geeks and I was eager to come home to you guys and tell you everything I learned! Can’t wait to see you!

If you need a little camaraderie, you can find it at the Utah Geek Dinner this Thursday. Here are the details:

• Blogger-Geek Dinner this Thursday, April 26 – Ash Buckles – Blog

I am really enjoying these Geek Dinners and I’ll be there for sure!

Utah Geeks!

It has been too long since we last got together for a CodeAway, but you only have to wait a little while longer. Our next event is in a few weeks.

If the weather is good, I thought we could create CodeAway t-shirts. I did something like it this month:

• Pick Me! » How To Spray Paint Your T-Shirt With A Stencil

Bring a blank t-shirt and we’ll have some supplies available. If you want to blow everyone away, create your own logo for CodeAway and bring it along as a stencil. I’ll have a few stencils to choose from by then, so if all you want to do is bring a t-shirt, then you can look like one of the cool kids!

Here are the details for the October CodeAway:

Date and Time: Saturday, 10-06-07 1pm-5pm

Location: SupaSecret Location! Contact Laura Moncur to get the address.

Feel free to bring treats, your laptop, your Nintendo DS and your buddies! See you in a couple weeks!

Here are a couple photos from July’s CodeAway:

More photos here: CodeAway: SLC Geeks – a photoset on Flickr

I’m feeling so tired right now. We had a really busy weekend with CodeAway and an early Thanksgiving with my family. I still haven’t finished taking the folding chairs down to the basement. I’ve got one more to go and I’ll take it down next time. For now, it’s just sitting in the living room.

We are at a turning point with CodeAway. It’s getting too big for our tiny house. We are continually tempted to upgrade to a bigger house and this might be the impetus to get us to do it. Voluntary Simplicity is something I have to focus on to achieve. The idea of just getting a bigger place is so tempting right now.

At the Utah Geek Dinner last week, Joseph Scott brought WordPress t-shirts. I scrambled past anyone in my way (sorry about your toes) to get one. Ever since Nicole Lee showed off her very cool red WordPress t-shirt, I have wanted one.

Thanks, Joseph!

Start saving, folks. Every penny you earn right now might keep you alive during the Second Dot Bomb.

The Blogger Blood Drive sponsored by Twelve Horses in honor of Serenity Burns went incredibly well. A special thank you to Steve Spencer for setting it up. You can see all my photos for it here:

• Blogger Blood Drive at Twelve Horses – a set on Flickr

I felt really tired and worn out all evening afterward. I’ve never had that happen when I’ve given blood before. On the plus side, I felt really good about myself as well. It’s like Captain Hammer says, “Everyone’s a hero in their own way, in their own not that heroic way.”

I really enjoyed this month’s Utah Blogger/Geek Dinner. We had over 25 people show up this time. You can see all the photos here:

Blogger/Geek Dinner: July 2008 – a set on Flickr

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of myself. If any of you snapped a photo of me at the dinner, please comment with a link to it here.

I used the AirMe app on my iPhone to take and upload all these photos. It is good program for events like these because it will upload the photos to Flicker, put them all into a photoset and add tags for the location and weather. It made documenting the dinner SO much easier.

This month we had the dinner at Paradise Bakery. The kind of restaurants that let you stand in line and order and then sit down with the group with your food are SO much better for these events than the ones where you have to deal with waiters. I need to find places like this all over the city so we can have our geek dinners in comfort EVERY month.

Before every CodeAway, I panic. I’m worried that no one will show up and it will just be me and Mike hanging around for four hours. When I look at Upcoming.org and see that only two people have RSVP’d, I especially panic. Somehow, yesterday, it worked out. I didn’t panic. I told myself that even if it’s just me, Mike, Scott and Charlie, it will be awesome fun because Scott has something new to show off and Charlie is ALWAYS funny. Fortunately, the crowd showed up and I didn’t have to panic at all!

You can see all the photos here:

• CodeAway August 2008 – a set on Flickr

I am so grateful to the Utah Geeks community. Without them, Mike and I would have moved far away. With them, we feel like we aren’t so weird doing this Internet stuff. Our families might not be able to understand it, but our friends are right there with us and able to give us tips and pointers.

Thanks, everyone!

I was ecstatic to hear that someone had opened up a coworking place in Utah. It’s called Cowork Utah. Sadly, their only office right now is in Orem, which is a forty-minute drive for me. I know I’d be happier and get more work done at Cowork Utah, but spending an hour and twenty minutes driving to and back from it makes it completely out of the question for me.

I was even MORE tempted when I listened to this Couchcast interview with the founder:

• Interview w/ Jack Hadley :: cowork utah

Ever since that first Hat Factory video about coworking, I have wished for a place in Salt Lake City like it. I even considered opening my own place, but I can’t create everything that I want to exist.

When I talked about it on Twitter, I got this response from Drew Tyler:

Twitter / Drew Tyler: @LauraMoncur Cowork Utah is fantastic! I am creating a video coworking space in Salt Lake or Bountiful in the very near future.

Yes! That would be awesome! Please make it so!

I was contacted yesterday by Paul Nelson from KSL Radio. He wanted to know more about the Utah Geek Community, so I had him over to my house and gave him Thom Allen and Matt Reinbold’s name as well. You can read the interview here:

• ksl.com – Self-proclaimed geeks organize dinner group by Paul Nelson

You can hear the interview here:

• KSL Radio Interview – Self-proclaimed geeks organize dinner group by Paul Nelson

I’ve had trouble with Old Media before, so I was a little reluctant to do the interview. Mike even asked me why I was willing to do an interview after the trouble with the Salt Lake Tribune. I told him that it’s good karma. If I do this interview, there might be someone out there on their way to work listening to KSL who might feel lonely just like I did back in 2006. We might find that person.

By the way, our next Geek Dinner is TOMORROW. You can RSVP here:

• Utah Blogger/Geek Dinner at Jason’s Deli (Thursday January 29, 2009) – Upcoming

• SXSW Nintendo DS Mario Kart Lunchtime at Austin Convention Center Friday March 13, 2009 – Upcoming

You learn a lot about people when you play games with them. That’s why I love SXSW. There is time to play AND learn AND network AND party. It’s all about the AND. Can’t wait for March!!

I posted this on CodeAway, but I thought I’d post it here as well. A special thank you goes out to Roland Smith for snapping photos of the Blogger/Geek Dinner last month.

Our Geek Dinner next month is planned right after PodCampSLC. so we can all go to Fazoli’s after an awesome day of podcasting greatness!!

• Codeaway Utah » March Utah Blogger/Geek Dinner 03-27-09 6-8pm at Fazoli’s

Thanks for taking pics, Roland!

I just wanted to remind you that I’m on Twitter. Every post from this blog has a link on Twitter and any random thoughts I have throughout the day will show up there as well.

You can follow me here:

• Laura Moncur on Twitter

If you live in Salt Lake City and are a geek, you should follow my CodeAway account:

• CodeAway on Twitter

That is the account where I’m going to be posting all of the Utah Geek events like CodeAway, the Utah Blogger/Geek Dinner and anything else I hear about.

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

SXSWi 2009: No Budget to Lo Budget
Megan Scibona
Jason Nunes
Felicia Day
Michael Nigro
Kevin Sullivan

(Continue Reading…)

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

Making Whuffie

Tara “Miss Rogue” Hunt

@missrogue on Twitter

What is whuffie? A word coined by Cory Doctorow. He’s crazy about Disneyland. Down and Out In The Magic Kingdom It introduces whuffie instead of money, which is social capital. Influence, access to resources, favors, reciprocity, etc. When you ping whuffie, you get a score that you can buy stuff with. (Continue Reading…)

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

Sunday Keynote: Nate Silver interviewed by Stephen Baker

Stephen Baker The Numerati, BusinessWeek

Nate Silver Founder and President, fivethirtyeight.com

Nate Silver:

I was using this to procrastinate about the other stuff I was supposed to be doing. It was born out of frustration with with Fox News. Polls were too much a part of the narrative. I’m NOT a big fan of polls. There is room for some common sense in this. (Continue Reading…)

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

From Flickr and Beyond: Lessons in Community Management

Heather Champ Dir. of Community, Flickr

Jessalyn West Dir of Operations, MetaFilter

Micah Schaffer YouTube

Mathew Stinchcomb VP Community, Etsy

Mario Anima Dir Online Community, Current TV

(Continue Reading…)

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

Make It So Sexy: Lustful Design in Mainstream Science Fiction

Nathan Shedroff Program Chair MBA in Design Strategy, CCA – He showcases the examples of sex and technology design in science fiction.

Chris Noessel Sr Consultant, Cooper

They are playing S.E.X.Y.R.O.B.O.T. by the Pinker Tones in the background. – He showcases the examples of sex and technology in real life and how it compares to our fiction.

www.nathan.com/thoughts/makeitsosexy.pdf (Continue Reading…)

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

Presenting Straight to the Brain – Room A

Monday, March 16th 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Is there a way out of the oppressive PowerPoint culture that surrounds us? Yes: skip the fonts and graphics talk, and explore how the human mind learns. When you accept what the research says about the brain, you’ll have no choice but to present a clear and compelling multimedia story.

Jared Goralnick: Productivity Evangelist, AwayFind

Cliff Atkinson: BBP Media

Kathy Sierra: Creating Passionate Users

Craig Ball: Pres, Craig D Ball PC

(Continue Reading…)

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

The Real Technology of Indiana Jones – Room B

Monday, March 16th
11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Archaeologists no longer rely on whips and fedoras; they now use a range of sophisticated digital tools to collect information in the field and study it in the lab. Too often, though, this wealth of information meets the same fate as Indy’s discoveries, locked away in digital ‘warehouses’ where no one can see it. The archaeologists on this panel present different projects that use web platforms and open-source approaches to bring digital archaeology out of the warehouse and into the public eye. Learn how archaeologists are using interactive media to open their data and processes to the public; discuss the creation of an online archaeological community in Second Life; and explore ancient cities across space and time using publicly-available online tools.

Colleen Morgan: Archaeologist, UC Berkeley

Stuart Eve: Dir, L-P Archaeology/UCL

Bernard Frischer: Rome Reborn

Moderator: Adam Rabinowitz: Asst Professor, University of Texas at Austin

(Continue Reading…)

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

Monday Keynote: Virginia Heffernan / James Powderly Interview – Room A

Monday, March 16th
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Open source art evangelist and political activist James Powderly talks about his craft and his mission with Virginia Heffernan, who writes The Medium column for The New York Times Magazine.

Virginia Heffernan: Columnist , The New York Times

James Powderly: Research Dir, FAT Lab

(Continue Reading…)

Last March I went to SXSWi 2009. I posted the notes from two of the days, but conference exhaustion got in the way of me posting the notes from the last three days. After much delay, here they are.

Change Your World in 50 Minutes: Making Breakthroughs Happen – Room A

Monday, March 16th
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Gain real-world ideas for markedly improved productivity from an industry expert and passionate speaker who always inspires SXSW audiences.

Kathy Sierra CreatingPassionateUsers (Continue Reading…)