So Much Awesome ... But Space and Time Can Be Bent

Speakers, Sessions and Slots: It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over > You Can Still Have Your Say at BarCamp Nashville 


Here’s a math problem: If 84 outstanding speaker topics are submitted to BarCamp Nashville, and the random draw has only 35 slots, what percentage of speakers get a place on the schedule? 


It’s a total good news/bad news situation: Nashville has so much awesome, that only 42% of the people who pitched could be accommodated this year. 


But bending the laws of space and time is what the tech crowd does all day, so here are the three other paths for participating: 


1. Sign up, attend, hang out: Being there is being part of it. Seriously. The event is as good as the community; no more and no less. 


2. Grab an Impromptu Session: In the pure, original spirit of the one true BarCamp, these 10 prime slots (5 rooms, 10:30 am and 1:45pm) are first-come, first-served, Darwinian social engineering. 


During the 35-minute Impromptu blocks, the main stages will be dark. 


To get one, find the Impromptu Board (early!) and be one of the first 10 people to claim a session by writing your name, title, format,  (Case Study, Hands-On, In-Depth, Introductory, or Panel/Discussion) and session description.

3. Claim a Discussion Table, or set yourself up around the main bar.


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Here’s the tally of awesome that went into the random drawing, held Sept. 20, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at ESpaces, streamed online, and Facebooked: 


BCN11 Session Count by Category and Format
as of 8:00p 2011-09-19


CATEGORY
Code: 35 (42%)
Content: 31 (37%)
Design: 11 (13%)
Gear: 7 (8%)
Total: 84


FORMAT
Case Study: 13
Hands-On: 8
In-Depth: 26
Introductory: 25
Panel/Discussion: 12

Total: 84

360° of Awesome: BarCamp Nashville, You, and Digital Nashville

BarCamp Nashville is a big and growing part of the 360° of digital awesome here. Every year's sessions bring people you can learn from, and people who can learn from you. This year's festivities: Oct. 15, Cadillac Ranch, dawn til late.

• All of y'all, A-Z  -- angels, bizdev, coders, designers, marketers, mentors, sysadmins, PMs, QAs, UX, VCs -- who have signed up to speak: Thank you, and congratulations for stepping up, whether you won a slot in the random draw or not. (Want to shape next year's selection process? Join the crew.)

• If you didn't pitch, think about it for next year? The community needs your talent, your skills, your passion and your vision. Sharing makes us all smarter.

Another homegrown tech community, Digital Nashville, is also built by people who code, design, fund, manage, and sell things to be clicked or tapped.

For those who want to attend/speak at knowledge sharing events throughout the year, the DN education committee hosts three kinds: evening sessions, half-day and multi-day events.

• If you want to speak, let's talk about your topic/date (I'm the chair), and I'll put it in front of the team. Right now, we're looking out into 2012.
  
  
• If you want to attend, here's Digital Nashville's calendar, which aggregates tech things around town, acting as a clearinghouse for one-stop updates.

See you at BarCamp Nashville, and at Digital Nashville. Together, we know everything.

BarCamp Nashville is set for Saturday, Oct. 15, at Cadillac Ranch. BarCamp is a free, new-media focused "unconference" that's equal parts networking, knowledge-building and fun.

Digital Nashville is here to enable you. Stay informed with our newsletter and twitter feeds. Get advice through our mentorship program. Save money. Find a worker.  Explore, make yourself at home, and make it yours.

Next up on the blog tour: John Ellis