PodCamp Boston- 10 Days Away

There are just a few weeks before PodCamp Boston 2 is alive and hopping. This is our event, the second running of the unconference that started it all! This is the CRAZY-sized event with over 1100 people registered so far (dear *.deity, please let that be okay!).

Register Now

If you’re pretty darned sure you’re coming, register now. If you’re already registered but starting to think you’re NOT coming, PLEASE contact us (email podcampboston at gmail dot com ) and let us know, as there are actual costs to your being there or not. It’s REALLY IMPORTANT that we know the headcount as best as we can in this case. It’s free to attend/participate, but there are real hard costs to what we’re providing, so it’d be awesome if you can help us better understand your status in attending.

If You’re Going, Remember This is YOUR Event

By “your,” I mean that in all ways. If you see a piece of paper on the ground or an empty water bottle, please dispose of it. If you see someone lost in a hallway, please help them. If you don’t see the session you want, find a space and start your own session, even if you don’t have the A/V gear to get it done. Hack this thing whatever way you need to make it work for you. While you’re there, make this experience better by making it yours. I mean this with all my heart. Christopher S. Penn and I started this thing, but we have dozens of people running the event, and basically, YOU are the event. Believe that with all your heart. Act that way. And treat this event’s success like you’re part of it, because you are.

Bring Business Cards

Some places that make cards easy:

• Moo makes cards from your Flickr photos.

• Overnight Prints is fairly reliable, delivers fast.
• VistaPrint gives you a few hundred cards free the first time. (Hint: don’t use that red background with gold microphone. We all have used it.)

I’m sure you have other places.

The importance of a card at events like this is that you can continue conversations later. Make it easy for people to get in touch with you, and they’ll likely follow up. Even if not, add their contact info to your database, and you can reach out to them at some other point when you have something of interest to them.

Plan Meetings Ahead of Time

Here’s a hint: dinner and lunch are a crappy time to meet, because lots of people are vying for that same time frame to talk with each other. Instead, look at some part of the schedule that might not have a session you need, and try to pre-schedule any prospective meetings with people you want to talk with for then. Believe me, with over 1100 people coming, it’s not going to be easy to get meetings with people on the fly. Try hard to have your game plan in mind. And while we’re on that.

If You’re Speaking/Presenting

First, when the schedule is printed, look at it. If you’re giving almost the exact same presentation as someone else, check into collaborating. Two reasons. First, the schedule is super-over-booked, and we’d love to free up some space for spontaneity. Second, see if there are synergies that might make the presentation more fun if you combine it with someone else’s work. I did this at PodCamp Pittsburgh 2 and had a great time!

Second, if you’re speaking, consider the following:

• Don’t presume live Internet. We’ve got it, but it wouldn’t be a PodCamp without that failing.
• If you’re using a slide deck (powerpoint or keynote), save a copy as PDF, just in case.
• Practice a few times, so you feel comfy in front of a group. Remember, there will be plenty of folks to watch your presentation.
• If you’ve got hand-outs in mind, consider giving people a URL to go collect the handouts themselves, so that you don’t have to worry about printing hundreds of pieces of paper (think green).
• Give people the best performance you can manage, engage them as much as you can, and remember that PodCamp is very participatory.

Get The Most Out Of PodCamp Boston2

There are a few ways you can use this event:

• Meet old friends.
• Make new friends.
• Make new partners for projects. (LOTS of new projects start at a PodCamp).
• Find new clients. (Some of you are consultants).
• Learn about new technologies.
• Get great how-to information.
• You decide.

A few other things to consider:

• Wear comfortable footwear.
• Drink LOTS of water. People forget to hydrate often.
• Take a few snacks for the backpack (you might get the munchies).
• Charge all your batteries.
• Bring money for emergencies (like beer runs!)
• Call your loved one at least once and tell him/her that you miss them badly and can’t believe you volunteered to hang out with all these dorks. (Unless your loved one is with you, and then kiss him/her and thank them for coming along).

And Finally

Because you’re going to make this the best event ever, I’m really excited to attend and participate in PodCamp Boston2. Without the help of our huge list of organizers and volunteers, we’d be dead in the water. This is just too huge an event. We’re going to have our hands full and then some.

As such, if you’re there, and you’re looking to spend some time with me, please forgive me if I’m a little distracted. I won’t have lots of great quality time during that event to share. I’m always happy to meet and make friends, and spend time talking with people, and I love you very personally, but if you’ve got a huge long story, it’ll probably have to be truncated a bit. Don’t NOT say hi, just accept that I might have to put some of our talking and socializing off to a little later in the day.

So, are you going? What’s your plan? Who are you hoping to meet?

Love to see you there.

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