On October 9, 2010, I participated in BarCamp; “Charlotte’s one and only unconference, an event where professionals from all industries come and pitch to talk about a topic they love, and people vote on what they would like to learn about. Its mission: to provide a space for professionals to get together and exchange ideas.” http://barcampclt.org/ Not only was I there representing Ignite Charlotte as one of the gold sponsors, but I volunteered, attended and found myself on stage pitching a session; What to do after BarCamp: CollaborateCLT, which I ultimately lead in the afternoon.

So what’s the big deal? Do you see that word in bold up above? I’m an event producer by profession and we create, manage and execute conferences that have pre-determined content. An unconference is not a traditional conference where you have a keynote speaker or a pre-set listing of the speaker presentations for the day. You don’t sit in one room for an hour listening to multiple talking heads. BarCamp is “…an event where professionals from all industries come and pitch to talk about a topic they love and people vote on what they would like to learn about.” I thought I might repeat that sentence in case you didn’t catch it. Get the picture?

“Unconferences focus on audience-centered participation. The room is the panel. The main job for those on the podium is to draw out the wisdom in the room…Think of an unconferenceas a day-long coffee break. Unconferencing captures the ‘spirit of the lobby.’ It brings the hallway conversations back into the main tent by supporting the emergence of unparalleled peer-to-peer learning opportunities and dynamic, participant-driven discussions. Community is what brings people together. Supporting community interactivity is what gives conferences value.”