BarCamp Seattle is the Northwest’s premiere user generated technology conference.
Every year hundreds of people in the tech industry come to BarCamp Seattle to present what they have been doing/thinking/making. We have had presentations and workshops on topics as diverse as the mathematics of crochet, building a do-it-yourself drone, making start-up equity fair, and how to be a superhero (really!).
While we have nothing against bars (in fact every year we have sponsored parties in one of these fine establishments) this is not a conference about bars. It is a conference that centers on what most conferences push to the sidelines; the hallway conversations of the attendees. BarCamp Seattle is organized specifically to foster these conversations in an organic and positive way.
BarCamp Seattle is free to attend, but we hold a $5 refundable deposit to insure that all those who are serious about participating get a chance. We are able to bring all of the BarCamp goodness to you because of our very generous sponsors…
The conversations and presentations
BarCamp is a participant-driven event, there isn’t a preset line up of speakers. There is no social pressure to attend the talks, the onus is completely on the speaker to hold the audience’s attention. If you don’t feel the talk you’re listening to is worth your time, simply invoke the Law of Two Feet and find another presentation or start your own. We’ve found that BarCamp’s structure encourages high-quality, often advance-prepared, talks. Some people will want to give a presentation, but discussion groups, round tables, Q&A, brainstorming together are also options.
For attendees wishing to speak, we’ll open the signup at 9AM. Signups are first-come, first-served, so on-time arrival is recommended for speakers. Adobe’s oustanding Conference Center has microphones and projectors, so feel free to bring any laptops or additional visual aids.
A typical day at BarCamp
From 9 to 10am, attendees plan the schedule on a large grid. We’ll have index cards at the ready. Write your session title on the card and choose a room and time slot. More than one session can go into a grid slot (see voting below). We will provide a blank form to enter in all of the sessions that you would like to attend for the day.
We will kick off after a brief welcome message from the organizers and then we will vote on the content on the grid.
Some of our sessions from past years included:
- The Internet *is* for P0rn!
- Discussions on Context
- Quitting Social Media
- Travel Hacking
- The art of the Wingman
- UI and accessibility
- Jquery techniques
- Robotics
