BarCampRDU Chicklet

If you're coming to BarCampRDU (or are just a supporter), and you'd like to show it on your Blog or Website, we've got a chicklet for you! Thanks to Kurt Schlatzer of 6th Sense Analytics for the contribution.

Here's the ckicklet:

You can either upload a copy of this image to your blog (probably recommended), or link through with this code snippet (I had to break the URL into two lines to make it fit on the page, so make sure you fix that when you place on your website).

<a href="http://barcamp.org/BarCampRDU">
<img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/
3711/177/1600/barcampRDU-chicklet.gif" border="0"></a>

If you create a chicklet, just sent it to me at fred @ metalab.unc.edu and I'll add it to this page!

Donations Make the World Go Round

Even though we're all sponsored up at BarCampRDU, that doesn't mean we can't have some great companies come in and help make BarCamp a better event. One of the things I've been pacing back and forth trying to figure out is the BarCamp coffee situation. Listen, I know you've been to those conferences where the coffee is out of the Folger's canister, all watery - and c'mon, nobody likes that.

This morning, Larry's beans of Raleigh stepped up and volunteered to donate all the beans we need for BarCampRDU! Larry's is a great roaster that is absolutely dedicated to Fair Trade - jiving very well with the BarCamp mentality. Larry's has got lots of great beans to choose from, and you can find their coffee all over the states. We're really excited to be drinking their Java at BarCamp (hey, and if they want to lead a BarCamp session on roasting beans, I'm sure that more than just a few geeks would turn out for it). Oh yeah, check out the Veggie Bus while you are at it.

Next, I'm really happy to announce that two publishers that really need no introduction, Manning Publications and The Pragmatic Programmers, will be donating a bunch of books to be given away at BarCampRDU. Talk about two top-notch publishers. I'm not sure if we'll just give the books away or make them door prizes of sorts, we'll have to figure that out. As I envision people will be stampeding to get free books by these excellent publishers, maybe I'll figure out some trivia or something.

Thanks to these three excellent companies for their wonderful donations to BarCamp.

Lulu.com to Sponsor BarCampRDU

Lulu, the pioneering RTP-based on-demand self-publisher has generously stepped forward to sponsor BarCampRDU. This is an exciting moment because it means we've actually hit all of our sponsorship goals! Thank you to Lulu for helping to make BarCampRDU a great experience. Our thanks to Lulu goes above and beyond its sponsorship - as many Lulu employees have stepped up to help organize and volunteer at BarCampRDU.

According to their website, Lulu is "the web's premier independent publishing marketplace for digital do-it-yourselfers. It's the only place on the web where you can publish, sell and buy any and all things digital - books, music, comics, photographs, movies and well, you get the idea. We simply provide the tools that leave control of content in the hands of the people who created the content."

As a graduate student in UNC's SILS program, we often call Lulu "SILS East" because they keep hring our best grads. That, combined with the absolute top-notch products they create (you should see the quality of the graphic novels they create - stunning), makes Lulu one of my favorite local companies - and the type of innovator we think fits perfectly at BarCampRDU. Lulu's sponsorship completes fundraising for BarCampRDU - which means the pre-BarCampRDU social event on the night of July 21 is a go (more details about that shortly). Thanks to Lulu, and to all of our sponsors - BarCampRDU wouldn't be as awesome without you.

Blogads Joins as BarCampRDU Sponsor

Blogads, the charming Carrboro-based blog advertising powerhouse, has signed on as a BarCampRDU sponsor! I'm a big fan of Blogads, so I'm really excited to see them on board. Blogads, led by Henry Copeland, will help fund our pre-BarCamp activities - it is looking like we're going to have a pretty fun event (location to be disclosed soon) on the Friday evening before BarCamp.

Here's a little bit about Blogads from their website: "Bloggers are the ultimate intellectual entrepreneurs and blogs are where opinions get made these days. Blogs are among the few intimate, authentic spaces left on the Internet and, as such, are a uniquely powerful place for advertisers to break through the Internet's gazillion page impression clutter. We think that by banding together, bloggers can articulate, define and get properly compensated for the unique value they deliver to advertisers."

I love their great blogads, and the blogads manifesto is a worthy read (any manifesto that cites Duncan Watts and indirectly cites Jon Kleinberg is right up my alley). I'd like to thanks Blogads - and use this as an invitation to invite other sponsors to come and support the pre-BarCampRDU festivities. We're looking forward to a weekend built around sharing and collaboration - what better way to kick that off than with a social hour?

Council for Entrepreneurial Development sponsors BarCampRDU

More great news from BarCampRDU! The Council for Entrepreneurial Development, a leading RTP-based foundation of entrepreneurship will help sponsor some of our pre- and post- BarCamp social events. As you probably saw yesterday, we fulfilled our actual BarCampRDU sponsorship goals - so now we are branching out and including some social events to extend the conversation.

I know that a lot of us already know CED - but here's a little bit about them from their site: "The Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) is a private, non-profit organization formed in 1984 to identify, enable and promote high growth, high impact entrepreneurial companies and to accelerate the entrepreneurial culture of the Research Triangle and North Carolina. With more than 4,000 active members representing over 1,100 companies, CED is the largest entrepreneurial support organization in the nation." The CED blog is here.

I know a lot of folks coming out to BarCampRDU are entrepreneurs - Web 2.0 has inspired many of us to start forming world-changing ventures. Hopefully I can convince some of the CED folks to plan a session or two - I know many of us could benefit from their guidance.

Now, a note about pre- and post-BarCampRDU sessions. These sessions will be an excellent opportunity for companies who didn't get a chance to fund BarCampRDU to join as a sponsor. You'll be listed as an official sponsor, your logos will be on the T-shirts and signage, and you'll get all the good karma from bringing BarCampers together over great food and drinks. If you're interested, drop me a line at fred @ metalab.unc.edu, and I'll explain everything.

The Aurora Funds to Sponsor BarCampRDU

The Aurora Funds has generously agreed to sponsor Breakfast, Snacks, Refreshments and Materials at BarCampRDU. I'm incredibly pleased that Aurora, the RTP-based venture fund behind well-known companies such as Accipiter, Blackboard and InPhonic (among many others), and the host of the RTP 2.0 Working Group, will be represented at BarCampRDU. The spirit of entrepreneurship is very much alive in the Triangle - Aurora's sponsorship reaffirms this.

A little about Aurora from their website: "The Aurora Funds is a venture capital firm that provides capital, connections and strategic guidance to entrepreneurs with early-stage healthcare and information technology companies. Founded in 1994, Aurora manages over $200 million in five venture funds. The firm's six investment professionals have over 100 years of combined venture capital investing and operational experience. The Aurora team has managed investments in over 60 companies, resulting in five IPOs and eight M&A transactions to date."

The BarCampRDU organizing committee will meet soon and we'll discuss what we'll be doing for breakfast, snacks and materials - you can watch our progress on the wiki. Thank you to Aurora for their generous sponsorship. Their sponsorship keep us fed, refreshed and ready to create and collaborate.

rPath to Sponsor BarCampRDU

Great news! rPath, of Raleigh, has stepped up and sponsored our delicious BarCampRDU lunch session. I'm really excited that rPath is coming out; rPath is the brainchild of Erik Troan and Billy Marshall - you know these folks are doing really interesting things. Now, the organizing committee hasn't yet even begun to discuss who is going to cater our delicious lunch - but you can certainly start debating it on the BarCampRDU Wiki.

I'm really excited that rPath has sponsored BarCampRDU. As a long-time linux guy, I'm pretty blown away by their product - here is their description: "rPath provides rBuilder and rPath Linux, the first platform for creating and maintaining software appliances. Software appliances bring the simplicity and value of Software as a Service (SaaS) to on-premise application deployments. Using rBuilder, application providers can migrate to a high-value, software subscription model while reducing their development and QA costs."

rPath will be well-represented at BarCampRDU, so we'll get a good chance to see rBuilder and talk to the brains behind it. I can't tell you how pleased I am that we've got such cool, generous sponsors. Their generosity will help make BarCampRDU the special event it is going to be, and we owe them sincere thanks.

Call for Organizers and Volunteers

I'm amazed to report that BarCampRDU just added its 150th camper - which means we're full. Incredible - considering we only started this process on May 25th. Thanks to everyone who spread the word about BarCampRDU.

At this time, I'd like to formally issue the call for Organizers and Volunteers. Basically, I'm setting up two different levels of commitment, depending on how much time you have.

Organizers will be responsible for the actual logistics of BarCamp. Organizers will work with me setting up catering, getting refreshments, making nametags, herding our lovely sponsors, spec'ing out the site and thinking about and planning for every possible contingency. It won't be a huge time commitment, but it will take effort. You'll be expected to come to a few meetings, you'll brainstorm tasks, and you'll be expected to carry them out. If you think this is up your alley - let me know. *Please only volunteer to be an organizer if you have time.* I'll need 5 folks to step up to this role.

Volunteers will be our day-of folks. They will man the tables, help set up and tear down, help with the catering, help with computer trouble, guide lost BarCampers, moderate the product demo sessions, and generally be the people that make BarCamp run smoothly and effortlessly. This is less of a time commitment, but these positions are absolutely key. And don't worry - being a volunteer won't completely eat up your day - you'll definitely be able to enjoy a big part of BarCamp. I'll need 10 folks to be the BarCamp volunteers.

If you're interested in stepping up and being a BarCampRDU organizer or volunteer, just drop me a line at fred at metalab.unc.edu

BarCampRDU Almost Full!

As I write this, we've got ten slots left at BarCampRDU. The power of the blogosphere never ceases to amaze - just a few days ago we had ten attendees.

As a result, I've added a waiting list to BarCampRDU. Once we hit 150 signups, folks who want to attend BarCampRDU should start adding their names to the waiting list. It is a simple fact that not everyone who has claimed the first 150 spots will be able to come - family, the beach, travel, or just the desire to sleep in on a Saturday will claim some attendees. So don't worry - just add your name to the waiting list and we'll sort it out. The one thing I request is you respect the order of the waitlist queue - I want to be fair to folks.

I should also note that our sponsors need not worry about being shut out of the event. We'll be reserving spaces for our sponsors to show our appreciation for their amazing generosity.

6th Sense Analytics to Sponsor BarCampRDU

I'm very pleased to report that 6th Sense Analytics has signed on as the first official sponsor of BarCampRDU! 6th Sense, Located in the Research Triangle Park, has generously offered to sponsor our awesome BarCampRDU t-shirts. The BarCampRDU shirts, free for all attendees, which will feature a logo designed by Chris Messina, one of the creators of BarCamp.

Here's a little about 6th Sense: 6th Sense Analytics is the first and only on-demand solution to enable software development professionals to quantify their activities in real time. While every other aspect of business has the ability to quantify its activities, until now software development (and other engineering development areas) are devoid of any metrics to drive decision-making. 6th Sense’s unique solution integrates with leading development tools to observe and measure the activities being conducted and resulting artifacts.

A cool company with a cool product, I'm incredibly grateful to 6th Sense for stepping up with this generous sponsorship. If you'd like to find out more about 6th Sense, cruise over to their website. On behalf of all BarCampers, I'd like to personally thank 6th Sense for helping to make BarCamp awesome.

You're Invited to BarCampRDU

This is the copy of an email I'll be sending out to a few lists, and to some top folks who I'd like to see attend BarCampRDU. Got someone you'd like to invite? Well do it! Just steal this copy and send it to 'em. No worries.

Dear Brilliant Geek/Author/Businessperson/Coder/Hacker/Artist/Musician/Guru,

You're invited to BarCampRDU!

A BarCamp (http://BarCamp.org) is an free, open-source unconference, where folks gather to learn, teach and geek out. What's an unconference? Unconferences are like a regular conference, except that anyone can lead a session. As a result, a wide range of interests and skill levels are represented - making for an fun and unconventional teaching and learning experience.

BarCampRDU will be held on Saturday, July 22, 2006 at the Raleigh, NC headquarters of Red Hat, located on the NC State Centennial Campus. BarCampRDU is free to attend, but we're limited to the first 150 folks who sign up. To sign up to attend, add your name to the BarCampRDU wiki, located at http://barcamp.org/BarCampRDU. The conference is already almost 1/3 full of a lot of names you'll recognize!

As BarCamp is a free event, we'll need sponsors to cover the costs of feeding, hydrating and caffeinating the campers. If you or your company would like to sponsor BarCamp, contact Fred Stutzman at fred@metalab.unc.edu or leave your contact info on the wiki. Sponsors are absolutely crucial for making this event a success, so please consider sponsorship.

Thanks for thinking about attending BarCampRDU. It is going to be a great event, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Thanks,
Brilliant Geek/Author/Businessperson/Coder/Hacker/Artist/Musician/Guru

BarCampers, Claim your Sessions

Now that we've got a date and a location, Bar Campers can start claiming sessions. Here's a direct link to the claimed session page on the wiki. I've claimed the first session as an example.

Now, you don't need to claim a session to present at BarCamp, but if you do, it will help you get the word out, and it will help you find collaborators if you want to co-lead a session. BarCamps are very fluid, so please welcome people who want to work with you on a topic.

Now, quickly, a note about topics. Present about whatever you know and love. You want to lead a session about advanced refactoring techniques? Fine. A session about blogging for beginners? Fine. A session about robotics, or electronic music, or volunteering? Fine. A healthy spread of topics covering a variety of skill levels makes for the best unconferences. You may have 1 or 100 people in your session, but as long as you're teaching, learning and enjoying yourself - you've doing absolutely the right thing.

In other news, we've already got 40 BarCampers signed up! That's fantastic - make sure you tell your friends to sign up early, because we're going to be space and resource-limited to about 150 folks. Robin Dunbar would be proud.

BarCampRDU Public Service Announcement

In an effort to promote BarCamp, I've sent around the following public service announcement to WXYC (Chapel Hill, 89.3 FM) and WXDU (Durham, 88.7FM).

Bar Camp RDU will be held on Saturday, July 22, 2006 in Raleigh. A Bar Camp is a free, open meeting of people interested in teaching and learning about new technologies. Bar Camp is limited to 150 participants, so to find out more and to register, please visit the Bar Camp RDU website at http://barcamp.org/BarCampRDU, or simply Google "Bar Camp RDU".

The spacing is there on purpose - this is for radio DJ's to read on the air. If there are any radio stations I've missed, feel free to send this PSA over to them.

We Have a Date and Venue!

I'm very pleased to report that we've secured a venue for BarCampRDU. The kind folks at Red Hat have offered us space at their Centennial Campus offices on Saturday, July 22, 2006. BarCampRDU will run from 8:30AM (registration and breakfast) to 5:30PM. Now that we've got a date, please go and add yourself as an attendee to the wiki!

Here's some other valuable information:

• To stay up-to-date with BarCampRDU planning (low-to-medium volume), add yourself to our ibiblio-hosted mailing list.
• To keep up-to-date with BarCampRDU announcements (low-volume), add this blog's feed to your newsreader.

Now that we've secured a date and a venue - we need sponsors. Sponsors will help cover the costs of feeding, caffeinating and t-shirting BarCampers. Sponsorship is absolutely crucial for BarCampRDU - so please consider. Think of all the geeks you'll be making happy.