I finally got around to uploading some photos from this year's minnebar (un)conference. I didn't take most of these as I was running around from place to place in between presentations and panels. Many didn't turn out because I didn't have the right lens. There are many more photos tagged minnebar up on Flickr. Luckily my awesome wife rectified that situation on for my birthday this year and got me this 50mm f/1.8 lens I have been coveting for years.
This year's minnebar (or Barcamp Minnesota) is going to be great. In addition to a session from your's truly about doing more with small teams and a panel discussion about the practice of "design coding" or designers who also do their own CSS/XHTML and sometimes more, there will be a greater emphasis on design and creative tech at this year's event. I want to make a concerted effort to get more people who are on the visually creative side of things into the mix. If you are one of them and want to present, lead a session, or just come and participate, please sign up on the wiki site for this outstanding free (un)conference.
Who: You! Everyone is welcome, and the event is free. Add your name to the list below.
When: Saturday May 10th, 2008 starting at 8:30am. Registration begins at 8:00 please come early.
Where: Coffman Union at the University of Minnesota Campus (Minneapolis)
Address 300 Washington Ave. S.E. Minneapolis, MN 55455-0110
Parking: There is metered and street parking around and also several large ramps.
Also, its not too late to whip out a t-shirt design for the event (but it almost is). Download a zip file with the Illustrator template. Just send it my way.
Come out to O'Gara's tonight for the 3rd installment of Minnesota's Demo Camp event, MinneDemo. As word of these events has gotten out the past two years attendance has been steadily rising. We might need a convention center for next spring's MinneBar event. Seriously, I am getting worried :) If you know of some space we can check out for next year's (un)conference please let me know by emailing me (ben ut alttext dat com) or posting in the comments.
"We're adding 2 lanes."
That was the sum total of the innovations and creative ideas the state of Minnesota could muster. Yes the first new bridge project in Minnesota spanning the Mississippi in decades is going to be a boring ass highway bridge, despite the fact that residents are clamoring for light rail options (not included), architectural beauty and creating an new icon for our state (not included), and a little patience (also not included).
I am not going to stand by, however. I have written my governor, the mayor of Minneapolis (who is championing these ideas as well), and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. I also plan on attending the public meetings at Roseville High School on Thursday night (4:30pm to 7:30pm).
If you think that our state deserves to take some time and consider some alternative bridge designs please write to you elected officials and come to the meeting tomorrow to voice your opinions.
By our count nearly 350 geeks and "geeks at heart" converged on the Railroader building in downtown Saint Paul this past Saturday and I think most everyone has been very positive about the result. I believe that number (or any number over 300) would make minnēbar the largest barcamp outside of India (Barcamp Bangalore 3 - just a couple weeks ago - drew over 500 people!). I know that barcamps are supposed to be about local community and ours was no exception, but it was still nice (and a little amazing) that we had quite a few people drive or fly in from New York (at least 2), South Dakota (at least 2), Wisconsin (6 or more), and Chicago (at least 1). Knowing that this event is worth someone's Saturday is one things, but also worth a six hour drive, or several hundred dollar plane ticket? That is awesome.
I am very happy with the way the event turned out. I think the sessions, by and large, were first-rate. The special guests such as William Gurstelle and his excitement for making things that go Whoosh, Boom, Splat as well as the Scout Robots from the University of Minnesota gave a nice real-life tech component to the day. Of course David Heinemeier Hansson was a highlight as he was his usual witty and charming self. I have had lunch with him before (at Etech last year) and have seen him present, but he seemed even better in this setting. All his answers came very freely and he didn't really seem to struggle with any of the questions. I am sure he had been asked about such things time and time again. Even so, I thought Jamie Thingelstad did a very good job with his side of the interview, as well.
I was very worried that the size of the crowds would really take away from the intimacy and sense of participation that is crucial to barcamps, but I don't think these fears turned out to be warranted. Plenty of people talked between sessions or headed off to an "ad hoc session room" to discuss this or that and the sessions (with a few exceptions) never got too full. I still believe that the 50 minute session length is good. It is not so much that it can get too detailed so people really have to know their stuff. I spoke with Shourya Sarcar, one of the planners of barcamp Bangalore, and he said that one of the differences between the Minnesota and Bangalore barcamps was that their sessions are 30 minutes and that they "vote with their feet" meaning they leave a session if it is no good, or not what they had hoped. Minnesota "nice" retards that practice a bit, but there was still some wandering between sessions.
Continue reading "minnēbar remembered"With a lot of help from Dan Grigsby I finally have the venue for minnēbar ‘07 nailed down. The site is downtown Saint Paul in the Lowertown area. The "Railroader Building" as it is called is the site of the event - actually a vacant, 2-level office space that will pretty much let us have our way with it.
I am very excited, for this year's event (its on the 21st of April) and is the all-day variety of the (now) year long series of (un)events. For those of you who were not there last May, minnēbar is Minnesota's very own Barcamp and is free to anyone who is interested in participating in discussions about the web, technology, design, etc.
Add your name to the wiki to participate (you get food, drink, and a shirt too!).
We are just two weeks away from the Twin Cities' best platform for launching a new idea and getting feedback from others in the local web/software development and design communities. Dan and Luke have done a great job in getting these quarterly DemoCamps going. They really serve to build a lot of excitement and solidify the community between the larger MinneBar events.
So get out to the wonderful Acadia Cafe* and interact with some geeks showing off their goods at MinneDemo on Monday December 11th.
* Hats off to Dan and Luke. Great work on getting this venue as it has a cafe area and a nice theater for the demos and will certainly work better than the summer event.
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