18 days to go…

Despite the tendency of veteran Mind Campers to talk about what they got out of SMC1, it’s worth remembering that  Seattle Mind Camp is more about what you put in to it.  Mind Camp is first and foremost a participatory experience.  You, the campers, make the experience.  No one on the planning committe is going to decide who will speak, or which sessions will take place.  You’ll do that.  There will be no keynote speeches, and no featured speakers.  If you want to show up, just register and show up. 

After some opening remarks on Saturday, we’ll open the Session Grid to whoever wants to sign up.  If you manage to snag a space, the format of your session will be up to you.  Wanna talk for 45 minutes in front of a PowerPoint slide show?  Go for it.  Wanna lob a provocative idea in the middle of the room and see who catches and runs with it?  Be our guest.  Wanna play “Purple Haze” on a kazoo that you blow through your left nostril?  Hey, it’s not my thing, but you might just get 10 people in a room to back you up.  The point is that the experience of Mind Camp is entirely created by you.

The thing is, you gotta participate.  You don’t have to conduct a session, but you’ve got to get involved somehow.  This party ain’t for wallflowers.

Some people wished they had brought more gear last time, or had more time to plan.  Well, now is the time to start thinking about what you’re going to do to help create SMC2.  You can talk about whatever you like.  Within reason, you can bring whatever gadgets, props, or gizmos you’re into that you think others would be interested in.  (Just give us a heads up if you think something might cause an issue.  Youngstown just opened it’s doors, and I’m sure they don’t want us wrecking the place quite yet.)

Innovative session formats would be hella cool.  Working together is highly encouraged, and some folks are already starting to collaborate over on the wiki.  The Session Ideas page already has calls out for Drupal developers and home renovators, and lists possible sessions on information overload and audio production.  Head over there if you’d like to bat around some ideas or give your two cents on a session.  If you’d like to plan an activity or throw out some random suggestions, there are wiki pages for you, too.

Link Love:

More links, more love today from all the hep bloggers out there getting ready for the SMC2.  Shouts go out to Sunder Iyer, Ken at Double Tall Iced Mocha, Lite on the Chocolate, Damon Cortesi, Smesh, Ario at Ario’s Digital Repository, Donte at Spanning Time  and yours truly at the Seattle Podcasting Network.  Hey, a little shameless self-promotion never hurt anyone, right?  If you catch any links I’ve missed, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and let me know..