What’s all this fuss about working in the 21st century is dramatically different from the working environment of the last century?
Remember these conferences in a dimmed hotel room (preferably without any daylight), with one guy running the show, trying to convince the audience that he has the best product in the world? And all the others trying not to fall asleep…
The Barcamp series (I just attended my first Barcamp in Munich this weekend) is completely different: no agenda, no dull powerpoint slides, but a very interactive discussion and networking event with people willing to contribute to the success of the event.
For those of you not familiar with the format: In the morning, the agenda is empty. Participants suggest sessions they are willing to hold, and if the feedback from the audience seems encouraging, they just schedule the session for one of the available slots. Topics range from Web 2.0, social networks to business models and venture capital (one of the sessions I offered) to search engine optimization. Even more exotic sessions like photography have been offered in Munich.
From my very personal impression, most of the participants are either freelancers, working in startups or are working on projects to turn into a company later on – very entrepreneurial, with a lot of insights to share. You can tell during the sessions that people just share the experiences of their daily work instead somebody reading slides he received just an hour ago.
For me, the barcamp format is an indication of the way work will be organised in the future: networked, with independent professionals, self organising (to a much higher degree than in the past): new opportunities arise on the go…
So I think it is not too bold to state that barcamp is a conference format for the 21st century.
PS.: Special Thanks to the guys organising the events, Franz Patzig and Jörg Battermann: you did an excellent job! Cisco as main sponsor for location and catering ensured that all participants could stay focussed on content instead on infrastructure issues.
