BarCamp Nashville – A view from the chair

I am honored and terrified to be the Chair of BarCamp Nashville 2011 … but more on that later.

Not sure what BarCamp Nashville is? Well, first step back a little bit and read a prior post by Luke Stokes: “Meeting incredible people, building real friendships: how BarCamp got me out of my shell”.

My history of BarCamp Nashville goes back to the very first event, 2007. At that point, I had only been in Middle Tennessee for about a year. Getting the opportunity to network and meet hundreds of digital enthusiast was a no-brainer.

A month leading up to the event, I heard of a need to fill up speaker slots. Apparently, there wasn’t a long line of people waiting to speak, so I volunteered to help fill the grid. “Wait, I am not a speaker.”

On August 18, 2007, I brought my PowerPoint to Exit/In. I wore a black shirt with jeans. “What? Why is that important?” – You ask. Well, it was hot as Hades! It was August. Over the years, BarCamp Nashville has moved to mid-October. The heat was one of several reasons why October made more sense.

Were you there in 2007? What do you remember?

Over the years, I have continued speaking at multiple BarCamp Nashville’s. Each year I volunteered more and more, from handing out t-shirts to working the registration desk. Now, I have reached the peak of the “un-corporate” ladder. It’s all downhill from here.

I have been amazed at the crew working behind the scenes to make everything happen. Let’s face it, my main job is to delegate duties. If it wasn’t for the crew, especially the dedicated members that attend the Monday night meetings, I would be in trouble.

A lot of people have opinions on what BarCamp is NOT. Those conversations are great to have, but I prefer to focus on what BarCamp is. Let’s go through some of the basics:

“… BarCamp is filled with insane amounts of quality networking, super smart people and not everyone is a geek. You don’t have to be tech savvy, at all, to enjoy BarCamp.” – Courtenay Rogers,

“Because Campers understand that the whole Camp idea is to bring passionate and innovative people together to share each other’s great ideas.” – Tara Aaron

“… That’s what makes Nashville Barcamp so cool. Not only will you gain a whole new perspective on the benefits of these sophisticated bells and whistles – but insight into a great many more.” – Dan Morris,

Not sure where to start? Sue Painter has some great ways to get the most of BarCamp Nashville

If you are interested in seeing how BarCamp looks, check out this great video slideshow that Dave Delaney, BarCamp Nashville co-founder, put together: