I spent Saturday at a conference hosted by Dan James of silverorange and Peter Rukavina of Reinvented. Called Zap your Pram (for non Mac folks this means in effect "reboot").
The first Zap back in I think 2004 was one of the first unconferences. While there are speakers, most of the time is set up to be "free". The setting, Dalvay, is more like a large country house than an institution. The food was a major highlight rather than something to save money on.
Speakers would stand by the large fireplace and talk for a bit and then the other people would pile in. It was the nearest thing to a salon that I have experienced. What were we all talking about? What people were interested in. How songs and scripts get written. The struggle to integrate the web and radio. How to see art? How work is organized.
Here is a link to Stephen's post that describes the agenda and also offers up some great pics
I was the black cloud of the meeting and talked about why we are in the midst of a financial meltdown.
The conference was about being with and conversing with people who were struggling with making meaning in many fields. Quite opposite for hearing the wisdom from the sage - most "speakers" were asking the audience for help. How refreshing!
A big thank you to Peter and to Dan and I bet Kelly had a lot to do with this too.
For all you who may be wondering where to stay and where to eat if you came to PEI - Dalvay is hard to beat.
