Host of GeekBeat.TV
My passion is technology. I host GeekBeat.TV, a show all about technology, gadgets and exciting research that's shaping our future.
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OpenCamp was a Success!
OpenCamp is over! I’m still kind of on a high because it went so well! There was an amazing team behind planning the event and it really showed me what can happen when there aren’t just people behind an effort, but when there’s a team who are all working together for a common goal. And THAT pumps me up for the future!
The first ever OpenCamp had 600 attendees and over 60 speakers. Everyone came to learn and network. From the attendee’s reactions, they got that plus a ton of fun and entertainment! We had Jon Griffin and his Blues Band on Friday night, Geoff Smith on Saturday night, so many giveaways we could barely give them all away, everyone was very friendly and engaging, AND we had the US Army Golden Knights jump into OpenCamp! More on that below.
The main goal of OpenCamp was to bring together all the very separated groups of website owners. In the past, we’ve kept to only our CMS platforms. WordPress users only really socialize with WordPress users. Drupal users socialized with Drupal users. Joomla users socialized with Joomla users, etc, etc. It didn’t make much sense, honestly, because while we use different platforms, and it’s important to spend time understanding that platform, we all have the same needs and goals with our sites. From what I saw and experienced myself, bringing everyone together turned out to be EXACTLY the right thing to do! As just one example, I got to know Jay Batson, the founder of Acquia, the parent company of Drupal. I learned about what they’re doing for their users, and it helped me gain a better understanding of why I might switch to Drupal one day.
Please join us at our OpenCamp meetup group on Meetup.com. The next one is a week away and Eventbrite is hosting it, so we KNOW it’ll be a good time! People keep asking if we’re going to do OpenCamp again next year (they were asking before OpenCamp even started!), and if we’re going to expand into different cities. I certainly hope so, but give us all a minute to recoup and discuss the possibilities, and I’ll keep you all updated!
Technology in the Sky
I jumped out of a plane with the US Army Golden Knights, as did Chris Pirillo, Trey Ratcliff, Jay Batson, Frederick Van Johnson, Giovanni Gallucci, George Ruiz, Pelpina, Vi, Dave Curlee and others. It was the most amazing experience! I had so much fun I can’t wait to go again! Here is the video where I do the very first mid-skydive interview. We talk about technology in the sky.
There were about 80 people who made these jumps happen. These are the ones I met who have Twitter accounts. The entire Golden Knights team are VERY excited about social media and blogging and everything they learned at OpenCamp, so please follow them and help the Army take their step into this new world!
Dave Herwig
Mike Elliott
Rachel Medley
Joe Martin
Steve Young
Fred Johnson
Golden Knights Twitter Account
Some of my other favorite pics were taken by Thomas Garza (click to see other photos he took):
…and Israel Denis (click to see more):
At OpenCamp, I had the amazing opportunity to jump out of a perfectly good airplane with the US Army Golden Knights parachute team, and on the way down I conducted the world’s first skydiving interview. They kicked off our conference by taking several speakers on tandem jumps, then stuck around to learn all about social media.
Using liquid nitrogen to keep processors cool, surrounding yourself with 3D monitors for greater gaming emersion, and super-high sound fidelity for games.
Cell phones in clothes and in your jewelry, giant 2-wheeled vehicles headed our way in 2050, and packaging to keep your candy from melting.
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