LobbyCon / Many-to-Many Space

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LobbyCon

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LobbyCon

I think the real value of these events (conferences) is getting the right people together. Earlier this year at e-tech we were joking that there were two conferences going on, e-tech was upstairs and lobbycon was downstairs. Last night at dinner (some 50 or so people from the conference all piled into an "ale house" to argue about the bill) the same thing was discussed. We're talking about social software so naturally social discussion works better. There's been so much talk about the back channel, and how to merge the panels and the audience to create an active discussion, meanwhile the answer has always been right outside of the conference room. Merging all this into one fluid discussion is not something we need to figure out how to do, we're already doing it. We just need to recognize where this is happening and take advantage of it.

So I'm proposing this - let's actually do it and see what happens. We'll pick a hotel in some city with a big lobby with wifi access and a date, and that's it. No panels, no time limits, no structure, no sponsors trying to push their products. Just the people and the lobby. We'll publish the list of attendees as soon as they sign up and that will be the conference. A long weekend, or a few days during a week...

This space is for further discussion about making this happen.

people who might be interested

^^^LobbyCon â€“ spontaneously forming conferences

not as controlled as Foo Camp, but more organized than a bar crawl
a Flash Mob of sorts - able to form with minutes notice
captures the spirit of User Group meetings and BOF sessions
schmooze as you will
low to no cost

NOTE: I don't know how "spontaneous" this should be, I'd want enough people to be able to schedule it in and actually attend, just like a real conference just without the structure, panels, etc. - Sean Bonner

I guess the issue is whether or not people would get on a plane and go somewhere - as opposed to a local affair. For us Bay Area folk - we can have our cake and eat it too. But I agree - a formerly structured, lo-weight, spontaneous event would be apropos. - marccanter

Idea: Have more than one. During one designated weekend. Blog postings, a Wiki, maybe a few iChat conferences, and it's a geographically diverse event, making it easier for people to attend. - jluster

Offer: If you want to try streaming audio to include those who can't attend physically (a great way to reach those on IRC) I'd be glad to supply the back-end infrastructure. We just need someone on-site with a cellphone that can be passed around to whoever is speaking. - Doug Kaye

I'll help you out with that, Doug, bringing instant audio and video publishing to the table. - Eric

One suggestion: have one non-spontaneous thing at the end (or beginning) of LobbyCon. I don't know from firsthand experience, but the burning of the Burning Man might be a good example. I think you need to have a there there. - Jay Fienberg

I would hope that we would have something to show for it in the end. The idea is for this to become a true working session... if would could harness the adhoc energy that usually gets created in the hallways and lobby's of all other conferences we'd kick some major ass. I would like the outcome of such an event able to produce "concrete" evidence in the form of alpha, beta, contracts, partnerships or any other type of announcement. - Jerry Schuman

Spoken like a true corporate entity - Jonas M Luster

I will go to anything I'm invited to that might let me write code for something cool - Andy Smith

Simple suggestion: Leverage Meetup to do this in multiple cities at once. Ross Mayfield

^^^I â€“ The Opinions

blogs, sites, articles

^^^II â€“ The Conversation

pointers to threads, trackbacks, forums, mail lists, IRC channel

#lobbycon on freenode.net

^^^III â€“ The Events

schedule â€“ proposed events â€“ locations

8/12/04 - San Francisco

Photos from LobbyCon

Who is interested in attending this event? Start a list here:

Jay Fienberg
Eric Rice (better be, I'm sorta organizing it.)
Mike Rowehl
Dinah Sanders (can't guarantee I'll talk on topic, tho')
Jonas M Luster will be there, since he's right next door, anyays.

There are some weblog posts announcing attendance, too. We're clashing with two more events that are "blogosphere" related, the MT party and the PublishTech Conference, the latter one being nearby and me speaking there, so I'll try to drag some people over - Jonas M Luster

10/5-7/04 - San Francisco

OK, If LobbyCons are Lobby based events set up independent of conferences, then Lobby based events set up while conferences are going on could be called Lobby Crashing. I'm going to Web 2.0 in SF, but I'm not going to web 2.0 is SF, if that makes any sense. See you in the lobby. - Sean Bonner

10/5-7/04 - Los Angeles

Well I'm doing the same thing down here at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles for the IP Telephony conference that will be happening for the next couple days. I will be doing an impromptu LobbyCon with a live podcast being done. If you're in the neighborhood stop by on Tueday. I'll be also heading to the Technorati Hackathon on Wednesday. - Jerry Schuman

11/12-13/04 - Hollywood

There's talk of Lobby Crashing the ONA Convention. Scoop is here and here.

RSVP list: Sean Bonner

^^^IV â€“ The Technology

pointers, downloads, specs

I propose we figure out how to incorporate all aspects of collaboration. How about an asterisk server for VoIP for all attendees? Would tie us into the rest of the world over voice.

Pay for use of wifi or not

Not. Ideally a hotel will provide it free of charge in exchange for us having the event there. I know I could work something like this at the Standard Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. - Sean Bonner