Went to BarCamp Boston this past weekend. It was a really compelling proof that the UnConference format works, and works well. Things I learned about that I never thought I would:

• How to make a wireless antenna with a vegetable steamer
• Why JQuery is awesome, from the author of JQuery
• How to manage a distributed team
• What an Arduino is and how to hack it
• Why voting is so darned interesting

When the conference started, there was literally nothing pre-scheduled. The rule was, you had to propose your talk that day. Nobody had any idea what to really expect. Since there were tons of timeslots and rooms available, almost anyone with something to talk about had the chance.

BarCamps operate on the 'two feet' rule. Specifically, if you're not learning or teaching, then you owe it to yourself to use your own two feet and change that state. There are such a diversity of ideas being presented at any one time that there is almost always something interesting being presented. Plus, there were any number of interesting folks hanging out in the break room ready to kick back with some Halo or just chat.

I can't wait to attend HOPE 2008