Call for Speakers: RE BarCamp Phoenix 2009

RE BarCamp Phoenix 2009 is less than 4 days away.  We went by Scottsdale Stadium today and made preparations for exactly how we’ll use the available space for the various sessions.  What we’ll have is the team shop, which can handle 200 people, the press box which can handle 50 people, then 2 smaller rooms that can each handle 25 people.  On top of that, we have an awesome networking area with 5 rooms that will handle 5-10 people each, for those smaller more intimate sessions.  Outside those rooms is a large foyer for general networking between sessions, that 50+ folks can mingle in.  Couple that with all of the various patio spaces (it could be hot in the afternoon, so we aren’t relying on them), and there should be plenty of space to accommodate the 250 people we expect in attendance, plus some wiggle room.

The team shop and one of the 25 person rooms will both have projectors, however right now we do not have a wifi solution.  It seems Qwest has decided to stop returning phone calls.  If anyone has a connection at Qwest that will encourage them to call us back, have them call Jay.  It’s not critical, but it would be nice.

This leads us to today’s call to action:  If you are planning to lead a session, please leave a comment here with what you plan to talk about.  When we announced BarCamp, Jay requested this as well, but now that it’s closer, for those that may have been on the fence about presenting, please chime in now.  We’ll be formalizing the majority of the session leaders Thursday morning at 9:30am, but any pre-work we can get done now will help us plan the space, as it is a little spread out, and we recognize the need to “map it out” so to speak.

As a guide, here’s what we’d like to see in your comment:

Presenters Name
Session Title
Description of Session
Do you need a projector?
If you won’t be there all day, please let us know when you can present.

If you cannot be there at 9:30am, when we set the day’s agenda, it’s important we know about your session in advance, so we can slot you in accordingly.

Likewise, if you are attending, and you’d like to hear someone lead a session on a specific topic, please post a comment with what you want to hear about.  Again, Jay asked for this back on February 20.  If you commented on that post, thank you!  You don’t need to comment again.

Session Schedule for RE BarCamp Phoenix

RE BarCamp Phoenix is only a few days away, and if you are attending, you may be thinking, what happens and when?  So here’s the schedule for the day:

8:30a – 9:00a	Registration	Scottsdale Stadium
9:00a – 9:30a	What is Bar Camp?	Scottsdale Stadium
9:30a – 10:00a	Session Scheduling	Scottsdale Stadium
10:00a – 11:00a	Session 1	Scottsdale Stadium
11:00a –11:15a	Break	Scottsdale Stadium
11:15a – 12:15p	Session 2	Scottsdale Stadium
12:15p – 1:00p	Lunch	Scottsdale Stadium
1:00p – 2:00p	Session 3	Scottsdale Stadium
2:00p – 2:15p	Break	Scottsdale Stadium
2:15p – 3:15p	Session 4	Scottsdale Stadium
3:15p – 3:30p	Break	Scottsdale Stadium
3:30p – 4:30p	Session 5	Scottsdale Stadium
4:30p -	#phxafterbar	Salty Seniorita

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That’s 5 sessions for an hour each.  Those that plan to lead a session now know they have one hour to fill, not 45 minutes and not 75 minutes.  If you can’t make it the entire day (which would be quite a shame), this schedule should help you target an arrival/departure time.

The specifics of who will lead the sessions throughout the day will be set from 9:30a-10:00a. Given that Scottsdale Stadium is a large venue, we plan to allow for as many concurrent sessions as there is both demand and willingness to lead them.  With over 250 registered attendees, it won’t surprise any of us if there are 4 or 5 concurrent sessions throughout the day.  Or even more.  Folks may be talking during a break and then create an impromptu session via their discussion.  That’s cool. Don’t feel like you are “blowing off” something important if that happens.  Likewise, if you are in a session and the value isn’t there, get up and walk over to another one.  That’s part of the magic of BarCamp.

Plus, don’t forget the warm up party at RedPear the night before BarCamp.

See you there!