People Powered Media unConference
Last Saturday (11/8), the Greater Austin Community Media Action Group hosted the People-Powered Media (un)Workshop at the Ruiz Branch of the Austin Public Library. I only heard about it thanks to word of mouth on Tuesday, and with Capital Metro on strike, and other obligations, I wasn't sure I could make it. Fortunately I did, if not for all of it. I've never done an (un)Workshop before, but the concept is simple; Organizers arrange for the site, refreshment, and create time slots, and the attendees create the breakout sessions themselves, very much in the spirit of social media. II arrive late so I missed the morning sessions, but I still got to participate in topics as diverse as Geocoded RSS Feeds to promote local businesses, internet privacy and Deep Packet Inspection, running an eZine and site, and promoting blogs with social media tools without being a tool yourself.
The sessions were mostly conversational, informative, and sparked quite a lot of ideas in my head. I was sorry it was over, and was thinking about what I could possibly speak about at the next one. The keynote session was a highlight as Gary Chapman is the director of the 21st Century Project at the LJB school at UT Austin, and is apparently advising the transition team for the next president of the United States, giving us some interesting information on Information Technology policy, including the decision to create a cabinet level position for technology (finally!).
Yesterday they aired the Keynote discussion on public access, which I missed. But never fear, Icon Media will be posting it online in the near future.
If I'd only known sooner, I'd've gotten the word out to more folks who could've benefited from this knowledge. Still, it won't be the last such workshop.
Thankfully, I at least found out before the fact, and not after. All thanks to Frederic March and the Austin Film Society Essential Cinema Series.
Comments