After getting back from the BarCamp Berlin and Berlin Web 2.0 Expo I went straight into tight project pressures and couldn’t afford to blog. But now it’s time for a summary and a conclusion to the past five days. But first let me express my thanks to Oliver, Andreas and the whole orga team for making the BarCamp Berlin a success – and also thank you to all the sponsors for their support (it showed).
I took the opportunity to blog directly from both (un-)/conferences, see e.g.:
Killing the Org Chart and Enterprise 2.0 Reality Check
Dion Hinchcliffe on Rewriting the rules of the web
Be like the Internet
Barcamp Berlin Tag 1 … Yahoo! Pipes session
Now, I didn’t manage to put down that many posts from the Web 2.0 Expo, as some of the sessions turned out to be something else than advertised, and I swiftly dropped out. And while discussions were more interesting at the BarCamp (and less formalized as well), I really enjoyed the discussions after the Expo sessions and keynotes, mostly because afterwards I’ve met and talked with so many interesting people from all of Europe and the U.S. (like at the parties at the Oberholz and the 40seconds, enjoyed that).
Unluckily Crowdvine, the social networking platform O’Reilly and CMP organized for Web 2.0 Expo arrived a little late. I would have loved such a social network three or four weeks in advance, to connect with other attendees, to organize the day and the meetings, and to explore the social network. Still, it was a good idea and still helps to facilitate the communication even after the conference has ended. Yes, that’s the gist of it all: what really counts are people, and the connections between them.
Now on the weekend I will try to explore some writeups, and I will try to get back to some of the people I’ve met …
So Berlin didn’t “suck” for me, even when I will keep this in mind for the next time. After all, nothing’s perfect the first time, like here – yes, Tim O’Reilly got asked for his ticket to the 40seconds-party. LOL!
Althoug the venue and the organization of the event could have been better: I enjoyed the Web 2.0 Expo a lot. In my opinion this Expo was not for the ultimate geeks but for people who wanted to get an overview and some insights – but may be I’m wrong.
Personally I recognized how important networking and conversations are for such an event. And the workshops should have been real workshops. To quote Inga von Staden:
So it was a first step to Europe. I think the next step / year will be a better one 🙂
Yes, right, especially the workshops were just “presentations” in disguise, so they had to inevitably disappoint …
Martin, I’ll take that as an endorsement for CrowdVine. We’re about to launch an official Conference product next week, so I’m happy to hear it worked for you. I totally agree with you about the power of making connections. The things you hear in the sessions are going to be out of date next year but the relationships you make could last your entire career.
[…] 2.0 (german post on a paper I submitted) – BarCamp Berlin: Social Networks and Enterprise 2.0 and Looking back at Berlin Web2Expo and BarCamp – Killing the Org Chart and Enterprise 2.0 Reality Check @ Web 2.0 Expo – Web 2.0 Expo Workshop: […]