At 50onRed, we jump at the chance to meet people who are as innovative and passionate about their work as we are. When we heard BarCamp Philly would be back for its 8th annual “unconference”, we wanted to show our support to all of the innovative minds in tech (and beyond) who would brave the lecture halls to share their big ideas.
What makes BarCamp such a powerful networking event is that attendees can choose from dozens of conversations on a variety of topics throughout the day. Plus, if you’re brave enough—which you totally should be—you can even fill out an index card and put yourself on the podium to talk about your own projects. Hearing honest feedback from audience members on a project or strategy is an incredible way to expand your curiosity and make something good, great.
So, on a cloudy Saturday morning, a few members of the 50onRed team gathered at The Wharton School to scope out BarCamp discussions and meet fellow creative minds. Here are a few of our favorite conversations:
Creating Art Daily by Tony LaSalle
Tony LaSalle is a local artist and professor at Delaware Valley College who believes that creativity doesn’t always need a blank canvas—sometimes it just needs a place to happen. Our senior associate technical content manager, Ashley Feucht, chose this as her top talk.
“People were all sharing their tips for being creative inside and outside the workplace,” Feucht says.
O3 Poops—Bathroom Monitor with Raspberry Pi Node.Js + Apple WiFi by Jack Amoratis
Grossed out? Not senior IT administrator, Eric Lee. This chat was led by DevOps Support Administrator at O3 World, Jack Amoratis, who drove the discussion by presenting a live demo of an app he created using low-cost Raspberry Pis to create room monitors and motion sensors.
Lee said he liked it so much he might invest in trying out a Rasberry Pi to hone some basic programming skills.
Advanced Web Analytics For Regular People by Lauren Ancona
Laura Anacona spent nearly a decade in graphic design and marketing, but has since shifted her focus to coding. Perhaps it’s because she shares a background in music with our CMS developer Bob D’Errico, but he voted her discussion on web analytics as his favorite of the day.
“I came in with a particular issue and they helped me find a solution,” D’Errico says.
7 Lessons From The Future Of Content by David Dylan Thomas
“There is no normal for content. Only what resonates and what doesn’t,” said David Thomas. With that, we were hooked on his every word.
Thomas praised human-centered design when it comes to creating content and products, which is a philosophy product manager Jack Li felt he could apply to his work.
The After Party at William Street Common
After a day of sessions at BarCamp, the conference made its way to William Street Common to grab drinks and small plates. The post-BarCamp happy hour was also a great way to keep conversations going. We sat around large tables, dishing on our favorite moments from the day’s events.
Sure, networking is a lot easier when you’re around an inspiring group of people, but the most prevailing lesson may be that BarCamp attendees are so passionate about their work, that they were willing to spend an entire Saturday enjoying deep discussions, and finding new ways to make Philly a hub for innovation.
Thanks to the folks at BarCamp for having us! Until next year…