I spent the day at Freelance Camp PRO at NextSpace in San Francisco yesterday. It’s 24 hours later and I still have the buzz.

For those that don’t know:

Freelance Camp is a place to discuss and explore the different approaches to running a successful freelance business / service company. We have based our events on the Barcamp format, which is a network of user generated participatory events whose content is fully provided by the participants. Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.

Was it worth the time? Yes. Why?

• It felt like an historic event — first <something> at NextSpace SF — and we were there!
• I enjoyed getting to know my NextSpace Santa Cruz comrades more than I already did, in a relaxed atmosphere, both in the carpool and in the camp. During a typical workday, I’m usually rushing or optimizing or focused. It was fun to be at this event without my laptop (I left that at home on purpose) and without my work so I could focus on people, topics, and reflect on work, not do work.
• I enjoyed that there were two kinds of people in the room: those I recognized and those I didn’t. I felt like I belonged — to my Santa Cruz NextSpace tribe, that is, those I recognized. Thanks for being there Eric, Jorie, Mike, Iris, Jermy (new name from Mike), other Sara, Shane, Peter, Chris, Chris, Vania, Pat, Paul, and others. I’m forgetting some names.
• It was great to meet the BarCamp newbies and see their eyes light up seeing the whole camp in process. These were strangers from SF and I recalled how pivotal the first Freelance Camp in Santa Cruz was for our community. Actually, that was historic.
• It was interesting to hear about other freelancers’ struggles and successes, tips and hints, wisdom. I’m sure I learned something, or several things, but mostly I felt inspired and grateful and entertained.
• Great freebies. That’s S.W.A.G. Not, Schwag.
• Yummy lunch in the restaurant downstairs.

Looking forward to Freelance Camp Santa Cruz on October 2, 2010!

What a great day ~150 of us had at the 7th Annual Women’s Leadership Forum on the top floor of the Rittenhouse Building in downtown Santa Cruz.  ALL of the speakers were GREAT.  I would call this the best Chamber of Commerce event I’ve been to (and I’ve been to many).

Speakers were:

Linda Gold (M3iworks, CEO)
Kim Walesh (City of San Jose, Director of Strategic Planning)
Seana Norvell (Technology Public Relations)
Donna Murphy (Vice Chancellor – University Relations, UCSC)
Dolores Carr (Santa Clara District Attorney)

Nina Simon, founder of Museum 2.0, lead us in three participatory “exhibits” that felt much more relevant that the usual stuff that leaders do with large groups.

From the Chamber website:

what Museum 2.0 is about

Nina Simon talks about her creation of Museum 2.0 as if she woke up one morning astounded to discover herself transformed from electrical engineer (which she is) into the guru of museum social interactivity. Not true, of course, but what is true is that the world of information, networks, and communication changed just about that fast and she was entrepreneur enough to grab a hold. And, she has proven herself in the world of museums as a guide in the dawn of museum interactivity, engagement, and social networking. A passionate activist for the integration of social, dynamic, participatory experiences, Nina has built Museum 2.0 to be a design firm helping museums worldwide use social technology to create dynamic, audience‐driven exhibitions and programs. Nina’s work encourages museums to allow their constituents to “muck about” in the stimuli of the space, to create environments that encourage each participants unique experience, and to allow even the exhibit to be designed by the public. She has had some extraordinary experience prior to Museum 2.0 that led her to this role. She was hired by the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. where she was charged with making Operation Spy an immersive experience. Nina then became curator at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, where she worked at the cutting edge of exhibition design, using “crowd‐sourcing” and prototyping exhibits through a wiki and Second Life. She also led the design of a multi‐platform game that accompanied season 3 of the CBS television show CSI:NY. This all led to Museum 2.0 and a remarkable list of consulting and teaching roles with museums and museum organizations around the world. To see a list of and links to her most recent projects with links to her work:

http://www.museumtwo.com

]]> http://saraisenberg.com/2009/10/01/how-to-do-a-conference/feed/ 0 http://saraisenberg.com/2009/08/25/green-business-camp-santa-cruz-october-22-2009/ http://saraisenberg.com/2009/08/25/green-business-camp-santa-cruz-october-22-2009/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:14:24 +0000 Sara Isenberg http://saraisenberg.com/?p=2581

Green Business Camp … is coming to Santa Cruz!

Did you love Freelance Camp?  Here’s another Unconference!

For more information, go to http://www.greenbusinesssantacruz.com

Connect with entrepreneurs, small business owners and green business leaders for a day of learning, collaboration, sharing, and networking. During this one-day Unconference event you will:

• Discover dozens of new strategies, ideas and resources to help you grow your business
• Spark new collaborations and opportunities with like-minded small green businesses
• Gain insights from dozens of other green business leaders into your biggest business challenges

Unconference topics are driven by what you need to support your business growth and development. It is your opportunity to create connections with fellow green businesses and to form collaborations with other businesses that share similar values. Green Business Camp supports green business growth by:

• Catalyzing collaboration amongst participating small green business leaders
• Creating a forum for creating innovative ideas and business strategies
• Spreading business wisdom and resources for green entrepreneurs

What is the schedule for the day?

The following is the basic structure for the day.

For more information, go to: http://www.greenbusinesssantacruz.com

I’m really looking forward to Freelance Camp in Santa Cruz scheduled for August 15, 2009.  Last year’s event was one of my favorite events of the year.  It felt like … “this is the beginning of something big” and it was!

Details (from http://freelancecamp3.eventbrite.com/):

The concept is easy. Show up. Express interests and ask questions. Break into small groups and exchange knowledge. Become a better freelancer.

Freelance Camp Santa Cruz 2009 is the fifth organized BarCamp for freelancers and independent contractors. We are proud to host this in beautiful, innovative Santa Cruz, CA.  You ask: What is a BarCamp? BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants.  The day consists of sessions proposed by attendees and the schedule is created on site the morning of the event. BarCamp is an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn from each other in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT FREELANCE CAMP:

The day will start at 8am with an hour of socializing over coffee and pastries.  We will be handing out stainless steel Klean Kanteens to the first 200 registrants at the sign up. We have 200 Kanteens and 300 sign ups slots so come early!  It is really important you arrive by 9am so you can participate in creating the day’s agenda.  At 9am sharp we will give directions on how to propose a topic and then we will create a schedule. We will be harvesting the minds and expertise of all the people in the room to come up with topics pertinent to freelancers. If you’d like to lead a session you’re going to want to speak up with your topic idea at 9am, when the schedule is being created.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO BRING:

• Your own coffee mug
• A head full of topic ideas
• Your laptop (free wi-fi provided.) If you are not so inclined to arrive with electronic note-taking items a simple notebook and pen will do.
• Lots of business cards.  This is a great networking opportunity. You can get a quick turnaround from Zazzle.com if you are in need of cards.

VENUE

Brand new Rittenhouse Building right in down town.

1375 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz CA 95066

Come to the Church street enterence.

Stimulus Opportunities for Small Business

Thursday, July 9, 2009, 9am-1pm

Brought to you by the Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

[View Full Details and Register]

The Stimulus Opportunities for Small Business program is a FREE half-day session featuring buyers for state and federal government projects, as well as buyers from large corporations.  It will also feature local panelists able to offer insight into the latest developments in surety bonding and local workforce investment initiatives.

Business Matchmaking specializes in small business procurement with a track record of facilitated more than 70,000 face to face buyer-seller meetings throughout the country. California Small Business Development Centers provide free and low cost business consulting and training for thousands of California small businesses annually.  For more information go online to:www.businessmatchmaking.com, or www.californiasbdc.org.

Who should participate?
This course is designed for small business entrepreneurs who have an interest in learning about what opportunities exist for contractors implementing President Obama’s Economic Recovery plan.

San Jose Panelists:

• Public Sector Panelists include:
  • • Lori Falkenstrom, General Service Administration
    • Osayahde Nesbitt, Caltrans
    • Michael Aquillio, California Department of General Services
    • Denise Rodriguez-Lopez, Teaming USA
    • Mark Quinn, District Director SBA

• Private Sector Panelists include:
  • • Brian Tippens, Hewlett Packard
    • Vaughn Mootoo, Chevron
    • Walter Rossman, City of San Jose Purchasing
    • Don Gonneville, Small Business and Veteran Representative
    • Bob Lane, Federal Technology Center
    • Dorothy Davis, DoVeDa Enterprises, Inc.

Where:
San Jose Scottish Rite Center
2455 Masonic Drive
San Jose, CA 95125
MAP

The Santa Cruz Chamber Business and Exhibition Forum

When: April 14 2009, 12 noon – 6 pm

Where: Cocoanut Grove

Price: $10.00 admission

The most interesting speaker for my interests is Kevin Wheeler, The Future of Talent, 12:30pm – 1:10pm.

Kevin Wheeler is one of the world’s premier authorities on business talent. He will talk about trends in the relationships between businesses and the “knowledge workforce”. He will discuss the impacts of the recession on the future of talent-dependent enterprises. Wheeler will also describe how “the  creative class” is changing how businesses operate and how knowledge workers, contractors, and consultants will position and market themselves to succeed in a rapidly evolving world-wide market for talent. Wheeler advises corporations such as Lilly, British Petroleum, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Federated Department Stores, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Starbucks, andUnited Way . He has served as the Sr. V.P. for Staffing at Charles Schwab and founded the corporate university at National Semiconductor. He is a frequent keynote speaker at international conferences and hosts an exclusive, invitation-only forum called the Future of Talent that explores emerging technologies and practices regarding talent acquisition.

For more info…

My big brother, David Isenberg, is producing this meeting/conference:

F2C 2009:The Emerging Internet Economy

March 30-31, 2009

http://freedom-to-connect.net

F2C: Who, What, When, Where, Why

WHO: F2C is a meeting of people engaged with Internet connectivity and all that it enables.

If you loved Freelance Camp last August, you’ll want to know about SC Public Media Camp (November 14-16, 2008).

Check twitter…. #publicmediacamp for tweets from the conference 

For more information, check out:
http://barcamp.org/PublicMediaCamp