DSC07266.JPG, originally uploaded by jessesaves. More photos of the entire event here.

This weekend, Jesse and I attended the [first?] BarCamp held in DC. Met some super cool people, learned some very useful things (namely, at the: Google Analytics session, the widget session a la Clearspring and the Grids/systems session), and watched a number of things go flying over my head (e.g., Ruby on Rails… great buzz phrase, but don’t think I will be implementing it anytime soon).

Jesse made some excellent points during discussion and in a co-hosted session on Graphic Deisgn/User Experience (I think??). Also, our now-mutual friend Nick O’Neill (www.thewebpreneur.com and www.allfacebook.com) presented on Facebook apps. Very cutting edge stuff.

For some reason, I thought it would only be for a few hours but was surprised to find out that it went well into the evening. Knowing now what I didn’t know then, I would have opted for some more comfortable shoes ;-)

There were quite a few people “hating” (as the kids say) on the old media when it comes to the way that they have embraced/tried to embrace/not embraced new media and new technologies. Examples included Mobile technology and Facebook apps. I countered by pointing to outlets like Washington Post and CNN — both of whom are soliciting “user generated” reports for local/micro-niche topics (akin to the concept of “citizen journalists” — for more on this topic, check out Scott Gant’s book We’re All Journalists Now). A great example would be CNN’s “I-Reporters.” Specific example: coverage of the bridge collapse in Minnesota.

All and all… well worth it and something we all need more of here in DC!