Facebook camp - the “unconference” that wasn’t

I attended the developer’s “unconference” dubbed facebookcamptoronto to get a better idea on how marketers can leverage the facebook platform as an interactive channel. For a full play-by-play recap, check out the summary on tucows.

 citytv also ran a short video piece as well.

In addition to learning more about the platform, i was excited to experience my first camp or unconference. Unlike traditional meetings, events, and conferences, i’ve read all about how these events are open and reliant on participation from everybody. Content is often provided by the participants and the content is often pretty geeked out in nature.

Outside of registering through their facebookcamptoronto wiki site, this was a pretty standard meeting. There were rows of seats setup stadium style with a pre-set agenda…and very little opportunity to create an interactive connection among the audience or between the presenters and the audience. There was time allowed for questions - but it’s sure a lot more intimating asking your dumb question in front of 400+ people vs 100 at a more casual event. I asked my dumb question near the end - “is anybody developing applications for facebook mobile?”. With only one hand raised in the entire room, my guess is that this an area worth further discussion.

Was my experience a typical one for today’s camp or unconference…or did the event default into a traditional meeting due to its popularity and attendance?