After running 7 barcamp networks (2 in LA, 5 in SD) I’ve learned a ton:

• ‘end user’ or ‘home’ wifi gear doesnt work. No matter how awesome you think it is. It just never ever cuts it.
• 2.4ghz is the devil
• you need at LEAST 5-10 megabits of connectivity, preferably with the ability to burst up higher.
• OpenDNS = fail
• Spend the extra money/time/etc and get mesh wireless from a reputable vendor (cisco/aruba/xirrus etc). It will make your life way way easier.

I’ve banged out a quick writeup on the BarCamp San Diego 5 wifi network over on thaumatocracy.com – so if you’re a wifidork or have any interest in how the network was run, pop on by!

Sandwich Hacking at Barcamp SD 4. Photo courtesy Kevin Baird from his barcampsd set on Flickr.

It’s time again for Barcamp San Diego!

Barcamp is an “unconference,” where the participants are both the speakers and the audience. The format is open, the workshops can be about anything, the schedule is organized by sticky notes on a big sheet of paper, and registration is free. The “camp” part means you can bring your sleeping bag and spend the night. Or not. It’s up to you!

Sound good? Here are the details:

WHAT: Barcamp San Diego 5
WHEN: May 30-31, 2009
WHERE: Intuit’s Santa Fe campus – 7545 Torrey Santa Fe Road, San Diego, CA 92129
TO REGISTER: Visit http://barcampsd5.eventbrite.com

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I want this picture to reach into your brain and prod your creative side.

I’ve been invovled with BarCamp San Diego since it’s inception. I’ve seen a whole bunch of really really cool talks that inspired me to think differently and try new things – conversely I’ve seen lots of talks that boast interesting subject matter, but turn out to be a sales pitch or an excuse to get in front of everyone and try to coerce information out of the crowd.

The best speakers I’ve seen present don’t even talk about who they are, or what they do for work. They talk about stuff they do in their spare time. They make robots, they do knitting, they talk about video games, make fun of art school, make sandwiches or even create giant literary masterpieces impregnated with cryptography challenges and hidden messages (yes, I’m talking about you Bushman). The best talks I’ve ever seen have been about “other stuff”.

As tempting as it is to get in front of 300 people who are really passionate about what they do and have voices at their workplace and in the community then talk about why people should hire you – doing that makes people stop trusting the talks posted on the wall and you see this face a lot in the crowd. people don’t go to barcamp to sit through sales pitches. Their jobs send them to those and they are obligated to go because someone is footing the bill – they go to barcamp for new, cool, and interesting stuff. I learned this the hard way first-hand. Here, Let me explain -

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In ur timeline, posting ur newz

Metblogs recently extended its reach into its 57th city and the consciousness of San Diegans. Now San Diego Metblogs will be even easier to follow, as it has its own Twitter feed!

Are you in San Diego and have a Twitter account? Or maybe just miss San Diego and its perfect weather? (Yes, that’s a dig at you, East Coast.) Want to read local blog posts from 14 of the finest bloggers (more added every day) in America’s Finest City? Then just start following @SDMetblogs, my friend.

We’ll serve up local happenings, quirky observations, bargains, and fun things to do with a decidedly San Diego flavor. You know, like a fish taco. Okay, and some crazy-old-man-next-door-style rants. You know it will happen. Either way, you’ll get a tweet sent to your mobile phone or computer whenever there’s a new post to read.

So no more hanging around my front door demanding more blog posts, okay? Follow @SDMetblogs instead, and get offa my lawn!

AtenLabs was able to corral Brady for a quick interview. He was kind enough to indulge us. Read on for some squishy hacker-friendly goodness about Etech this year!

Aten: How much of your life does Etech consume?

Brady: it consumes… I start working 10 months in advance. In some ways 14 months in advance. 10 months is the theme for the following year, its my first conference of the year, so it gets my attention. I’d like to have as many worthwhile things as possible crammed into into that time – the conference is only four days. Every facet of the conference has to be interesting. There is tech/art in the halls, events in the evenings. Its broad.

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I’m really not sure why this hasn’t been done before – but I created a google calendar to showcase events in town that are ‘in our scene’. That being – the barcampers, the web dev scene, the drinky drink scene, etc.

It would be nice to have a calendar with *EVERYTHING IN TOWN* on it, yes? I thought so too :)

Drop me a note and I can add your google account to have write access to this calendar!

Read access to this calendar: XML ICAL HTML

San Diego tweeters take over Wine Cabana on 2/21/09 (Photo courtesy @jimmyweee)

The San Diego Tweetup’s February gathering set new attendance records last Saturday, as more than 200 Twitter aficionados converged on the Wine Cabana in Old Town. This was a significant jump over the first SD Tweetup, held in April 2008, when only about 30 attended.

The event, which is usually held monthly, had been sorely missed since its last large gathering in November at KPBS Studios. (No complaints here about the December SD Tweetup, as 25 of us were included in the audience of The Price is Right, and yours truly won a treadmill and $1000.) This time, there was no attendee cap – and tweeters from all over San Diego County turned out in force. We drank wine, played Rockband (courtesy of assistant organizer @DowntownRob), and tweeted the #sdtweetup hashtag all the way up to the #2 trending topic on Twitter for several hours.

Organizer Jenn Van Grove (@jbruin) did another bang-up job in finding a venue large enough for such a group, and sponsors willing to fund the good times. Much love to Network Velocity (@nvelocity) for sponsorship. See Jenn’s blog post for a comprehensive Twitter roll of attendees, as well as links to several Flickr sets of event photos.

Want to join us next time? Visit http://www.meetup.com/sdtweetup and get notified when the next SD Tweetup is scheduled!