Chris has mentioned our desire to have the event be a mash up between open space and somewhat stuctured conferences. It can be tricky to find the right mix, but I think (hope?) we are on the right track.

However, the true test of whether or not this will work is how this event is embraced by ‘the’ community. Who is this community you ask? You by golly. You are the community. You will be the one who ultimately lets us know if this mash up will work or not. And honestly, I hope it does. Structured conferences have their purpose, but I would like to see more areas made available for peer-to-peer dialogue to flow. Open spaces are cool, but sometimes an outline is necessary as not everyone in the room is comfortable with just letting it all happen ‘naturally’. So maybe a combination of both will give the best of both worlds. A little something for everyone - if that is truly possible.

So, moving forward with our mashup idea, we have the following areas available during the event:

• The Main Room
  We are asking folks to submit a session they would like to lead, or a topic they would like discussed. There will be somewhere around 8-10 over the two days, and some suggestions have been made to date, we would like to see more. To submit a session/topic, please either blog about it and tag it with “web22talk“, or comment here on the blog post with your idea.
• My Conference, My Way
  We will have one room that will be set up using simplified open space methodology. During the unconference, you can sign up to host any conversation, for any time slot that is available.
• Web 2point2 ‘How To’
  We really want to empower people who don’t yet understand how some of the basic technologies (such as blogs, feed readers, social bookmarks, photo sharing, and wikis) to leave the unconference with the skills they need to do so. I have enlisted my buddy Sarah Dopp to help manage this part of the unconference, but Sarah will need help to ensure folks are receiving the answers they are looking for. If you are interested in helping out in the ‘How To’ room, please send an email to kristie@brainjams.org. If you would like to teach an Intro session, you can either write something up on what you would like to teach and tag it “web22howto“, or leave a comment here.
• Web 2point2 Demo Room
  This is the area where our sponsors will have the opportunity to show off their product and/or services. Each of our patrons will sign up for a time slot that will be posted outside the room, all in the hopes of peeking your interest, and having a conversation with you on why you should know about their product/service and what it might be able to help you do.

So, the key here is participation. Doesn’t matter if you are leading a session in the Main Room, giving a demo, learning how to set up a feed reader, or sitting in on one of the Open Space sessions - we want you to feel there is a place at this unconference for you.

So if you have not done so already - please register.  We have provided a roof over your head. We will make sure there is food in your belly. The rest is really up to you as to what you will get out of this event.