etee's Blog

I spent today pretty productively. Last week, I learned about something called Freelance Camp Houston from one of my Facebook/Twitter/blog friends, and decided to check it out (even though I really hope I don't need to go freelancing anytime soon, if you know what I mean.) This "un-conference" is one of many based on the BarCamp model, which has less structure (but not no structure) and is much more attendee-driven than the usual conference. It is also a lot cheaper than most traditional conferences, with the basic cost of admission being "free".

(Note: lest anyone get the wrong impression from the title, the cost of admission was in fact the investment of six hours of my time on a Saturday.)

Of course, there is that saying "you get what you pay for" to be mindful of, so part of me was wary of this being some dude shilling "As Seen on TV" products, or the latest Work-At-Home scam. It was neither, I was happy to learn, as in fact there were real freelancers present, offering up talks on various topics of interest (I gave a talk on "Information Security" right after lunch. Lunch won, I guess, as there was one other person in the room. He was, however, an interested person, so I'll call it a victory.)

Afterwards, it was off to the Caroline Collective for the launch party of Werkadoo, a new portal aimed at matching the remote-working crowd with prospective "werk". They also planned and put on the Camp, so there was that tie-in, as well. Besides, who says "no" to free beer?

I expect there will be a follow-up camp later in the year. If the economy continues to shed jobs at the current rate, there may be a whole lot of new people looking for advice and help - this is certainly a good place to come looking. I'm already thinking about what I want to talk about - and also hoping I can avoid another "wardrobe malfunction".