Saturday, October 2nd, 2004

Time	Event
1:56p	You know what sucks? What sucks was what happened to me last night. I got back to my hotel room and discovered that I had lost my power cord, the one to my brick. I'm at a geek conference and I didn't have any damn power and my notebook can only live an hour on battery. I felt like such a loser. Fortunately, they had picked up the cord last night, so I got it back this morning. Thanks, Cheryl! Last night's party was absolutely great, we had the Silicon Valley Houserockers, who were absolutely a fantastic cover band. The really neat part is that there was a CD pressed last night and we'll get it for free today. How cool is that? I should also say it sucks to work out at a mile up. Anyway, I got up here this morning and got settled. I'm with some great folks at this table. They had the forethought to go out and snag caffeine this morning, so there's a refrigerator bag sitting next to me with loads of soda. I'm trying to resist the temptation, but this is a hell of a group to resist in. So hi to Michael O'Connor and Jim Butler. All sorts of fun. Getting started now, we're going to be talking about the "Future of Online Content". Should be interesting. I'll stop introducing the specific characters on the panel, but you can check out the panel guys on the schedule. Some neat folks on it though, including Scott Johnson from Feedster, who I sat with yesterday morning. Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)
3:45p	This is where we weren't afraid to go... This is where we talked about going yesterday around our table, and the group as a whole decided to go there. One of the concerns, big concerns, by this overall group is obviously about legislation against technical innovation. DMCA, "Seduce" Act, "Induce" Act. Basically it's gotten so bad that Congress is considering blocking devices that could conceivably block out the ability to move digital data -- iPods, Tivo's, etc. Scary, really. Obviously this is the type of group that gets freaked out by those types of legislation, though no one in here is really trying to protect KaZaa. But we appreciate the software like SnapStream that enables us to take our television shows with us, the iPods that let us take the music with us, the digital cameras and flash cards and USB keys that let us move the data. Some really brilliant stuff being said on the IRC line during this. And of course the normal geek shiot. If you want to review the entirety of the log, be my guest. I don't think I said anything too personal. Current Mood: irritated (Comment on this)
3:48p	OK, one goof... Looks like I posted the whole IRC log from Gnomedex in that last link. But when it boils right down to it, that's not a bad thing anyway, there's some interesting things being said. Basically, enjoy and I'll update the zip file later. Current Mood: irritated (Comment on this)
4:42p	WOAAAAAAAAAAAH! Caffeeeine! Current Mood: hyper (Comment on this)
7:23p	Wil Wheaton OK, let's dispense with my griping first. I don't particularly enjoy book readings, unless that's what I came for. Wil primarily read several sections from his books, both Dancing and I'm a Geek. I feel that he missed a good opportunity to just talk among what may be his peers, television (and novelist) celebrity aside. Done. His stage presence was absolutely wonderful, and it was quite an experience to hear him actually present the information from his books. The audience was, for the most part, receptive (there were a few others that didn't particularly appreciate the format) and laughed at the right places. You could see that we got a little bored when he was quiet, but when he was enthusiastic his energy for his subject easily transferred over to us. He didn't seem to present a huge amount of ego in the book line -- I think he honestly appreciated being recognized as a writer vs. a fan idol (though there were a few droolers -- you know who you are, Amaunet). All in all, if he ever speaks publicly vs. reads publicly, I highly highly encourage you to go. When he did do outtakes, you could see the Mark Minasi-like potential. One other note -- he said up front that he was willing to commit this speech under the "Creative Commons" license. So as soon as it is seeded, you can listen in. I'll post when I get the address. It's worth it if you're interested in the slightest. Current Mood: happy (Comment on this)
7:28p	Homesick One of the speakers brought his dog. I keep forgetting to say that I've got pictures from the show -- I'll be posting those photos later. (Comment on this)
7:44p	Incidentally... OK, we're talking about advertising in blogging -- this is one of those panels that holds very very little appeal for me (at the moment, but these things change) but is one of those business realities that maybe I need to pay attention to. Do I have to? The thing about my current business model (not me personally, cause there isn't one, but at the office) -- we don't market directly. So there's no point in advertising marketing, at least not in the traditional sense. We're more like the Deloitte and Touche type marketing you see in the airport. But is this a valuable panel? Yes, this seems to have some absolute concrete giving of tools to the audience -- this may not be the audience for this particular panel, but still, this is a panel that so far is offering concrete advice and technology tools. Pity, really. I did enjoy the "Leo"-type closing speeches of the show, and other than the banquet... this is really it! Maybe the banquet will surprise me. So I'm rehashing some classwork, surfing some of the cool sites I got handed, and avoiding reading the fan-fiction that I'm really drooling over wanting to do, because that would just be too nerdy even for this conference. Oh, and my butt is going numb :) Current Mood: bored (Comment on this)
8:27p	Uh-oh. There is now going to be an open bar -- it was earlier rescinded and now it's back. Maybe I won't skip the buffet after all. Current Mood: amused (Comment on this)

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