Podcamp Halifax

Podcamp Halifax is a full one-​day event at the end of January each year that offers a good variety of tech, business, and social media info sessions for free. It’s basically a free conference. You do have to register ahead of time, in November.
I found out about Podcamp in 2012 on Twitter, and I attended in 2013 and 2014. I really love the event. It’s well organized and interesting. I think Podcamp is relevant to everyone working in the tech /​communications industry.
Staying Informed — I follow Podcamp Halifax on Twitter and get their newsletter for updates. There are hundreds of tickets available each year through Eventbrite. The event always sells out (hits capacity) very quickly. I’ve found that you have to follow the Podcamp updates closely to respond to the ticket information in time to actually get your hands on a ticket. This is worth the attention it needs.
How it Works — Podcamp is a full-​day event on a Sunday around the end of January. Once you arrive and pick up your name tag and free coffee, you are free to check out the schedule then pick-​and-​choose whatever session/​s you’d like to sit in on throughout the day. Basically, at Podcamp if you can find a seat, it’s yours. The event also offers an optional $ 15 bag lunch. I skipped the lunch the first year and picked up lunch nearby instead. We have an hour lunch break to do this, so it’s what I recommend. I tried the Podcamp bag lunch the second year and was quite disappointed. My bagged lunch was healthy food, but it was freezing cold, squished, and mediocre tasting.
The sessions are the big thing! Some sessions at Podcamp fill up, others don’t. This doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the quality of the material presented. There are variables: some topics are trendier; some presenters are better known; some people travel in groups… like that. All the sessions I’ve attended were worthwhile. Some were excellent. Podcamp presenters are volunteers. I found that they’re not only generous with their time but informed and interesting too.
The Venue — In past years, Podcamp has been held at The Alderney Library. It has been a decent venue. The event runs smoothly and the volunteer organizers are great. In 2015 everything is moving downtown Halifax, Podcamp is going to be held on January 18 at the new Halifax Library at Spring Garden Rd. and Queen St. downtown (which opens mid-​December).
Tickets in Batches? — On Twitter, Podcamp says they are going to release tickets for the 2015 event in batches. That’s new, and I don’t know how it works.
If you want to be a fly on the wall, sit and soak it all in, you can. It’s all very relaxed and free — as long as you get a ticket.
If you’re into rubbing elbows, you can do that too.
If you want to lead a session, you can apply to do that too.

Being my first time attending, I have nothing to which I can compare the event. I went out of personal interest and while most of the sessions were geared towards social media and business, I did find there were a few sessions pertinent to me and all sessions I attended were very interesting. I also enjoyed re-​connecting with tweeps and Unilocalers and meeting new tweeters & bloggers. Podcamp is most definitely a great place to network. The venue was perfect and a bit ironic, talking about all things interweb amongst shelves and shelves of books.
I confess I left after the fourth session. I was suffering from information overload and maybe a bit of a food coma from the super yummy bag lunch from Local Source. I’m glad I at least stayed long enough to take in the State of Social Media in Atlantic Canada session, some super surprising stats presented.
I’m sure it’s an evolving thing and I suppose if I have any suggestions for future events it might be the following: cut the number of sessions to five, give more time per session so there’s more time for questions. Decrease the time for lunch and give the extra time between sessions for networking. Have a session run more than once during the day, there were a couple running concurrently I wanted to see and had a hard time making a choice. Avoid using the smaller rooms, gets like an oven in there. For the presenters, I know you have lots of good info but please leave time for questions & interaction.
Overall I consider my time at Podcamp well spent and look forward to next year’s unconference.

Podcamp is easily one of the most accessible, informative, and valuable ‘conferences’ that Halifax has going for it.
It’s completely free to attend, sessions range from introductory courses for newbies to advanced debates for digital hobnobbers, and you can come and go as you please without having to lock into any one path or discussion. Not only that, if you have something to share, you can sign up in advance to host your own talk. Just keep it focused on value for the community instead of self-​promotion, would you?
The audience of the day spans all sectors, ages, and demographics, so shelf the business suit and come as you are. Just be ready for a packed day of information and plenty of opportunities to meet a whole lot of interesting Haligonians.
A couple of warnings for first-​timers:
— Tickets go fast and there isn’t much advance build-​up to tip you off, so make sure you’re paying attention toward the end of the year for the new January dates.
— It starts early on a Sunday. Like, ‘before a lot of coffee shops open’ early. But don’t worry, everyone will be either hungover or groggy first thing. You’ll fit right in.
— A boxed lunch option is usually available at $ 15 a pop. It’s well worth it for a couple of reasons. First off, Local Source makes it super delicious. Second, none of the local restaurants are ever prepared (that means you, Celtic Corner) for the crowds no matter how many times they’re told. Skip the long waits and crowded tables.

Yet another year has come and gone and PodCamp is still as good as ever. It seems each year gets better and better with different topics to be had, new people presenting and fresh faces to meet. I only stayed for half the presentations but two of the three that I did attend were very relevant to me and really enjoyed them… one was over my head which made me wish I had gone to a different presentation instead. Regardless, it was a good time. I really like the venue that PodCamp is held at but I wish more businesses were open on Sundays to accommodate the large number of people… Kudos to podcamp for having bagged lunches, but I like variety and there’s not too many times I find myself over in Dartmouth so I feel like that’s a good time to explore, but with nothing open that can’t really happen.

How much fun was Podcamp? Fun. A lot.
Others have mentioned the great atmosphere and the wonderful lunch option.
I want to congratulate the organizers on turning up a really exceptional keynote speaker who left everyone heading into the afternoon full of enthusiasm to do more, sooner, harder and better than before.
Attendees were almost spoiled for choice of sessions, and there was lots to be learned. The law of two feet concept for the sessions means that if something isn’t grabbing you, you can just move on, but the layout of some of the mini-​venues made that tough, especially if a session was well attended.
Aside from that, no critiques at all. Get on it for next year!

Kudos to Podcamp Halifax for pulling off another fantastic event. As always, the event embraces all levels of learners. This year felt like there were more presentations than the (un)conference sessions of years past so that’s the only reason it didn’t get the full five stars.
It’s the first year that a brown bag lunch could be pre-​purchased and Local Source did an amazing job. The veggie option included: a portobella sandwich, roast root vegetable salad, a pear, apple cider and a molten cupcake (which would have been better if it had been heated).
I learned a lot, got to chat in real life with people I know virtually, and walked away inspired.

I’ve been to Podcamp twice now, and both times I’ve departed feeling really grateful that I live in a place that offers this event.
Podcamp is everything that I love about social media in Halifax, all together in one place. Organizers work really hard to put on a well-​run, professional event. Everyone there is friendly and excited to learn and share ideas. There are many interesting sessions to attend to learn about pretty much anything and everything to do with social media. I love the informal, relaxed vibe of the event.
This year I attended sessions on making videos, online privacy and social media growth in Atlantic Canada, and I co-​hosted a session on blogging with L-​A. I think the reason I feel comfortable doing a session is because the event has such a fun, relaxed vibe. There’s no pressure to come across like an expert, it’s just a great chance to share things you’ve learned and chat with folks who like the same stuff you like and do the same stuff you do.
There’s coffee and croissants and an iPad giveaway, so you won’t get any complaints from me. And after barely managing to snag a table for lunch at the Celtic Corner last year, I LOVED that there was an option to order a delicious lunch in advance from Local Source. Seriously, that was delicious.

«So… what is podcamp?»
That’s a question I get whenever I mention podcamp. Don’t fret — it’s not like Fight Club; attendees are free to discuss this event with outsiders. Because we usually want you to be insiders!
Podcamp is a volunteer-​driven «un-​conference» about social media and more. I go because I use a lot of social media in my personal and professional life so I’d like to find out more. There are a variety of workshops and sessions put on, again, by volunteers. Once you’ve registered for the day, you simply show up and use your feet to demonstrate your interest.
And there’s a lot to select from! Whether you want to learn about podcasting, SEO optimization, how to make your Web site mobile-​friendly or learn about the pitfalls of starting a blog, there are lots of opportunities to learn. The mood of each session is set by the presenter but the common theme is definitely «Here’s what I’ve learned so far…»
Be forewarned: if you don’t have a smart phone, you will feel very left out. Never have I seen so many people with phones in hand all at one time.
Did I mention the day ends with an iPad giveaway? Reason enough to register for 2013?