Thursday, September 16, 2010

Attending GHC from Afar

As my friends well know, I'm really passionate about GHC. In person, I ramble on and on about the benefits of attending. Online, I blog about GHC, tweet about GHC, and post countless FB status updates about GHC. This year, I've even been helping out with the GHC Communities Committee to help spread the news about GHC through the various online communities (Flickr, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and here on our blog). You can understand my sorrow, then, when I realized that circumstances would prevent me from attending this year. Undaunted, I figured if I couldn't bring myself to GHC, I'd try to bring GHC to me! Thus, this year, I will be GHC-ing from home.

Due to the early sell-out of the conference, I don't think I'm alone in this. In fact, I think there are probably a lot of people in exactly the same situation. What can we do to keep the GHC spirit alive from wherever we are? Here's a few ideas:

  • Follow up on sessions by reading session notes on the GHC Wiki
  • Read our blog to get the latest updates and info
  • Have a real life meetup (local restaurant, coffee shop, etc) during GHC to network and discuss issues related to advertised sessions.

    • Are you unable to attend GHC this year in person? Which of these ideas would you use to participate from afar? Do you have other ideas on how to connect?

    p.s.: I'm in Seattle and would love to meet others who are missing out on GHC this year and learn about what you're working on! If you're interested in meeting up in Seattle or elsewhere, leave a comment below. I'd love to help people connect no matter where they are.
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    11 comments:

    1. Gail CarmichaelSeptember 17, 2010 at 12:12 PM

      Don't forget following various sessions on Twitter, and checking out the photos on Flickr! :)

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    2. KateSeptember 17, 2010 at 12:32 PM

      Oops good point Gail! I totally forgot to add those! :)

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    3. AnonymousSeptember 18, 2010 at 8:43 AM

      With all the technical possibilities and Cisco being a sponsor, any chance of some of the sessions/keynotes being streamed live via WebEx?

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    4. BJ WishinskySeptember 18, 2010 at 10:54 AM

      Thanks for the question, Jennifer. No, there will not be live streaming of GHC sessions.

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    5. UnknownSeptember 18, 2010 at 3:43 PM

      Yeah, I'm gonna really miss GHC this year -- would've been really great since I'm at another crossroads again!

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    6. jenniferro10September 18, 2010 at 8:38 PM

      Unbelievably, I "discovered" Grace Hopper tonight. I live in Atlanta, and plan to spend some time Monday finding a way to volunteer at the conference. I also run a twitter feed called "@TCCfeed" (TCC is for "Technology, Conflict and Culture") that I plan to use to spread the word about this event. Is there any reason volunteers can't Live Blog the event, since there won't be any streaming?

      Why am I so excited about this? I am not a tech practitioner. Instead, I follow the policies, storylines, and academic work that relates to how cultural problems are solved/exacerbated by technology. In my professional life, I have worked on quite a few projects where technology was used to solve a cultural disconnect, and I've seen quite a few cultural disconnects laid bare by technology, also. I lost my job about a year ago, and recently was accepted to Army Officer Candidate School. I am 34- the same age as Grace Hopper when she joined the Navy. When I read that it was like lightening from the sky!

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    7. Charna ParkeySeptember 19, 2010 at 5:51 PM

      jenniferro10 there will be live blogging at the event as well as note taking on the wiki and tweeting. Keep tabs on all the volunteers by watching the blog etc. Here is a link to the communities page to get more information http://gracehopper.org/2010/community/community-home/

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    8. Serena NgaiSeptember 22, 2010 at 7:50 AM

      After 2 amazing years of attending GHC with my team @cu-wise, it definitely feels weird to miss out on it this year. I will definitely be catching up on sessions through the online communities - thanks for the reminder.

      If anyone in Ottawa (Canada) would like to meet up - I'm always available.

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    9. AnonymousSeptember 29, 2010 at 12:59 PM

      I too am missing GHC due to having a 5-week-old baby and not quite ready to travel. Thanks to BJ and everyone else who is posting blogs, tweets, photos, updates, and notes...I can feel the energy and excitement even without being there!

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    10. YSeptember 28, 2011 at 10:28 AM

      Thanks to all for the post(s). Please let me know of possible volunteer tasks that can be done remotely or from afar

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    11. BJ WishinskySeptember 28, 2011 at 12:08 PM

      To volunteer for GHC 2011 please use the Contact form on the GHC website and select "Communit"y as the subject.
      http://gracehopper.org/2011/forms/contact.php

      ReplyDelete