No holds BarCamp

Today I had a whale of a time at BarCamp Apache Oxford. The social event last night—coffee, beer, curry and then more beer—meant that the majority of BarCampers got to know each other really well before the event. As Ross said early on today, it was clear from the mix of people last night that things were going to go fine, with everyone being very accommodating of each other's talks.

I managed to acquire a hangover despite leaving early last night. It's my age; that and the length of the bus journey to Oxford and back. Still, I made it through the day, thanks in no small part to Prem's funding and Amir's organizing of lots and lots (and lots) of food.

The sessions were all really interesting, and the atmosphere informal—far more so than on the other BarCamp I've been on, in fact—to the extent where you felt that people were in presentations because they were happy to be there, not out of a sense of misplaced duty. That also meant that, as people started to trickle away during my own (shared) session, I didn't particularly take it personally: I convinced myself that they had just turned up to the talk on a false premise based on a misunderstanding of the talk title. And, you know. Blinked back the tears.

I have to go to bed and catch up on my sleep, but I'll try to write up my notes at a (much) later date. In the mean time, there's a reverse timeline of the event on Twitter (the new backchannelling: you could hear the tumbleweed on the IRC channel), photos on Flickr, useful links on Delicious, and blogposts might filter through onto Technorati. Feed your brains.

Well done to everyone involved for planning and executing such a successful, remarkably hands-off event, and the first everBarCamp Oxford in what will hopefully be a long line of such events.