About SOA Camp

SOA Camp is an unconference-style event that's dedicated to bringing together the IBM community for a face-to-face collaborative meetup where new relationships are formed, old relationships are nurtured, ideas are shared, multiple balls are moved forward, and innovation happens in real-time.

What is an unconference?
The unconference-style of SOA Camp was inspired by several other events that pioneered the style in the technology industry (unconference-style events have actually been taking place outside the technology industry for some time). These events include but are not limited to FooCamp, BarCamp, and BloggerCon whose unconference format is well described here by Dave Winer. Speaking of Dave, SOA Camp's format was also inspired by other thought leaders as well. These include Ward Cunningham (inventor of the wiki), Kaliya Hamlin, and Harrison Owen who originated the idea of Open Space Technology in the 1980s.

So, what are the basic implications of an unconference that uses the Open Space methodology? If you're preparing to come to a SOA Camp, what this means is that most of the event's agenda will be determined at event-time by the attendees themselves. In contrast to events whose agendas are often determined 6-12 months in advance by people who aren't very in touch with the information needs of the potential attendees, having the attendees determine the content at event time ensures the relevance, timeliness, and vibrancy of that content. Instead of typical conference sessions where speakers or panels present to large audiences (often with PowerPoint presentations behind them), SOA Camp involves leader-moderated discussions that everyone is free to contribute to.

In advance of SOA Camp, attendees are encouraged to give other participants a heads-up on the discussions they'd like to propose at event-time. To publish your ideas or view those that others will propose, see the Discussion Ideas page within the SOA Camp wiki. To get an idea of how this worked at an event called Mashup Camp, check out the original discussion ideas page for that event and then, the final list of discussions that actually took place.