Barcamps and Ecosystems

Some people say that while Missoula may be an awfully nice place to live, it comes with a significant disadvantage: insufficient access to a critical mass of talented and creative people. They go on to say that if you really want to build a successful tech company, you'd better relocate to a vibrant tech/business ecosystem like Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin, etc.

This past Saturday, I attended the 2nd Annual Missoula BarCamp, which challenged that notion.

Thirty-eight creative designers, programmers, sysadmins, entrepreneurs, artists, writers, and nonprofit leaders came together for five hours and, in recommended Barcamp style, collaboratively developed a session agenda that included social networking, storytelling on the web, Twitter, biomimicry, Drupal, shopping carts, helping nonprofits catch up with technology, and using open source to promote social justice, among other things.

The cross-pollination of skillsets and backgrounds and interests was fascinating, and everybody learned something from somebody. The flexible non-agenda ensured you could always be at a session that interested you. And it was great to meet so many talented folks in Missoula.

One attendee summed it up:

Many times during BarCamp 2009 when I closed my eyes, I could have been back in Palo Alto minus the traffic, noise and sky high housing prices. Great ideas and discussions.  It really showed that you can develop tech companies and expertise just about anywhere so why not in one of the most beautiful and creative communities in the nation? 

- Russ Fletcher of the Montana Associated Technology Roundtables

Here's the photos from the 2009 Missoula Barcamp.

Many thanks to Harold Shinsato for being the spark that got these Missoula Barcamps started.  I am sure there's more we can do together as a community and region. What other ideas are out there for developing the tech/business ecosystem of Missoula and the Northern Rockies?

- JM

Comments

[Nathan Stephens]

One of the things that most impressed me at BarCamp was how many small groups are already meeting in our community, from the Montana Programmers group and 501 Tech Club to the Missoula Web Discussion Group and Missoula Linux Users Group. It made me curious how many similar groups are running around the state?

If you're a member of or lead a similar group in Montana let us know by emailing info[at]mtwda[dot]org We would love to add you to our events calendar.

Thanks,

Nathan Stephens | Co-Founder
Montana Web Designers & Developers Assoc.

[Wendell Holmes]

I'm certainly in agreement with the idea of needing a critical mass of talent, and through my own inertia had no idea that such mass does exist here. I was also struck by the breadth of interesting topics. Most encouraging though was the obvious fun everyone was having in finding others to share with. Very supportive, non-competitive group, looking forward to more events.