M.E.N building invaded by geeks

I went along to the M.E.N Media HQ this morning and just look at what I found!
They’re everywhere. I’ve never seen the place buzzing so much. Thanks to my co-blogger and self-confessed geek Paul Robinson , we hosted our first barcamp today with scores of geeks, developers and IT bods getting together to share.
For the uninitiated and cynical, like myself, barcamp seems an unlikley concept – people who spend their working days developing sites, functionality, applications and any manner of online activity get together on a day off and share experiences.
There’s no agenda. Little planning beforehand and no-one deciding the day’s events. Sound like a recipe for disaster? Well prepare to eat your words. Not only did it work, but it cooked up a great atmosphere to boot.

First the day’s events were selected by a flurry of sticky notes on a schedule. It was amazing to see the enthusiasm of all these experts who were so keen to share that they descended like a pack to offer their talks.
The topics posted were so varied there was something for everyone – setting up an auction site, discussing the UK teen market, getting to grips with wordpress or how to become famous – were just a few that caught my eye.
Four rooms were handed over, forty pizzas were ordered and everyone got stuck in.
There’s video being shot as I post this and undoubtedly other blogs to come, so if you were a part of it, share your links, submit your comments and collaborate here and at the Google group.

It was great to meet so many of you and I can’t wait to hear what everyone thought about it.