A Friday Night at a BARcamp!

Excellent Event @barcampsj

I had the opportunity to go to my First Barcamp in San Juan Puerto Rico yesterday. A few days ago @mark_hayward someone I admire for the great job he does promoting his Guest House @PalmettoCulebra via the Social Media Channels asked me if I was going to the @barcampsj.
Before I continue please do me a favor even if you where not at @barcamp send @gcollazo, @jpadilla_ and the rest of the @barcampsj team tweets thanking them. On very few occasions I am really proud of a greatly organized event in Puerto Rico!

Given my previous experiences collaborating with a few people locally who their interests were purely self centered I had kept away from assisting any conferences this year 2010. I did go outside of the Island and was very successful establishing relationships in conferences like @chirp, @cmsummit, and the Inbound Marketing Summit.
Arriving at @barcampsj I was quickly surprised to see the level of organization and effort the organizers put into it.
The first presentations where made by the organizers a great way to break the ice and lead the way.
The first presentation was made by @gcollazo and it really caught my attention for the following reasons:
  • @gcollazo had the courage different to what most of us are taught in our culture to admit that he failed in a project but gave it a great spin on how he learned from it and how others have done so. Like @gcollazo one of my biggest failures (CIMA Job Board) led me into a new business model and new sources of income.
  • His presentation made you connect with him. He started describing himself as being the Human to Camila (his Labrador). I guess I can relate since I love my 4-legged son Juanga.
  • He has an innate talent for creating a great visual presentation. The images used in his presentation where unique and he also was able to connect his presentation with great presentation skills.

The next presentation that I really enjoyed was made by @shockeyk titled “What I’ve learned about mosquitoes”. He used great analogies, creativity, and his authenticity to give us a few unique business lessons. I really wanted to see more of his presentation.
I think the presentation that was closest to the Holiday feeling approaching (since we are already in November) was by @onedgepr with his title of “Como Llevar Una Parranda” which was related on his process to create the Vaya Broqui & Parranda App and how people need to execute their ideas. I was able to relate to his presentation because similar to my previous post (“Don’t Forget to Have Fun”) you can clearly see @onedegepr loves what he does and makes it look fun.
A presentation on the Creative Process of Designing a Web Site by @kolapse was also a great mix to other topics. It was filled useful tips which can really help in designing a website. I really appreciated him sharing his insight on how he uses Interior Design methods to help his clients understand the look and feel of a website.
I remember when I went to @chirp one of the things that would stand out was the small group of women at the conference. At @barcampsj there was a good representation in presence but @sallymo_ stood up and presented being the only women presenter. Hopefully in a future occasion we will have few more women presenting following @sallymo_’s example.
The last presentation ended by @wiltonv of @tecnetico where he gave tips on how to make a sales pitch. After his presentation he also gave the crowd a Glimpse on two mobile devices, which will be on available soon.
Photos of Raul Colon Web Developer Puerto Rico

@wiltonv giving his Sales Pitch Presentation.

Overall I had a great time, the people that where present where very full of energy and most of them have accomplished many things which I really admire. Most people presented and stayed till the end of the conference.
I had the opportunity to meet some awesome people who I highly recommend you to follow because I am sure in the near future all of them will hit a home run (in many cases another one) and you should be there to presence it (at least on twitter):
@mark_hayward
@gcollazo
@kolapse
@onedgepr
@sallymo_
@shockeyk
@jpadilla_
@jomajoma
Following @chrisbrogan’s advice at my previous conference Inbound Marketing Summit if you go to a conference and you don’t meet any people you really wasted your time. Thanks Chris.
Photos of Raul Colon Web Developer Puerto Rico

One of my favorite tweeps @therealgabo went with me to @barcampsj and pointed out how we took a perfect Friday night in Condado Puerto Rico and instead of partying we had a great time-sharing ideas on things all of us might be very passionate about.
I might not agree with some of the presenters on many things but at least @gcollazo @jpadilla_ and the other organizers made me realize I have something in common with everyone that was at @barcampsj the passion they have for what they do.
How passionate are you about everything you do?
Would you be willing to spend a Friday Night talking about work related stuff until late hours of the morning?
Please feel free to share your thoughts!
Here is my Presentation if you have any questions feel free to ask!