It's several hours after BlogWalk, and I am feeling overwhelmed from the day of conversation, coffee, pizza, a snowball fight and more conversation. We had sixteen people who braved the elements and enjoined the conversation. Several planned attendees couldn't make it for weather, car or family emergencies. But then, several others were able to come at the last minute.
The basic framework of the day was introductions and idea gathering, followed by a long discussion in two groups. We did a pre-lunch re-integration to find overlaps between the groups. After lunch and some snow, we split into smaller groups with more specific questions and explored in more detail. Some of that has already been posted to the Outcomes page with more to come. We wrapped up the day with some general impressions from everyone and final ideas and follow-ups. Also, check Flickr for blogwalkchicago-tagged photos.
I came to BlogWalk expecting a stronger focus on social software and the organization, and while we discussed these things, we also went in a number of other useful directions: How does the organization change in response to more collaboration? What is the nature of work? How would you do a blogging pilot in an organization? What are the definitions of social software? How do we teach people (children) skills in a collaborative world? Who are these people (attendees)? And other ideas that I don't recall.
Before this week, I had only met Jim, AKMA and Shannon in person (I did meet Dennis and Matt at a bloggers' dinner last year, but we didn't talk much at a large table). And I had met several other electronically, while a good number were suggested by the wider sphere of people when we first announced the event. But for me, as is always the case with face-to-face events, it was wonderful meeting people and having the opportunity to see how people operate.
Be sure to check the blogs of the attendees to see what they have to say, or watch the BlogWalk channel at Topic Exchange. (And if you attended, be sure to ping there when you write about it. Just use the URL.) Attendees: