Question: What do you get when you put a bunch of bloggers in one room?
That’s the question that kept doing the rounds for me as I drove to the BlogCamp at IIT Powai on Sunday. That along with the annoying little voice in my head: “This better be worth the effort. You know you hate driving!”
We walked in midway, and a few hours later, the only nagging feeling that I grappled with was the regret of having missed the first session.
I’ve been an Internet professional – a content guy – for nearly all my life, but often I’ve found my confidence in the virtual world’s ability to effect change waning. What’s the point? It’s generally all just a gimmick. Argh! it’s just a space for emotional, intellectual exhibitionists to run riot, at best.
Cynical, cynical, cynical Manoj!
And then I arrived at the IIT in Powai. I’d never visited the campus before, and it was quite a refreshing space to be in. Students all around; events being planned; people on the move – it just seemed a place that was aflutter with energy.
Energy. That’s the word. From the organisers to the speakers, everyone brought their own unique energy to the event.
What ensued were discussions on blogging as a form of conveying your views, indulging and honing your creativity, supporting and promoting a cause, learning new art forms, expressing and exploring your identity along with a debate on ethics and the business.
A free space in an unconference that brought to life the greatest advantage of the blogosphere: thinking aloud without any apprehensions.
It kinda reminded me of a poem that was handed to my entire class as we prepared to graduate from school. Our physics professor’s first real dig at poetry (at least as far as I know). It said something about atoms buzzing around in a open space, swirling and colliding; generating an energy that is unparalleled.
So to answer the question: What do you get when you put a bunch of bloggers in one room?
Answer: As close as humanity can ever get to replicating the big bang. They are the atoms whose interaction is guiding the world in a whole new direction. And the only rule here is that there are no rules.
PS:
Just a quick thank you to the organisers. It was really kind of them to allow me the opportunity to share my experiences with Voterfiles, the blog and the book.
In case you guys are interested in getting to know more about the event and the speakers, you can find all the information and pictures and connect with them by clicking here
