The Spirit of BarCamp

And so, all the good things had to come to an end. BarCampChennai exceeded all our expectations and was one of the best events to have been organized in recent times.

The best part of BarCamps is the people it brings together. Everyone had something to contribute to and it cant get any better than to talk about things you are passionate about. I’ve always had a sceptical view of technology and how it makes people disconnect themselves from things around them. However, all that perception changed after spending 2 whole days at Anna University interacting with people from diverse backgrounds who came together purely for their passion to learn and share knowledge.

How else would anyone have learnt about the students who built a tool that will aggregate all your email and deliver it to your mobile devices; about the simple file tracking device conceptualized for utilizing small scale industries for its production; about news aggregators being built purely for the indian diaspora; about a new programming language being developed that will help visualize all your code; about desinging a large scale citizen database that will help governments in their logistics for delivering services like relief material during calamities, essential commodities for villages etc.; about how to make money blogging (yes!); and may more.

All of this wouldn’t have been possible (at least to the extent that it was) if not for the sponsors who showed tremendous support and encouragement on their part. I would like to thank Kiruba, our sponsors, the team of organizers (who by the way spent a lot of time discussing and shooting emails on Google Groups), the folks at Anna University who put up a fantastic show, making sure that things were running smoothly and all the people who came from different parts of the country to attend and make this event a one of a kind! I would also like to thank Gaurav Bhatnagar of Tekriti Software whom I met in Delhi (and Amit Ranjan of Uzanto, although I didnt get to meet him while in Delhi) for sharing their experiences on conducting BarCampDelhi – the first in India.

Here’s looking forward to much more exciting events in future. Cheers!