PodCamp WordCamp Columbus

Last Saturday (June 19, 2010), I attended PodCamp WordCamp Columbus 2010 in Mendenhall Labs on The Ohio State University Main Campus. While combining both WordCamp and PodCamp sounds like a good idea, it was tough deciding which sessions to attend. I arrived fairly early, so I planned my day by choosing the sessions that looked interesting and stuck to my schedule.

My day began with my commute from Lancaster to Columbus. I decided to leave the laptop at home and see if I could get through the day with an iPad. After all, I am teaching 2 classes on the iPad this week. I left the house at 7:30am and fired up the iPad to play podcasts on the way up to Columbus. It took about 45 minutes due to road construction detours. When I arrived, I signed in, made a name badge and received a guess wireless access code. Before the opening session started, I checked email, read RSS feeds and browsed the apps store (I am 4 rows up on the left in the gray shirt).

I used the iPad constantly, using Osfoora HD for Twitter updates and to look up information in Safari. I used the hashtag #pwcbus in all of my tweets. Instead of taking notes, I have an archive of not only my tweets, but everyone who used the #pwcbus hashtag. I used Blast Follow to add everyone who was using the hashtag. I did find some spammers on the list, but they were easy to find and delete.

Thank you to Skyline Chili for the wonderful lunch! I ate outside with some people I have been following on Twitter, such as @JimBrochowski, @NetterB and @CherylHarrison. When I finished lunch, I took a walk to the music buildings, where I spent a lot of time as a student (1986-1990). I visited the percussion studio and remembered to bring my key to the practice rooms with me. Unfortunately, the locks have been changed.

The afternoon sessions started at 1:30 and the iPad was used non-stop until 5:15pm. When the closing session ended, I headed to the parking garage and hooked up the iPad to listen to more podcasts on the way back to Lancaster. I ran some errands on the way back and stopped for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. While I was in the restaurant, I read an eBook (Reach by Jeff Utecht). When I finished dinner, I got back in the car, put on more podcasts and headed home. I arrived home around 7:30pm. When I pulled in the garage, I received a notice from the iPad that only 20% of he battery remained. I started the day on a full charge and used the iPad constantly for nearly 11 hours.

There were a lof of people that had laptops and netbooks. Some people ran into the room to find a power outlet to plugin. It was so nice to be free from wires and my lap didn’t get hot from a laptop. I didn’t carry a backpack either. I had a small bag with the iPad, some business cards, earbuds, notepad and pens. I never used the notepad or pens.

I want to thank everyone responsible for organizing PodCamp WordCamp Columbus. Thank you @AngeloMandato, @Rockson, @Wyliemac and @Blantonious. If I missed anyone, I apologize! I am glad they mentioned for everyone to “checkin” on Foursquare. Over 50 people checked in, so we received the “Swarm” badge.

A special thanks to the sponsors. Thank you to The Ohio State University Center For The Study And Teaching Of Writing, Blip.tv, Blubrry.com, Spaceblue, Circle of Seven Productions and Wiley Publishing. And of course, thank you to Skyline Chili for the wonderful lunch!