Defrag
FAQ:\
Q: Why should I attend Defrag?
A:
Look, we know there are a ton of tech conferences
covering a range of topics. Our belief is
that Defrag is different - both topically
and in the way we feel about "the Defrag
community."
Q:
Okay, nice marketing speak. What's different
topically?
A:
Defrag evolved out of Brad Feld blogging his
thoughts on what he saw as an emerging topic
that he was investing in. At first, he called
it "the dynamics of information"
- trying to convey the fact that information
is "swamping the boat" and we need
tools to deal with it. Later, it got termed
"intelligence amplification," and
then "the implicit web" and "dealing
with the miscellaneous" and on and on.
Bottom line: Defrag is a conference about
solving the "augmentation" of how
we turn loads of information into layers of
knowledge; about the "aha" moment
of the brainstorm. As such, it encompasses
many technologies we're all familiar with
(wikis, blogs, search) and many new, developing
technologies (context, relevance, next-level
discovery) -- and tries to see them all through
a new prism.
Q: I can buy
that. What's different about how you treat
attendees?
A:
The last thing we want to do is subject our
attendees to the passive consumption of vendor-speak
panels. This is a big, hairy, exciting topic
and we want everybody's involvement. The community
of builders, implementers and evangelists
working around the topic that Defrag seeks
to address are the core of what we care about.
At the end of the day, we want Defrag to be
the most valuable experience our community
has on their calendar.
Q: Why isn't
Defrag in the Bay Area?
A:
Aren't there enough conferences there? Let's
all go to Colorado and work on something new!
Q: Is Defrag
like anything else out there?
A:
Okay, that's a loaded question. ;-)
One of our favorite conferences of all time
was PC Forum, and, frankly, we miss it. As
such, we're hoping to bring a little slice
of "pc forum" to Colorado with Defrag.
Q: What if I
have other questions?
A:
Simple. Contact me at enorlin AT mac.com.
We're not a gigantic, bureaucratic corporate
structure. We're a few folks working on something
they love, and we're here to help.
