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.