The Virtual Unconference

The Virtual Unconference is a online system designed to parallel the physical conference based around crowd sourced takeaways and user submitted content (Did you know about it?).

Update: Check out a curated session

• @ScottKirsner 42 Ways to generate Buzz or
• Learn what it's like to drive a Ferrari,
• See the latest Curated Content (or via sidebar Filter Posts by Type).
• Flickr group photos (also available via individual sessions when tagged)

It's a two part system: The Official blog (this one) contains Virtual Sessions and General Unconference topics that automatically capture session tweets and can be updated with content curated from the Uncut User Submissions blog. Use the Session Wall to navigate/find/browse the session and submit content.

Visit each post for extras, like real-time tweets and submitted content links during the unconference, archived tweets after and a disqus comment block to continue the discussion. Disqussions describes some of the goals and details subscription options for comments on a session by session basis or for the entire unconference.

You can read about the "Mega System" on Bill Warner's Blog and learn more about Chris Myles' Next Steps Labs .

Unconference Highlights/Takeaways

Use this section/hashtag (#MassTLCHighlights) to share your overall highlights/takeaways from the unconference in general.

Please use the appropriate Virtual Session (see the Wall) for session specific highlights.

AP (Unconferences)

Photo by @danb

...
Unconferences are a great way to get people to mingle. The lack of a preset agenda creates a natural icebreaker, with people asking each other which sessions they plan to attend. That anyone could be headed to anyone else’s session, or even their own, implies that everyone has an idea worth sharing. So there’s a kind of democratic ideal that’s embedded in the unconference format. Plus, the sheer unpredictability of the day is exciting. 
...

via alexpatriquin.com

More Gushing Over the MassTLC unConference

It’s two days later and my reaction is still “Wow” (well, actually “Kakow!”) This was the single best professional event I’ve ever attended and that was the prevailing opinion of the other attendees with whom I chatted.

via matthewbellantoni.com

Innovation f Rules « Practically Bleeding Edge

Ever attended an unconference?  I experienced my first last week, the MassTLC (@MassTLC) Innovation Unconference (http://bit.ly/cp1Xzb), and have been debriefing with the best innovators I know.  My big take away from the conference was that innovation arises at the intersection of wild passionate entrepreneurship and well structured, measured business management.

via tarneman.wordpress.com

10 Takeaways from MassTLC’s UnConference

Overwhelming. Inspiring. Thought-provoking. These are all words that apply to the spectacle that was yesterday’s Mass Technology Leadership Council’s Innovation 2010 “unConference,” held at the World Trade Center Boston and organized by entrepreneur and investor Bill Warner, Matrix Partners’ Antonio Rodriguez, and MassTLC’s Tom Hopcroft. And one more word, ridiculous—that’s what it feels like to try to sum it all up in one post.

via xconomy.com

Archived Tweets

Unconference Experts

See what Mike Morris learned during his expert one-on-ones.
MassTLC Unconference - Duh...it's about Customer Development

It didn't turn out exactly as I had planned or hoped (the story doesn't end there though...read on). I think I had this vision that my idea (http://openprompt.com) would be validated and well received. That's not exactly what happened. There were two experts in particular who made an impression on me and have had an immediate impact on the way I'm going to continue building OpenPrompt (OpenPrompt the company/brand, not just the software).

via mikeymo.squarespace.com

100+ experts volunteered to have three private sessions with sponsored entrepreneurs.

That's a lot of meetings.. surely something valuable was learned.. share it here and broadcast your thanks to the experts.

Drive a Ferrari at MassTLC

Wonder what it was like?

With Josh (Babson MBA 2008) behind the wheel and Chris (Olin College 2012) riding shotgun, we decided to drive all the way from the World Trade Center in the Boston seaport to Babson/Olin to show it off to our friends. Along the way, we realized more and more that the Ferrari ride was actually a lot like entrepreneurship. Maybe this is just a cheap excuse to relive the excitement of tooling down the Mass Pike at 95 MPH, but maybe it’s to show Bill Warner that we actually held an unConference session in the car. Josh and Chris present:
10 Ways Driving Someone Else’s Ferrari Is Like Being An Entrepreneur

via ohmanwords.tumblr.com

Three winners were picked. Two drive for an hour. The third takes the Ferrari home for the night.



More details here

MassTLCHV1 | Opening/Agenda Session

Opening/Agenda Session
Bill Warner, Tom Hopcroft, Antonio Rodriguez

From the Windows via @chrismyles4

Principles of Open Space

• Whoever comes are the right people.
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.
• Whenever it starts is the right time
• Whenever it is over it is over

Law of Two Feet - Responsibility & Motion

If you are not learning or contributing it is your responsibility to respectfully find some place that you are.

Passion & Responsibility - Be Prepared to be Surprised

Pre-Party Photos Start Rolling In

It's great to see a "Mega-System" finally get put to use.. and work! We've design a system that will allow you to tag and submit content related to a particular session (even the pre-party events had an Id) . Not only are we re-capturing the tweets associated with each session, we also allow users to submit content (photos, video, audio, notes etc) which are tagged and shared (follow @MassTLun) so that they can be curated into virtual sessions.. enabling the discussion to continue even after the unconference (learn more). We even capture link backs.. so if you are writing a blog post about a particular session, please link to the virtual session (in this blog) and we'll tie your post back to it. If you have some non-session specific content or summary blogs to link, please use one of these Unconference categories.We would also like to capture who attended each session, so please use the Sign via Twitter (or disqus comments).

Some photos are auto-post to flickr which you can also be viewed via the wibiya toolbar on the bottom of the page.

Unconference Connect

Did you make any significant connections during the unconference? Let us know.. and help spread the word about the value of the unconference and help build the community for next time.