BAR CAMP DALLAS IN PROGRESS NOW READ THIS PART IT IS IMPORTANT : HOW TO GET IN
Update: you should sign up on the wiki, then come to loading dock "c" at the informart and tell the security guard you are with barcamp. they probably won't check the list, but if they do object …
Context & Ripple Effects
BarCamp Dallas puts the Tag Camp/Mind Camp playbook from fall 2005 into Texas: a self-organized, wiki-coordinated gathering where the entry instructions — sign up on the wiki, then find loading dock C at the Informart — are themselves distributed through the same open channels the event runs on.
The logistical detail matters because it shows how little infrastructure the format needs; the security guard at a corporate building is effectively the only checkpoint between an attendee and an event that anyone can join.
First-order effects
- Walk-up attendees in Dallas can join on the day itself: wiki signup plus a check-in at the Informart's loading dock C is the whole admission process, with the attendee list unlikely to be enforced.
Second-order effects
- Organizers planning camps in other cities get a template to copy — wiki for registration, a public post for venue logistics — lowering the cost of spinning up a new BarCamp location.
Third-order effects
- If each city event seeds the next, open-registration unconferences consolidate into a standing alternative circuit to invite-only retreats like O'Reilly's Foo Camp, with venues and sponsors adapting to ad-hoc geek gatherings.
The trend: The BarCamp model is expanding from its 2005 West Coast origins into a distributed, city-by-city network where wiki-based self-organization replaces traditional conference operations.