The CodeFactory Starts

Just in time for Christmas there is exciting news from Ian Graham – the Code Factory is a go.
If you’re not already familiar with the CodeFactory think shared facility offices meet BarCamp. It’s this mix of private office space, open work space and community events that set the CodeFatory apart.
Of course productivity is at the [...]

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The Social Base of Competition

We are at a tipping point – technology has enabled us to shift our focus to organizational processes as the source of improvements for our corporate, regional and national competitive goals.
What’s happening is that online tools from social networks, to blogs, wikis and presence tools like Skype and IM are erasing geographic and temporal boundaries. [...]

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International DemoCamp & the value of virtual connections

One of the tenents of social media is that it fills an unmet need – the desire of people to connect in communities and explore common interests.
It’s no surprise then that the BarCamp community – an international movement of tech enthusiasts who connect locally discuss to technology and trends – would want to use collaborative [...]

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Ottawa – Branch Plant City or New Model Time

Back in the days of strut and bluster Ottawa called its self Silicon Valley North. That seems a little hollow now, as one more Ottawa tech company, its largest – Cognos – surrenders control of its destiny to IBM.
What this latest sale makes clear is just how little depth the Ottawa tech sector has. Unlike [...]

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BarCamp Ottawa 4

 BarCamp Ottawa4 will be held on November 17 – 9am to 5pm at bitHeads.
To sign-up to present or attend edit the wiki at www.barcamp.org/BarCampOttawa4 
A special thanks to our sponsors  The Ottawa Angel Alliance, Market2World, inMedia and of course our facility sponsor bitHeads who contributions make this event possible. 
 

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Ottawa’s not Silicon Valley

Paul Graham wrote recently about start-up hubs.
Paul’s central points are Silicon Valley has:
- investors who understand start-ups and are not risk adverse
- world leading experts in key technologies
- relationships with the markets for products
It’s hard to argue with those points. Density and specialization have advantages. That said there are disadvantages (and with them opportunities). As he pointed out [...]

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The Psychology of Participation

This slideshow is a good overview of the psychological approaches that apply to the design of social media sites.
At its heart it’s an eloquent argument for building on the millions of hours of social science research to design sites that motivate and engage. It also is chock full of thought provoking insights like the illustration [...]

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OttawaCamps – where from here?

For the past 20 months I’ve been an organizer of Ottawa’s Bar and DemoCamp scene. It’s been an interesting experience from a community development and community self-definition perspective.
Alec Saunders kicked the whole thing off with his blog review of TorCamp and his interest in bringing the camp concept – and its ability to energise a [...]

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DemoCamp & Shared Office Survey

 
DemoCamp is on June 18 (next Monday) – the last one before we take a short summer break.
As usual we’re at the Clock Tower on Bank Street.  Doors open about 6:30 and demos starting a little after 7:00. Sign-up is at www.barcamp.org/DemoCampOttawa5.
Camps have also spawned another trend – a growing number of cities are launching [...]

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DemoCampOttawa 5

Business Week raved about them. So do attendees.  They are un-conferences or ‘camps’ – And in Ottawa DemoCamp 5 happens on June 18 – 7:00 – 10:00 at the ClockTower Pub.
 It may be hot outside but it’s bound to be hotter inside – with sizziling demos and great conversation.  If you’ve got a hot demo or want [...]

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