We came, we talked, we partied

One of the largest unconferences to have ever taken place, the final day of osmosis lived above everyones expectations. Perhaps the best way to describe it 2112542205_bcc04663bbwould be to quote one of my friends who said, "its completely unorganized man, I don't know where to go and I must say I am loving it" and thats exactly what it was supposed to be, impulsive, unofficial and pure undiluted fun. Began with Ashok's take on the new user fed web, the web we call web 2.0 . One of the interesting thoughts that came up during his talk was to connect the various locations of Mindtree during such an unconference, so that irrespective of their  location, people from around the world could participate in the event. Shortly after his talk he was "mobbed" by the mob the leader team. He was asked to talk about how one could bring joy into one's life. Ideas like having a dedicated room for meditation came up. The unconference sessions began with with a house-full talk in Kalpavriksha 2-3 on Software Testing, with another interesting talk on IP networks in automotives going in parallel.

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The very neat thing about the whole event was everyone had something or the other to keep themselves busy, like trying their shoulders at shooting or watching the rock band warming up. This unconference like everyother had its share of session delays, venue shifts and people accidently bumping into wrong venues and then ending up feeling glad about it. Another interesting session was the I and my PM, session. Overflowing with people, it was one of the most admired sessions of the day. Then came, the lunch time. The time of the day. Food, garden and live music, including one of those college favorites 'Papa Kehte hain'. Suffices to say that volunteers had to do enough to get people back to discussion modes and continue the post lunch unconference.

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Two interesting talks on Google Open Social and Google Android went ahead in parallel, both of which were well received, particluarly Google Android which 2112543837_f9b80a06a3was an extremely heated debate. The session on innovation saw a variety of people defining their idea of innovation. By this time, we knew it was a successful event because everyone, most of whom were attending their first unconference, had gotten the feel of it. People were sitting on the floor, taking  notes, discussing with others and completely ignoring the speaker, taking snaps of each other and were involved in those little stand-up discussions which were seen everywhere. Along came the CTO session after the unconference sessions, wherein Kamran and Vinod answered to questions relating to virtualization, second life, networks etc. Jani shared his frustration on how difficult it was becoming to survive in a world full of tech. After the prize distribution, Subroto gave one of those talks he is known for and filled the whole Kalpavriksha with energy. So people were energetic enough to headbang to the death metal music that awaited their presence, as opposed to being dead tired after a very busy and fun filled day.

I have willingly stayed away from taking names of the session speakers, because in an unconference there is no speaker, theres just a moderator who probably initiates the discussion but for the most time, just stands there. To wrap things, a job well done to all the organizers. This is undoubtedly going to be a standing example of how intuitive this concept is and that an unconferences are on longer a proof of concept. They are "unevents" where two thousand plus people can speak their minds and collaborate in a true sense.

Suresh's take on the final day.

Shahnawaz's take on the final day.

Shahnawaz's photo take on the final day.

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