I’ve just arrived from from OggCamp that took place in Canterbury last weekend.  As usual, I hosted a Lightning Talks session on the Saturday where 8 speakers delivered a series of 5 minute talks.  Among those was Rachel.  This was her first OggCamp, and she gave an off-the-cuff talk titled “Newbie to tech”.  She shared a bit about her job (I wasn’t expecting to hear the phrase “I grow eyeballs in a lab” this weekend), and her new found interest in wearable electronics.

The reason this was my favourite talk of the weekend is what this shows we’ve achieved with OggCamp. We’ve managed to create an event where someone new to the subject matter and to the community feels welcome and comfortable enough to stand up in front of everyone and say, “Hi, this is me.”  I think that’s pretty fantastic.