1st Rule of Bar Camp: You do talk about BarCamp.
2nd Rule of Bar Camp: You do blog about BarCamp.

BarCamp is coming to Durbs on the 18 and 19 November at Port Natal School. No, it's not (only) about booze. A BarCamp is an ad-hoc un-conference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. The ad-hoc bit means it's not planned to death, and the un-conference bit means it won't bore you to death. Think of it as a DIY conference. About tech stuff: technology, technology trends, open source, "web 2.0", business, programming, GNU/Linux and even pet projects.

The BarCamp phenomenon started in Palo Alto, California in August 2005 as a reaction to an invite-only conference called FooCamp. In programming-speak Foo is always followed by Bar, hence BarCamp. The concept has since spread from Amsterdam to Mumbai to Vienna. The first South African BarCamp was held in Cape Town during 15-16 July 2006. It was such a jol that Durbanites wanted to hold their own. But BarCampJohannesburg (Jozi) jumped the queue, making BarCampDurban the third South African BarCamp in less than six months.

The spark behind BarCampDurban was self-confessed geek Edrich de Lange, a 17 year old Port Natal student. Edd, as he is known, attended BarCampCapeTown during July and was keen for Durban to host such an event. He registered a wiki and negotiated with his school to provide a venue as well as Internet access. Using his contacts he soon had the first sponsors on board for necessities such as t-shirts, presentation and networking equipment and even complimentary coffee from a nearby restaurant. Two more organisers have since joined, including yours truly.

BarCamps are traditionally organised in a relatively short time. Presentation schedules are finalised on the day. Paper-based wiki's are useful for that sort of thing. It's free and mahala to attend the conference, but the Rules of BarCamp say you have to contribute or help out in some way. Asking an intelligent question counts as contributing (so does making everyone laugh with a stupid one). BarCamps bring together experts and newbies alike, business people and students.

Who pays for everything then? Well, BarCamps run on sponsorships and good will, and BarCampDurban is no exception. Sponsors usually get exposure through the BarCamp website (see BarCampCapeTown for an example), as well as through other channels such as blogs. Check out the BarCampDurban wiki if you want to sponsor something or give cold hard cash.

With BarCampDurban just a week(!) away (18-19 Nov, remember), preparations have stepped up a gear and the BarCampers are spreading the word in earnest, hoping make BarCampDurban an even greater success than the Cape Town or Jozi event. You are hereby invited to BarCampDurban.

See http://barcamp.org/BarCampDurban for more info.