Sep
10
CyborgCamp 2008 | A Conference Born in an Afternoon
Filed Under (CyborgCamp, anthropology, future, hci, information prediction, information society, interaction design, interface, internet, life, lifehacking, machines, mashups, mit, mobile communities, mobile technology, networking, new developments, online presence, pattern language, search engines, second life, social software, space, startups, web 3.0) by Amber Case on 10-09-2008

Note: Dates and venues are pretty much set for CyborgCamp!

You can now:

I never saw it coming

CyborgCamp occured at around 10Am from a shoutout by Kris Krug and Dave Olson of RainCityStudios. I met them both at Gnomedex and we got along really well.

The only problem was that they both lived in Vancouver B.C., and I live in Portland, Oregon. Normally, it is difficult for me to travel unless there is a conference. So I told them that.

To which Dave replied “just have a Cyborg Camp!”.

And CyborgCamp was born.

Once Kris Krug retweeted the news, 30 or so people immediately jumped into high gear. Nate Angell built a Wiki with all sorts of capabilities, and more people got on board to discuss all aspects of Cyborgs.

Meanwhile, the Twitterverse was coming up with all sorts of speaker and venue suggestions, and by 6Pm that night, the first planning meeting for CyborgCamp 2008 occured as an offshoot of an Android Developers meeting at the Lucky Lab Pub SE.

…Whew.

That was only two days ago. Now we have a venue, a sponsor, and some potential speakers. Also a @cyborgcamp Twitter account, which Bram Pitoyo has been handling amazingly, as well as a preliminary poster design.

Now what?

If you think this sounds like something you might be interested in, Sign up —> CyborgCamp2008 for Wiki access. Or follow the @cyborgcamp Twitter account for updates, general inquiries, speaker suggestions and sponsor ideas. Or you can directly E-mail caseorganic if you don’t use Wikis or Twitter.

What is a cyborg?

A cyborg (shorthand for “cybernetic organism”) is a symbiotic fusion of human and machine. Join in our pre-conference discussion about what is a cyborg?

What is CyborgCamp?

An unconference dedicated to exploring cyborg technology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy.

Who should come to CyborgCamp?

Cyborgs, hybrids, androids, robots, and the people who love them!

When is CyborgCamp?

Nov. 21-22 2008

Proposed Topics

  • Space and Time Compression
  • Cybernetic Organisms - The emergence of technological systems, control and feedback in biological life
  • Online Presence and Boundary Extensions
  • What is Cybernetics?
  • The Future of Mobile Technology
  • Artifical Intelligence
  • Technology and Culture
  • A Brief History of Cybernetics
  • Cyborgs Around & Within - How humankind takes for granted our lives as, and among Cyborgs
  • Top 10 Modifications you can make to be a better Cyborg
  • Cybernetics and Morality
  • Wetware Hacking
  • Pimp My Avatar

Hyperorganization

This should be an interesting event. It needs a lot of film and audio coverage, as well as live casting and projection screens. As many channels as possible so we can exist in as many places at one time. Our minds can supply the rest.

You can follow along at CyborgCamp.org or on Twitter by following @cyborgcamp.

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