Gestalt IT’s Tech Field Day: I’m in!
February 8, 2010
Completely out of the blue last week, I got an email from Stephen Foskett discussing something called a “Tech Field Day” put on by his company, Gestalt IT. I was really busy and didn’t get a chance to look into anything until that night.
As it turns out, the email was talking about a novel idea in the blogosphere that had been put on last year and ended up being such an amazing success that it’s being repeated now. This idea is the Tech Field Day.
There are companies out there making very cool things that people should know about. At the same time, there are some really great bloggers out there writing great pieces about cool things. Stephen Foskett and Tech Field Day is devoted to connecting those two groups in a very personal way.
The idea is impressively simple. A group of bloggers, 15 or so, gather together, crowd onto a bus, and go visit companies. Sort of like a tech version of the Partridge Family, except the singing has been replaced by deep dive presentations from engineers and chief officers from companies trying to expand the state of the art in IT. Cool, huh?
The benefit that the companies derive is that news of their new technologies and products gets spread via word of mouth and through trusted channels. If the technology and products are actually good, that is. The blogger delegates attending the event aren’t paid shills. Every one of us has the understanding that what we write will be an honest representation of what we see, experience, and think. If I don’t like a product, I’m not going to write nice things about it because our bus pulled up to their building. The bus will take me to the next place, regardless of what I write.
The benefit to the bloggers is, first and foremost, building a community amongst ourselves. In this electronic world, we think we know someone pretty well if we IM with them, rather than just shoot emails and the occasional twitter mention. And it is possible to know someone well over the internet. But it’s something entirely different to know them in person. We are still humans, and we still relate to each other, and so much of the rudeness, bravado, and opinionated difference on the internet melts away when you shake hands with someone and look them in the eyes.
There are a lot of other benefits to the writers, as well. Seeing what companies are offering first hand, learning from the engineers who implemented the products themselves, and a mental break from the ruts that we all find ourselves in from time to time. The combination of these should make for some really nice writing.
The community that spawned from the first Tech Field Day sounds like it was special. The individual bloggers created a tribe of incredibly intelligent people brought together to be with each other, to experience new technology, and to take home experiences different than they’d had previously. According to all of the mentions that I’ve seen, it was incredibly successful.
And so last week, I got my email. I’m honored to have been considered, and after talking to Stephen for a while on Friday, I really saw the vision, and i was sold.
The next Tech Field Day is in Boston, MA, and is scheduled for Spring of 2010.
The last time that I talked to Stephen, not all of the vendors had been scheduled, so if you’re in the Boston area and think that your company has something cool and exciting to talk to an array of industry bloggers about, drop me a line and I’ll get it to Stephen (or just email him, at the address on the delegate list, below).
The full delegate list isn’t finished, either, but will be updated as it’s filled out here. If you read a lot of blogs, several of those names should be familiar. If they aren’t now, I’m sure they will be, because every one of them is a great blog to read and learn from.
If anyone has any questions at all, drop them below, and I’ll do my best to answer everything. Thanks, and I hope that you’re as excited about this as I am!
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February 9th, 2010 at 4:37 am
Hehe sounds like a chance to go oggle some fancy new toys
if your having a day full of presentations about “our cool new widgety thing” then you may need to stock up on the red bull
sounds like you could see some good stuff though, just take some recording kit with you. You’ll never remember it all if your being shuttled about from demo to demo.
Hope it all pans out though
April 20th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
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