First off, I have to follow John Ellis's lead and say, that you first need to go register for BarCamp.
Let's face it. If your reading this, there's a good chance that you have an intererst in what BarCamp is trying to accomplish. Besides, registering is not like giving blood; you can take it back.The unique thing about BarCamp is "The Law of 2 Feet". This "law" is in place for you to gain "stuff" and if you're not gaining "stuff", go on, get up and find the "stuff" you're looking for at another session. You heard me, the speakers are trained weeks and months in advance to have thick skin and you won't get called out or harrassed afterwards if you get up and leave. How else will you be able to keep up with all the amazing sessions?
Oh yeah, did I mention, it's Free to attend and if you click here you can tell all your friends you got a cool t-shirt on top of all the great information at BarCamp.
Did I mention it's at a bar and the bar opens early, like before lunch. Bonus.
Now that you are thoroughly convinced that this event is the best thing going on in Nashville on October 20th and you've cleared your calendar, let me give some pointers to make it the best experience for you.
The tech community is large, but a very tight-knit group. If you haven't been to an event hosted by many of the great companies in attendance, you are missing out on one of the many reasons why Nashville is so great- Its people. The good news for those of you that have not been involved, they are open to more friends. It just takes a little effort. Join a conversation, bring a friend and ask questions at sessions. It's your time make the best of it.
Barcamp has also made it easy for those of you that aren't so extroverted. You can follow the conversation stream on twitter with the Hashtag #BCN12. It even goes deeper for those adventerous types, I can see you on Hootsuite or insert <Social aggregating platform of choice> here and follow multiple sessions on twitter at once. Barcamp has made this super simple to do. Each session has its own unique hashtag. Just find the session online or in the guide and follow along.
Did I mention it's in a bar? Have a drink or even better yet; buy someone else a drink and discuss the session, technology and how cool all this is, and what all you've gotten, and how cool everyone is, and how you can't wait to come next year becasue you have a great topic to share... Well, I think you get my point. Zac Brown said it best: "You Get What You Give" So go online, register, plan, and contribute to make this the best Barcamp yet.
I will wrap all this up by telling you that every day leading up to barcamp there will be a new blog post created by a crew member, attendee or speaker. Go read what they have to say and I look forward to seeing you there.