BarCamp Nashville.

For those of you scratching your heads, saying WhatWhat Nashville, I sympathize. Personally, I don’t do bars or camping. That leaves Nashville, and there’s a lot in Nashville I don’t do either. If I hadn’t gotten so much out of its kindred event, PodCamp Nashville, I wouldn’t have even considered it. But it turns out it’s an open source geek fest – somewhere between a formal conference for gear-heads and a happening.

Highlights for me:

• The people. Lots of smiling, friendly techies. The majority young… male… white… etc. But still a good representation of females, plus a modest representation of boomers, and, more significant, a sense of welcome for all.
• Great schwag. Is that how you spell it? My generation once called this stuff freebies. I’d brought my knitting in my backpack, but immediately transferred it to the excellent tote. It’s a keeper.
• Decent coffee, plus unsweet ice tea (my favorite) and yummy muffins.
• Hanging out with my web diva buddies. They came in force.
• Fabulous presentation on Public Relations 2.0 (“The Deer Have Guns Now”). If I don’t see it recapped elsewhere, I’ll do it myself.

Things I hope to see next year:

• More women speakers (not just in a session about women in technology, though that was a great start).
• Same venue. Parking aside, I liked it more than PodCamp’s Cannery Ballroom.
• Sessions on Drupal. If there were any, I couldn’t tell. But the site was done in Drupal and Centre{Source} was one of the main sponsors, so perhaps there were and I missed them.

Speaking of sponsors, egad were they generous. The whole thing was free, and they had wonderful prizes. So while I don’t usually do this, here’s a shout out to the sponsors I remember (in no particular order):

• Griffin Technology (the amazing Dave Delaney’s new gig)
• Centre{Source}
• Dolphini Networks
• Emma
• Zoe Creative Services

And of course a big round of applause for all the people who made this happen. You all don’t just rock. You are movers and shakers. I’m even giving Twitter a second chance, thanks to you.

*For those wondering about #bcn08, it’s a Twitter thing.

The deciding factor wasn’t the cost, the distance or even the speakers. It was the need of the Cancer Center. While I can’t say we have an expert at either search engine optimization or usability on the staff, nonetheless those are better covered then analytics.

And analytics really matter — in a way that reminds me of budgets. They are both about numbers, and numbers can be used to help management understand better what’s needed and why.

Needless to say, once I learn more, I will be posting more on this subject. For now, all I can say is get Google Analytics. It’s by far the best website number-cruncher I’ve used, and I’ve tried quite a few.

To help (at least in theory) I came up with a process. First, I gathered a folder of possibilities. I’ve actually been doing that for several years. Every time I see a conference that interests me, I put it in the folder. As well as going through those, I also reviewed Laura Carlson’s terrific list of web events and conferences.

Next I brainstormed possibilities with my supervisor, focusing on what the Cancer Center needs most. The topics we came up with were: Search Engine Optimization, Analytics, and Usability.

Finally I narrowed the list down to these five, including several training opportunities as well as conferences.

For Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

(1) Search Marketing Expo
This conference is run by Search Engine Land, my favorite newsfeed on SEO. I’ve been following Danny Sullivan for years. As far as I know, he’s the foremost expert on this topic. Three days in Santa Clara cost $1195.

For Web Analytics

(2) Introduction to Web Analytics
The University of British Columbia offers four online courses, building towards certification called the “UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics.” The Web Analytics Association highly recommends this series. Each course is four weeks and participants usually spend about six to ten hours per week on it. The cost is $675.00 (Canadian), with no travel or lodging expenses.

For Usability

(3) Practical Usability Testing
Human Factors International offers four 2-3 day courses in various cities, including Atlanta, Columbus and Chicago, which are all reasonably close to Nashville. A friend of mine went to one of their courses last year, and not only raved about it, but came back with a huge notebook of information I drooled over. The cost is $1195 per person.

(4) Usability Week with Jacob Nielsen
Jacob Nielsen is THE guru of usability. I’ve been reading his useit.com since its inception, and find his insights and research remarkably helpful. His Convince Your Boss page is compelling not just for management, but also people like me trying to decide what to attend. The cost varies depending on how many days you attend: 1 – 6 days, $776 – $2,999.

General Web Conferences

(5) South by Southwest Interactive
I can’t begin to tell you how often I’ve read about SxSW. People clearly love it, and I can see why. Five days in Austin in March is a pretty powerful draw just in itself. Add to that that it’s only $400, plus I have dear friends who live in Austin, and you can see why it’s in my top five picks, even if it’s not as on topic as the other four.

Which would you choose? I’d tell you my choice, except I’ve already gone on too long. So stay tuned, and I’ll let you know soon.

According to their press release, “Participants of PodCamp Nashville are guaranteed to return to their offices revitalized and excited about what New Media has to offer. Students, hobbyists and professionals are encouraged to attend to network and to learn. Experience with blogging or podcasting are not requirements to participate.”

Sounds like a winner to me.