Glue 2009.  Where to start.   This is the conference entry — learnings and philosophical interpretation to follow separately :)

My impression of the group was that it consisted mostly of the “maker” community — developers, entrepreneurs, and funding bodies working to create solutions in the cloud.   Everyone was bound by a common philosophy driven from a common business model and delivery mechanism.  I loved the esprit de corps that I saw among this diverse group.

Most vendors were new to me, and walking the booths was anything but humdrum. Given that so many of the attendees also had services of their own, I would have loved it if Eric and Kimberly could have set up some kind of fun elevator pitch or Pecha Kucha session where each of the attendees could run up and explain what they were up to, in the constraints of a social, time-boxed, creativity-encouraged event.

Speaking of Kimberly and Eric (the organizers of Glue) — bravo.   This was not a case of catering to a community.  This seemed to me to be a case of creating bonds anew.  It is really easy for conference communities to become inbred – eventually it becomes the same set of people viewing the world all in the same way, and agreeing and disagreeing in unison as if the “truth” was universally obvious.  The great joy of this space is that there is no universally accepted “truth” yet — but the danger is in repeating historical mistakes.   I think that Eric’s agenda choices were calculated to do two things:  to introduce those on the front lines to the cautions of the past but also to introduce those who make their livings through cautionary tales to the infectious optimism of this new generation of solution providers.   The best part about it was seeing just how much fun Eric and Kim have working together to make it happen – it was smooth, but still personal.

I’m really excited about the new people I’ve met, please don’t be strangers, you are are sharp and you are pursuing some incredible opportunities.  I can’t wait to see where you go.