It’s been a long time since i had the opportunity to hang out with a large collection of geeks. I used to love the ridiculous shit that emerged in hacker culture. This weekend, i went and played at FooCamp – Tim O’Reilly’s collection of geeks. It was such silly fun (think water-bottle rockets).

Basically, it was an opportunity for geeks to gather and share thoughts and ideas. There was a fire on Friday nite where we stood drinking and talking, playing with good geek toys (like the Seque and this cute little robot). On Saturday, groups of folk met to discuss different topics of interest. Of course, i went to the discussion on social software. I can’t say anything was (re)solved, but it was really fascinating for me to hear the geek perspective on social issues. ::sigh:: Such a disconnect between average folks and geeks, which is utterly frustrating.

One great thing came out of that meeting – i got to meet Scott McCloud. My dear friend Henry adores Scott so i was quite delighted to get to sit down and talk with him for a few hours. He is such a lovable guy and reminds me of Henry in that he’s brilliant, but quiet, geeky, but fascinated by social culture.

Unfortunately, i had to leave after only a day (to go to Ubicomp), but i’m still quite delighted that i got to spend a day amidst the geek culture that framed my collegiate years.