One of the most anticipated events people are looking forward to at the upcoming VON.x conference in San Jose is the Unconference. Yesterday someone asked me what it was all about, so I thought I'd post a note describing what it is.
What is Unconference (code named VONCamp) all about?

For years Jeff Pulver has been running executive summits and other get togethers with the idea of having a free exchange of ideas. This dialogue has been at the heart of VON. These two tracks are intended to pump up the volume of the dialogue.

The Innovators Forum is a series of sessions that show case companies in our more traditional format. However dialogue in these sessions is encouraged. The VONCamp Unconference is harder to describe, because it gives people a chance to self identify as a speaker. At the present time there are 12 speaking slots. If you've got something you want to discuss that's outside the formal program, VONCamp Unconference is the place to do it. We also have a SpeedDating session.

VONCamp Unconference Rules

• There are no rules.
• Everyone is equal. Everyone is a rockstar.
• Give back to the conference by participating actively. "Active participation" might mean giving a presentation, helping with a presentation, blogging or podcasting the event, or whatever other creative ways. While everyone is encouraged to lead a session, there are only twelve slots available.
• All sessions must obey the Law of 2 Feet - if you're not getting what you want out of the session, you can and should walk out and do something else. Hopefully you will walk the show floor!

That law of two feet has become a really intriguing change agent for conferences in the past year or so. As people vote their interest in sessions with their attendance and participation, this approach has really helped improve the quality of a number of sessions. It's a pretyt sure bet that if someone starts a sales pitch, feet will quickly wander out the door.

If you are new to an unconference, here's some places to start learning about them:

• What is an unconference?
• What's an unconference all about?

The Unconference schedule is fluid. Part of the value of this approach is that it can stay fluid even while it's underway. Here's what's proposed at the moment.

1. Recruiting the Web guys: How to create and grow your developer ecosystem - led by Dave Nielsen (PayPal/StrikeIron etc..)
2. Facebook the perfect sandbox for applications - led by Alec Saunders
3. Google's Android; Where do we stand? - led by Tom Howe
4. Business model mayhem.. Is there a VC or 2 or 3 in Silicon Valley willing to talk about this topic?- lead needed.
5. Will a US telco follow BTs lead with APIs?
6. Rethinking Broadband Internet Connectivity - led by Brough Turner. Look at the image on Rethinking Broadband Internet Connectivity.
7. Does AWS, Google, Microsoft, or someone else provide all the application layer infrastructure that is needed?
8. Can Telephony Be Free? Led by Gene Cohen, CTO, and J. Scott Hamilton, CEO, VoodooVox.
9. Is there any benefit on connecting Social Networks via telecom networks? If not, why? If so, how? - Arjun Roychowdhury (HSC)
10. Real World Impact of Social Media - Ken Camp
    
11. Unified Communication; do we have the technology for business? - Paul Sijben (Perzonae)
    
12. 16 Ways to Compete With Skype

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