I attended both the Sydney and Melbourne PubCamp events which were organised by Jed White of itechne. Sydney was a very polarising experience, the room was even physically divided between Old and New Media. There was lively debate, and plenty of unspoken communication going on in the room as the two seemingly different worlds and views faced off against each other.

My Sydney presentation was quite structured, I presented a modified version of the widely recognised Twitter talk from BarCamp Sydney and Canberra. Instead this time I added more about social networking in general to spark discussion about not only the tools, applications and sites that integrate with Twitter but other social networks too and the different ways we all use them. Slides for the Sydney talk can be found on my slideshare.

Melbourne was an entirely different story, the debate between Old and New Media was significantly muted compared to Sydney. However there were very valid points raised and discussed which was good to see. People in Melbourne were quieter but no less passionate.

For my unconference presentation in Melbourne I took a different approach. The laptop wouldn’t work with the projector so I decided to do away with the slides and just talking about Twitter. We talked a bit about Twitter but also about other social networks, how we all use them and the place they have in our lives. I had an audience of approximately 30 and the room buzzed with discussion. It was pretty great as I’ve never had anything like that happen before and I really liked it. This time it wasn’t about me talking and them discussing later, the discussion was now and I can thank a few key people who started speaking up and then that inspired the others. There were a few new people who’d never heard of Twitter or considered using social networks before. I hope they took something away from the talk. It was my absolute pleasure to be involved in something like PubCamp.

There is a big post about social networks which I will write and publish in the very near future. I’ve been using them for long enough now that I feel I can articulate the motivation and effects that using them has had on my life to date and potentially what the future may hold.

Huge thank-you must again go to itechne and Jed who very generously sponsored my travel and accomodation in Melbourne. It would not have been possible without their support and I had a such a good time meeting all the Melbourne Twitter people who came out and ran amok with us who travelled down for PubCamp. I look forward to going back there soon and catching up again.

Nobody was more surprised than I when Jed originally contacted me; however I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about something I’ve become increasingly passionate about, namely social media. The talk won’t be exactly the same but it will contain similar content. I’m still reeling a little by it all, having never dreamt that I’d become known as a speaker but somewhat pleased with the small ways I’m building a reputation.

If you’re going to be in Sydney or Melbourne and have an interest in the future of media and the web then come along. Attendance is free so register at the event pages for Sydney and Melbourne and we look forward to seeing you there. In the meantime if you’re on Twitter follow @pubcamp for all the latest information and speaker teasers.

Follow-up blog post covering both the Sydney and Melbourne events will be posted after I return from Melbourne. My trip to Melbourne would not have been possible without the generous sponsership of itechne. Thank-you! I’m very excited by it as I haven’t visited Melbourne for many years and also because I’ll hopefully get to meet more of the Melbourne Twitterati.