Open Source Solutions

Today, I'm at Startup Camp, in conjunction with CommunityOne, which starts tomorrow, in conjunction with JavaOne. The schedule is online, but this is a camp, an unconference, and the rules are different.

The introduction is over, and the keynote with Jonathan Schwartz and Om Malik is going on now.

A question from the audience, essentially that there is no simple, online solution for a Java developer to just go online and develop, led to an interesting side discussion where I'm seated about what it means to be a developer. The old folk at the table, have a much broader definition of a developer, and the skills they should have, than the young'uns, who are more focused on just one language, and just code monkey banging away.

The first panel is starting up, moderated by S. Neil Vineberg, President, Vineberg Communications. The topic is branding, and how the brand comes out of the founders and the culture that they create.

One interesting point for me, is that while the panel is discussing the importance of branding, and that the brand can flow from the founders' personality and the culture, I have found that if the founders are too focused on creating a brand, and selecting their brand category, they'll fail to infuse their brand with their personality, that is, the brand can seem sterile and contrived. Branding is very important, but, to me, it must come naturally from the company if it is to truly reflect the company. Of course, sometimes you have a founder that you need to keep locked in a closet, feed caffeinated drinks and pizza, and never, ever let them talk to the customers.

The use of social media is a given today, especially for startups. The use of Ning [why doesn't PeopleAggregator ever get a mention?] and the growth of social network platforms for startups [others] to grow their own social networks is a great indicator of this.

For all the talk of social media, the message of this panel seems to be that traditional methods, through PR, is still the best way to reach out and get your message across; especially outside of the technology centers like the SF Bay Area. However, it seems to me that when the panel starts talking about what's really effective, they use terms like "community" and "authentic conversations". It also seems that creating markets and driving markets is the better than pushing a product, in terms of success, and in terms of getting noticed.

The morning is done. I'm looking forward to networking and learning throughout today and tomorrow, to CommunityOne and seeing Michael Coté at Redmonk's Unconference, and a great conversation with Gianugo Rabellino at JavaOne and for supper on Thursday.