I spent an enjoyable afternoon at BarCamp Scotland yesterday. I hadn’t even heard of the event until recently but I’m glad I was tipped off, because it’s an interesting idea and a great way to network and hear talented people in the industry.

The basic premise is a sort of “unconference” where people sign up for the event and offer to give short 10-20 minute talks on whatever they want. Multiple talks happen at once, and you just choose what ones you want to go along too.

I didn’t bother talking but a few mates did, with Peter George talking about the new ECTA initiative that Net Resources are involved with, Alan White talking about the Highland Fling web standards conference, and Ed Molyneux talking about FreeAgent Central , a new finance and money management web app project I’m involved in.

As is inevitable with this sort of thing, the organisation was a bit random at some points, but the real value for me was simply meeting new people and hearing what they’re up to. I believe this was the first BarCamp event in Scotland but if they hold another, I’ll definitely be going back.