Roo Reynolds - What’s Next?

Paul Carr on ‘the fringe of web apps’

Posted by Roo - 15/10/08 at 07:10:32 am

Here’s something to help you forget your woes during These Troubled Times. No need to risk censure by having fun in the sun, just read Paul Carr writing about his experiences on ‘The Fringe of Web Apps’.

Paul’s (sensible) approach to conferences is ignore the talks, especially the keynotes, and mingle. Here, he gets behind the scenes at FOWA expo in London:

I arrived late to the venue following a silly disagreement with some security guards over the fact that I didn’t actually have a conference pass. Fortunately I de-escalated the situation and gained entry by explaining that I was “on MySpace” and gesturing at the bus. Not “with MySpace”, you’ll note. Just on it. Fortunately the distinction was lost on them.

I’m not actually on MySpace.

I can think of no better candidate for description as Gonzo 2.0. Paul is evocative of what what happen if you stripped Hunter S. Thompson of his guns, dressed him in Converse and dropped him in the 21st Century. Wonderful stuff.