Stack un-conference organizer Joe Olsen welcomes attendees Tuesday morning. Photo by Danny Schreiber.
From roughly 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. yesterday, 60 individuals gathered at Nomad Lounge for Omaha’s first-ever Stack un-conference, one of the events held under the umbrella of Omaha Creative Week. Stack, which was marketed towards individuals in creative fields, is described as “a forum to talk to your peers, learn new things, and build new collaborative networks for Creative Professionals.” (See the list of registered attendees at stack2010.com/whos-coming.)
Joe Olsen, Creative Week caretaker and CEO of Phenomblue, opened the event with a brief welcome, short backstory of why they’re holding Stack, and the day’s three rules:
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Olsen then asked each attendee to introduce themselves and answer the question: “Why are you creative?” Answers ranged from the simple, “Because I’m human,” to the breakdown of one’s motivation, “The challenge of building something that works and works well.” Some attendees weren’t able to provide an answer – “I’m not sure if I’m creative.” – and others chalked it up to being creative in order to make a living.
This opening exercise set the tone for the event that had an attendee base mainly from advertising and design firms. This base, along with the $100 entry fee, distinguished Stack from the annual BarCamp Omaha. BarCamp costs $5 and attracts entrepreneurs and technologists in addition to creatives.
Next, per un-conference format, attendees suggested breakout session that they’d either like to lead or see take place. These were posted to a projector screen at the front of Nomad.
Some of the sessions that took place were:
- What does the agency model look like 5-10 years from now?
- How to build a more connected/collaborative creative community in Omaha…and/or is it even necessary?
- The threat of competition or the benefit of collaboration
- “Crowdsourcing”? Yes? No?
- Walk away or manage the client? What to do with an energy sucking client.
- Creator’s Block
- Organization techniques for artists/designers
- How do you teach the value of creativity to your staff and clients?
Attendees gather around the projector screen to choose a breakout session. Photo by Danny Schreiber.
Brian Wetjen of Bozell participates in an afternoon session. Photo by Danny Schreiber.
