Crystal Williams

I was really sorry I couldn’t make it to BarCamp Block this weekend in the Bay area. For those who don’t know, this was the 2 year anniversary of BarCamp, an ad-hoc gathering born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. Ironically, the reason I couldn’t attend is that I’ve been just too busy planning DrupalCampLA and BarCampLA-4 (more info on those coming shortly).

I was happy to see, however, that at least a little part of me got to be there for the event. My friend Tantek Çelik is shown here sporting my BarCamp Shanghai shirt.

See, back in January, Tantek and I had a little shirt swap:

Almost a year ago, now, I had the amazing opportunity to help bring BarCamp to China for the very first time by Co-Organizing BarCamp Shanghai. It was an amazing trip, a great adventure, and a rocking BarCamp. However, in all the mayhem, even though I designed and sourced ‘em, I didn’t manage to get one of the shirts in a size that didn’t absolutely swallow me. (I’m a bit wee, so I hear). Rather than see it get hidden away in my closet as a memento, I chose to give it to someone who could wear it proud. Since Tantek was a key factor in the very first BarCamp (two years ago now, wow!), I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have sporting it around Palo Alto.

Also, for the curious, BarCamp Shanghai 2 is in the works for September 8-9, 2007. I won’t be making the trek this year, but if you’re in China, check it out!

Photo Credit: Wired.com Click Here for Original