Rui CarmoThings have been hectic - still are, in fact, and showing no signs of abating - but it’s been a week since the Lisbon Maker Faire, and I really ought to post something about it before personal impressions fade.
(Actually, a shabby version of this has been sitting in my iPhone ever since we went on-site, but real life got in the way, so I decided to clean it up a bit and post it before it was hopelessly outdated.)
- Although the official figures haven’t been announced yet (I really ought to be writing that blog post…), we beat last year’s attendance. This was the largest event I’ve ever helped organize, and yet I’m positive it could have been even bigger (I took a day to visit with family and, looking from the outside in, the hot weather and a major soccer game in the afternoon probably played against us, since it never felt crowded in any way).
- The exhibits were all awesome. Of course I had a personal favorite (and you can now build your own), but there was plenty more to see and talk about.
- Interacting with Maker Media and meeting Sabrina Merlo (even if there wasn’t that much time to chat) was great. I loved reading her piece on Make:, and sort of got interviewed before the event, which was a nice surprise.
- I ended up not having enough time to take pictures, but I did try to put up as many of my photos up on Instagram during the event, and published an album on Flickr with the most interesting ones (alas, IFTTT apparently choked occasionally, so not all my photos made it to Twitter or Facebook).
- The whole team (and by that I mean both my colleagues at SAPO and the folk at Pavilhão do Conhecimento) was awesome. Like every other time we put together an event, I’m going to miss that week of bustle and hustle (both online1 and offline) and fully intend to stay in touch.
- As usual, the toughest part is the follow-up. I came back to a mountain of e-mail, a few complex personal matters and a couple of professional dilemmas to sort through, and I’m still trying to get everything in gear.
But, regardless what happens, I definitely want to go back next year and help out in any way I can.
And my kids loved the copy of Make: I brought so much I’m actually planning on taking a subscription of an actual “dead tree” magazine for the first time in years…