Curiosity, Well Fed at Zap Your PRAM

I’m slowly reacclimating myself to the so-called real world after an amazing weekend on Prince Edward Island. My journey to the unconference known as Zap Your PRAM took me through Atlanta, Toronto, Halifax and Charlottetown before I settled in at the charming Dalvay-by-the-Sea Hotel. By now, the weekend has been summarized, memorialized and philosophized across the zaposphere, but here are a few of my broad impressions.

Food
There’s something deep about sharing meals with friends, and our hosts (of silverorange and reinvented fame) were well-attuned to this fact. We had two hours allotted for lunch and another two for dinner, allowing us to linger and enjoy great conversations long after the delicious, artfully-presented meals had been devoured.

Focus
…or the lack thereof. This is one of Zap’s biggest strengths, that it was not merely a “tech” or “design” event. It was simply–and broadly–about interesting people talking to one another. Stephen DesRoches has a comprehensive recap, but to say my mind was expanded would be an understatement. In a truly head-spinning moment, I spoke on a “design matters” panel alongside Paul Kim (Mozilla), Peter Sikking (openUsability), Jes Sherborne (ZS Associates) and Matthew Domurat (Dow Jones). I have a feeling the near-overdose levels of intelligence and insight I encountered at Zap will be working their way through my brain for some time.

Friends
What I think (hope?) will last longer than the interesting tales are the new friendships which began over this long weekend. While I didn’t get a chance to talk with everyone, I made an effort to step outside my painfully shy nature and get to know as many of the amazingly cool people as possible. And what’s been interesting in the last couple days is that rather than rushing to connect on LinkedIn, we’ve been busy finding each other on Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm. Scotch tastings (Ian, you rock!) and fireside chats over live music have a way of encouraging that, I suppose.

One More Thing
A couple of choice quotes related to my standing as the southernmost attendee and the associated cultural assumptions:

• Dan James: “So, I’ve had a few people ask me this — since you’re from the south, are you a Republican? We’re hoping to have a token Republican.”
• Alan McLeod: “The sound of your voice makes me hungry for barbeque.”
• Keith Burgoyne: “Okay, I have to know — Sarah Palin, hot or not?”

Y’all are welcome down south anytime, y’hear?