The Raw University By Devin Ferguson

Lotusphere! Part 1: Getting there is half the fun!

Man, 2:00 am is way early.

Buses leave at 5:15, I'm an hour and a half's drive away. Gonna be a rough morning.

3:00 am

On the road. There is nobody, and I mean NOBODY but me on the road. It's eerie, like a the last man on earth situation. Making great time though.

4:30 am

Arrive at USF. Looking for buses. There it is. Big, yellow, and it says "VIPs" in the window. Hell yeah.

5:00 am

Most students are here. Bus driver announces that this bus can only take so many students because it has to stop at another college to pick up a group there. He mentions bus numbers? No one knows what he's talking about. Seems someone forgot to send out a memo.

Driver leaves with half a bus. Says two more buses will be along shortly.

6:20 am

Buses finally arrive. We are all relieved. For a minute we thought we would be walking.

All Aboard!

7:30am

We're here! Oh wait, where are we going. Is that a tent?

We are told to go into the tent and get a badge, a back pack, and some breakfast. Mmmmm breakfast. What I really want is a bathroom! Seems we have to cut through the main lobby of the paying Lotusphere event. The security guys don't want us in there and ask us to walk around outside. Rude.

I'm not really liking the segregation. I know that businesses pay top money to send people to this event but, I was also under the impression we were invited guests.

Our badges and backpacks are different than the 'IBM" branded attendees. Those yellow bags are awesome. I want!!! Not that ours aren't swell, they just don't have embroidery on them.

8:00 am

Just getting around to getting some food. Delicious eggs, fruit, coffee, the works. Just as my group sits down,

"Please make your way to the General Session. Follow the sidewalks outside."

Looks like I'm wolfing down this plate and grabbing some bananas for snacks.

Walking into the Open General Session (OGS) was like being at a rock concert. Rich, vibrant colors, flashing lights, fun facts, and a ginormous video wall. Music is playing and everyone is taking pictures:

After some shuffling, I finally get to a permanent seat on the front row of the student section. An enthusiastic IBM rep is seated right beside me. She is taking a few pictures, and I'm asking her some questions about the event. Seems this is here 12th Lotusphere event! She says at one time before the recession attendance would be almost 10,000 people! This is apparently the first year they let college students inside.

8:30 am

General session begins.

I'm really impressed with the subtle things. The sound system is great, the color pallet for the event  is very modern and pleasing. I'm still trying to figure out how they made such a large seamless video wall. It has to be projected from behind.

A musical group opens with some very interesting instruments.  They are called the "Mass Ensemble"

This post is kinda long. Check out Part 2 for more.