Image by Sacha Chua

Yesterday, I attended Lifecamp Toronto, a lifehacking event organized and hosted by Sacha Chua, over at a neat little place called Linuxcaffe. The idea behind Lifecamp Toronto (a.k.a. #lifecampTO for those of you on Twitter) was that people could have the opportunity to share what they can provide for others, what help they'd like from others, and network based on those sets of traits.

I found the event to be a lot of fun, and it was certainly very interesting. Although not as many people showed up as expected, about two thirds of the number of people who registered were there, which is very good for a free event. All of us learned what the people around us could do to help each other, as well as picking up a bit about each other. At the end, Sacha collected our notes in order to facilitate building stronger connections between attendees.

You might be wondering how taking our notes helps. Well, at the beginning as each person came in and greeted the rest, we got a sheet of paper with a number on it. On that sheet, we were all expected to write down our email address, our list of wants, and our list of offerings. Then, in the introduction stage, if someone mentioned they needed help with something you could offer, you'd write down their number and they'd jot down yours. (Likewise, if they could offer you something, you'd write each other's numbers, too.) Since Sacha had a list matching people to their numbers (helpfully drafted by myself, plug plug plug) it'd be simple, although perhaps a bit time consuming, to match up people based on mutual gain. And that's just what she's doing.

After the introductory round was complete, we each had one last chance to go around and summarize ourselves for the benefit of late arrivals. Then, we pushed all the tables to the walls (as we should have at the beginning) and began open discussions on a few topics of interest to the entire group. Everyone had something beneficial to add to the conversation. I recall going on at some length regarding using social media platforms and a couple of services that would improve everyone's ability to find and build connections.

After a few different topics were discussed in this manner, the event started winding down. Some people left, but others among us began breaking up into small groups to discuss other topics which we were interested in, or could help each other with. Lastly, Sacha made the suggestion of repeating Lifecamp Toronto on a monthly basis, an idea that had everyone's support.

I've put up my best photos from this inaugural LifecampTO on Flickr, as have others. You can check out the Flickr tag "lifecampto" to see all the pics from this wonderful event. And I can't wait to add more photos at the next one!

Related articles by Zemanta

• "What are you planning to do in 2009?", or thoughts about #lifecamptoronto
• LifeCampTo: Review of sorts