The Atlantic Conference 2009 happens online, but that doesn't mean you have to be alone.

As we were setting this up, a good friend who had attended the Halifax conference of 2008 was lamenting the fact that he wouldn't get to rub elbows with like-minded folks and share information. So we decided to do the best we could to make that happen. Thus was born the notion of Participation Groups, where folks can get together to watch and participate in the presentations at the same time as everyone else around the world, share information and trade stories of early trans-Atlantic contact.  

PGs will be wherever folks want. The only real requirements are (1) that they be in a place that is comfortable for guests. (2) There should be a fast internet connection, and (3) there should be someone who attends who is comfortable with computer technology. If you can sign in and listen to Rick's Oopa Loopa Cafe broadcast every week, then you are technically savvy enough to run a Participation Group. These groups can be as small as 2 people and as big as you want as long as everyone can see the screen or a projection of it.  For Steve's PG in New Jersey, he hopes to have so many people gather in his office that he has to project the videos on a large screen.

The lead up to the conference has many events to meet the speakers and to test your technology.  

Rick and Steve will begin hosting several events as the conference approaches so you can make sure you (and we) have all the technical glitches worked out well in advance. We don't want you to miss a thing because of internet problems.

July 2 - Meet the Speakers Technology Test
    Rick will be hosting a show at Oopa Loopa Cafe on BlogTalkRadio.com during which you can make sure you can get it, hear the show, interact with the speakers and others who will be attending. Click here to get your BlogTalkRadio.com account setup. It's important you have this working to fully enjoy the conference. 

September 30 - Participation Group Online Wine & Cheese
    That's right, we want to get Participation Groups together as much as travel and time allows.
    This way, you'll know where you're going, be able to get there successfully on
    the day of the the conference and meet some of the folks in advance. Please 
    take lots of pictures as we'll all be posting shots of our participation groups all through
    the event. 

October 9th, 10th & 11th 2009 - The Atlantic Conference
   
    Friday October 9th, 6:00 PM,  we'll kick off the conference with a keynote speaker. 

    Saturday October 10th, 9:00 AM - we'll have our first presentation. You'll click to 
    watch the video presentation. Then you'll click over to our live online participation
    video site to join in the Peer Review session, ask questions of the speaker and chat
    with others around the world who have see the presentation.

    Saturday October 10th, 10:30 AM - The next presentation will begin, followed by another
    participatory Peer Review session. And so on throughout the two day period. 

    These videos will be stored for future viewing and, importantly -
    ALL OF THIS IS COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE. 

Watch this site as the schedule gets ironed out and the speakers and events surrounding the 2009 Atlantic Conference get ironed out.

There will be a lot of information added to this site over the next few months. The detailed schedule will be released by August. You should expect the speaker list to change and grow as time goes by. And the fact that this is a web event means that we will take advantage of all that offers in terms of videos and audio delivery of speaker events and more.