An unusual event next month will cut through technology jargon and offer an insight into how the internet can revolutionise the built environment, writes Paul Wilkinson

If the Facebook generation has passed you by, if you are bemused by blogs or wary of Wikis, then perhaps you need a gentle introduction to the wonders of Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 means the use of web technologies and web design to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. Tools range from blogs, RSS feeds, iGoogle and social tagging to extranets, wikis and virtual worlds, to name but a few, and are now extending beyond your PC to mobile devices.

Is Web 2.0 relevant to the ICT needs of professionals in the construction industry? How can we use technology to collaborate better? What hardware and software developments might help us deliver a better built environment? These are themes that will be addressed at a novel one-day event, Be2camp, in London on 10 October.

In a nutshell, Be2camp is a very different type of conference where the day’s agenda is the result of collaboration beforehand by participants

In a nutshell, Be2camp is a very different type of conference – a not-for-profit ‘unconference’ – where the day’s agenda is the result of collaboration beforehand by participants. That said, it’s all about how that latest generation of ICT tools (from Web 2.0 to building information modelling tools) can be used to help design a better, more sustainable built environment, from planning and design, through construction, to facilities management and beyond.

Whether you love or loathe ICT, Be2camp will help people make sense of the myriad of technologies that are out there, including:

  • Blogs and micro-blogs
  • Wikis
  • email (and its alternatives)
  • using search engines and RSS feeds to get the latest information
  • social tagging (Digg, Del.icio.us, etc)
  • collaboration platforms
  • Building Information Modelling (BIM)
  • mapping, GPS and GIS
  • mobile tools
  • 3D virtual worlds, Second Life, etc
  • Charrettes: IT and consultation
  • social networks

Be2camp will conclude with a 'Pecha Kucha' event (sponsored by Building magazine). Pecha Kucha is a rapid-fire event in which presenters deliver quick presentations (20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds). Fun, fast and furious ("More information per square mm of presentation that many corporate conferences put together," said one participant at recent event), the Be2camp PK will be the perfect way to wind down for the weekend.

Postscript

For more information on the event go to the Be2camp website