What is Digi Foo?

Digital Media Foo Camp is a private gathering of people who are doing interesting work in digital photography, video, audio, and imaging. An informal but intense weekend exploring life on the digital cutting-edge.

When is Digi Foo?

October 15-17, 2004 (Friday, 5 p.m. to midday Sunday)

Why "Foo?"

It stands for Friends Of O'Reilly, and is also a marker word (like "widget") beloved by the computer hackers who have inspired much of O'Reilly's work. O'Reilly's first Foo Camp (for those hackers), held in October 2003, elicited these responses from participants:

"Foo Camp changed my life. It simply rocked!... I made many lifelong friends in the short 24 hours I was there. You deserve a lot of credit for making this industry fun again."

"It was a great whack upside the head with the imagination stick!"

Read more about O'Reilly's first Foo Camp.

Why O'Reilly?

Though best known as a technology book publisher, founder Tim O'Reilly says his company's success is built on capturing the knowledge of innovators. O'Reilly susses out the coolest, most interesting technology, connects with the people who are making it happen, and brings their ideas and knowledge to a wider audience through books, online information, and conferences.

O'Reilly believes that the digital media revolution is the source of tremendous innovation today. Much of that innovation is coming from the trenches, from independent practitioners who live on the creative edge. We're fascinated by the work you're doing. We want to learn more, and to help you have even greater impact. So, we're inviting you to spend a weekend with a select group of accomplished digital media artists, tinkers, and innovators in beautiful Sonoma County.

Where is O'Reilly located?

O'Reilly is located 50 miles north of San Francisco.

Can anyone attend?

Digi Foo is a free, invitation-only event. Digi Foo runs from Friday, 5 p.m. to midday Sunday. We'll have some planned activities, but much of the agenda will be determined by you. We'll plan some sessions ahead of time, and set up a process for participants to announce sessions they want to offer. Expect the kind of exchange that happens at the best conferences during breaks and late into the night, plus some time for fun. Hooking up with like-minded people is one of the main reasons to attend conferences. Digi Foo is a gathering of those people, many of whom you won't have met before.

Are people really camping?

It'll be a true camp out. Campers will sleep on site at O'Reilly's campus, located on an old apple orchard at the north edge of Sebastopol. You can either pitch a tent on the lawn or stay in some of their vacant office space. Campers who opt to sleep inside will have a carpeted floor and a variety of spaces (offices, empty cubicles) for sleeping. You'll have access to showers, bathrooms, and a kitchen. If you're not up for camping, Sebastopol does have two hotels, the Sebastopol Inn (1-888-544-9400) and the Holiday Inn Express (1-800-523-8460), and nearby Santa Rosa and Bodega Bay have many lodging options.

What kind of weather can I expect?

Mid October is typically beautiful in Sebastopol, with daytime temperatures ranging from the mid 70s to 90, cooling to the high 50s at night. Rain is not likely, but if it happens, we'll just move the festivities indoors.

Can you accommodate special diets?

We'll provide food from Friday dinner to Sunday lunch. We won't be able to accommodate special diets, but downtown Sebastopol has a Whole Foods Market and several restaurants, so if you need particular foods you should be able to find them. The downtown area is a short walk from the O'Reilly campus, on a park trail.