Around the beginning of August 2005, a group of progressive technologists modified the long standing exclusivity of the invitation only hacker event “Foocamp,” and started planning Barcamp. Armed with a venue to host two days of free flowing and open conversations, Barcamps circled the globe and spread the meme of Open Space Technology. They have since evolved to meet particular needs in Govcamp, Podcamp, Artcamp, Copycamp, Drupalcamp, and in September 2006, the New Organizing Institute (NOI) and Emerging Progressives decided to grow their institutional knowledge and foster a 2006 political debrief; Rootscamp was born.

Using the exact same organizational tool as Barcamp, a wiki; Rootscamp’s original scope was designed to be a simultaneous multi-city electoral debrief. After one month of diligent planning it was obvious that “organically” styled camps, like cats, are impossible to herd. With four towns committed - San Francisco, New York, Bloomington, Washington, D.C., and SecondLife — the New Organizing Institute and Emerging Progressives set out to learn Barcamp’s best practices and pass them along to Rootscamp coordinators.

Long before Rootscamp, I was sold on the notion of “camping.” As a technologist, community organizer, former political campaign staffer and New York State Senate employee — Barcamp was a natural home for people participating in online communities and exploring real life applications of online programs — the edge of technology.

What’s most interesting is the fact that “camps” are physical manifestations of new web tools. Just as wikis are a product of the users that populate them, so too are camps defined by those who participate.

From the national perspective, turnout and events at Demos, Rootscamp and elections suggest that people throughout this country are less willing to believe in organizations that broadcast messages. Blogs; video and photo sharing sites; social networking sites have reinvigorated power at the edges of society.

This is a long road from the house parties during the 2004 Presidential campaign. Howard Dean would not be chairman of the Democratic party if Meetup.com did not exist. Democracy for America would not exist if the technology and organizational skills did not work hand in hand. As technology evolves our society still longs for those things that make us human — face to face interaction.

No longer do we need any particular organization to tell us how to meet and whom should lead. Take a look at the birthday party put on by Creative Commons. Just edit the wiki and you are participating. If you take a look at another phenomena, co-working —independents, freelancers, programmers and small businesses are bonding together in professional environments that they set up.

While NASA explores theories of co-working inSecondLife. All other co-working locations are physical spaces, from shared living rooms and offices to former lofts. Individuals, who would normally work out of their homes or cafes, now share professional environments. Born from a wiki, camps and co-working are pioneering a new level of connectivity. This day-to-day online and offline connectivity are keys to a stronger interpersonal relationships and the future of business development.

Noel Hidalgo is a technologist, consultant, and a political organizer. His writings can be found at noneck.org and Personal Democracy Forum.