GSoC Geeks Ogle Googleplex – 2009 Mentor Summit Report

On October 24, 2009, the geek factor at the Googleplex in Mountain View, California, jumped even higher as representatives from 124 GSOC projects swarmed in for the weekend 2009 GSOC Mentor Summit.

Steve Fisher and I were lucky enough to represent your favorite CMS. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet people from so many other FOSS projects and enjoy the geek-gadget-grab bag that is the Googleplex.

Three giant flat-screen panels display a joy-stick-controlled Google Earth as you enter. The effect is like riding in a helicopter over anywhere on the planet. Turn around to see a wall-size display of words that people from around the world are searching as you watch. Another wall shows a world map with dots representing how many people are online from different areas.

Despite all of the gadgets, the real draw for me was the opportunity to meet, talk to, and learn from the other attendees. The take-away items came in two flavors, general and specific.