Webzine 2005, a conference/celebration of independent media producer in SF this weekend, has had my Spidey Senses tingling for months now. It’s a physical manifestation of a mantra that runs through my head everyday: everyone and anyone has something to say and can and should be saying it and connecting with others that find benefit in that message. The barriers to entry are so low and potential for worldwide distribution so realistic it’s almost everyone’s civic duty to be a conduit of information, entertainment or support.

Attendees will include writers, podcasters, vloggers, bloggers, rebloggers, publishers, pornographers, cinematographers, photographers, artists, print editors, culture jammers, tool makers, code warriors, stencil artists, poo artists …. everyone in publishing online. Overall it’s a big fun gathering of like-minded folks that starts with information sharing and turns into a great party. Lots of geeks, lots of creative types, lots of original-thinking people trying to make things happen outside of the corporate environment.

Tickets are only $22 for 2 days of panels and workshops or $13 for a single day. The entire event is volunteer-driven and everyone expects to get more out of it than they put in because there is still so much to be learned and explored, especially when considered by 500 people at once.

So if you’re in town this weekend definitely stop by or spend both days. Here’s a really funny Webzine2005 commercial (DIY-made of course) running on Comcast right now.

And if you’re there on Saturday @ 2pm, catch the panel I’m moderating entitled ‘Community Matters.’ Even I can’t wait to hear all that comes out of it and I;ve been workin on it for weeks. Here’s the panel description:

There are dozens of community tricks and tools zinesters can use to help their audiences find each other and become active participants in the project. But picking the right community options for your community is rarely ever obvious. This discussion-format panel will cover how to tease participation out of quiet audiences, nuture communities once they do take hold and deal with the demands of a big community once it exists. Panelists will represent a broad diversity of community-facilitating publications and community-interaction practices.

See you there or follow the site wiki, blog and irc to play along from home