SIGGRAPH 2004

I've been consumed this past month getting ready for SIGGRAPH 2004 which starts this Saturday. SIGGRAPH is the conference for computer graphics and covers everything from high end technical research to very creative art and animation. The algorithms discussed in the papers and sketches sessions will be used in games and movies next year. The new display and interactive techniques technology that is shown in the Emergng Technology Program will be in commercial products in a few years or not - it may just be fun to play with. SIGGRAPH is about learning and about having fun. A recent Newsweek article called it "the Woodstock of Computer Graphics".

It is also very much about a sense of community, I characterize it as a gathering of the tribes (or since my ancestors are Scottish - a gathering of the clans). And we all wear our "colors"- T-shirts and informal attire are the norm - no suits need show up.

To facilitate this we have been setting up a blogs and a wiki. Danah Boyd has set up a blog for S2004 news and events at http://www.siggraph.org/s2004/blog/.
and a wiki at http://www.siggraph.org/s2004/wiki/. We have also set up a general ACM SIGGRAPH Blog for general community discussion.

So, I'll be having fun with 25-30,000 of my closest friends in the LA Convention Center.