There is the right way. And the wrong way. And now there is the "un" way.Any word that has the prefix "un" is sure to catch the eyes and ears these days - unexpected, unconventional, unlikely, unintended... to name a few. Good news for the recruiter, finding technical talent just got a little easier with the advent of ad hoc "unconferences."

Leading-edge ideas frequently germinate in the technical world. And the idea of the "unconference" is no different. This west coast software geek phenomenon is rapidly migrating across the globe as conference attendees look for more effective and efficient ways to bring topics of interest to the table.

The process is rather simple. Attendees register online...help select/formulate the topics of discussion ....participate in a discussion group...and learn. Many have long suggested that the most enlightening ideas, discussions, and solutions are frequently found outside the conference rooms and this is certainly good news to the unconference organizers.http://www.barcamp.org and http://brainjams.org are just two of the many unconference organizations helping to change the way topics are chosen and information is shared at industry events.

And how does this relate to recruiting technical talent? The best and the brightest candidates are frequently found in clusters. These events, like the one being held at Monster  http://barcamp.org/BarCampBoston in June, offer companies the opportunity to glimpse inside the unscripted world where technical folks cluster. Most of the conferences allow sponsorships of various types as well.

So take a look...