BarCampSydney

We’ve got some issues with the wiki. If you’re trying to RSVP but can’t, just write your name in a comment below and we’ll add you to the list.

Anyone who is a blogger, podcaster or avid YouTuber, should get along to BarCamp Sydney to record this massively multiplayer real world event.

• Audio
• Video
• Photos
• Interviews

Write the book that becomes the smash hit big screen blockbuster: “BarCampSydney - This Time It’s Personal!”

Robin has created an app that shows the greatest activity on the BarCamp wiki. Guess what? BarCampSydney rocks!

BarCampSydney will be held at the University of Technology, Sydney in Building 10, which is on Jones street.

The venue is amazing. There will be three full rooms with data projectors, a series of breakout rooms and a computer lab - not to mention a cafe right inside the building (open till 12pm). There will also be lots of open space for chats, discussions, debates or arguements. If you haven’t seen the venue yet, check out the photos.

I’ve been speaking to a range of people over the last week and there has been a bit of concern about the “no spectators” phrase.

So, what does it mean?

It does not mean that you have to present. BarCampSydney is not about formal presentations. It is about discussion, debate, involvement and energy!

The event is designed so that EVERYONE can participate - in whatever capacity you choose. This could be helping organise rooms, sitting on a panel, moderating a discussion or even helping with network issues.

But most importantly, it is about everyone taking part in lively debates and discussions - whatever form they may take.

No spectators. Just lots of energetic and enthusiastic participants!

Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions. The final t-shirt has now been decided and is about to go off for printing.

Tags: barcamp, barcampsydney

Initially we were going to have BarCampSydney go over two days, both Saturday and Sunday, but then we thought, gee whiz, that’s quite a lot of time to give up. Sure, we could all talk for days, but give up a whole weekend?

So we thought, let’s just have an action packed Saturday and have another BarCamp in April/May.

So the plan is;

1. 9am to 4pm, Saturday March 3, 2007 - BarCampSydney
2. 4pm ish, find a great pub nearby and have some beers. (suggestions for pubs around UTS?)
3. Go home, think about all the stuff that got thrown around, and see what happens.
4. Sunday - DON’T COME TO BARCAMP - no one will be there. Just stay at home, do some laundry, walk the kids and think back to how cool Saturday was.

Please help us spread the word of the change.

Tags: barcamp, barcampsydney

So we are trying to work out how many people are going to bring laptops to BarCampSydney. So tell us two things.

1. Are you going to bring a laptop?

2. What percentage of BarCampSydney people do you think will bring laptops?

(Image courtesy of justintosh, Creative Commons license)

Tags: barcamp, barcampsydney

So we are going to try and get some shirts done.

We need a catchy slogan. Any suggestions?

My Ideas:

• BarCampSydney - March 3 - Mardi Gras for Geeks [it's on Mardi Gras night]
• BarCampSydney - Geeks Unanonymous
• BarCampSydney - Ad hoc, ergo, ad hoc.
• BarCampSydney - I pwn Sydney

(Image courtesy of Massless, Flickr and Creative Commons)

Tags: barcamp, barcampsydney

I’ve been encouraging people to come to BarCampSydney and some people get it straight away; “Yeah, that sounds awesome!”

But some people tilt their head to the side and give me a; “Huh?”

I know what they’re thinking. Why would you go to so much trouble putting together a ‘conference’ and then just let it go chaotic? Isn’t it going to be a useless mess? Isn’t it going to fall apart?

(Image ourtesy of Eris Doll and Flickr)

“No! You’re missing the point”, I want to shout. But I’m diplomatic.

Here’s a couple of reasons why it’s a great idea.

1. Most people find normal conferences, seminars and the like boring as bat poo. “Blah, blah, blah, my product is the best, blah, blah, blah”.Tech people find them especially boring and we dropped out of uni specifically to avoid boring lectures.
2. Smart people will be coming. We don’t have to make them form lines and tell them what they are interested in. They can walk around and work it out for themselves.
3. The content is so fresh and so changing that to try and formulate a schedule would make it out of date as soon as it was finished. Whatever happened the day before will be the big topic and worthy of discussion.
4. The people at the barcamp are the experts. They don’t want to hear from industry politicians, they want to talk to other experts like themselves and ask/answer/argue directly. No middle man. No taking notes.
5. Our jobs, companies, industry is crazy and messy and wonderful because of it. So our gatherings should match.

OK, that’s a start. Come on people, give me some more…