The ad hoc non-conference
Event The Internet scene meets at BarCamps. These are high-caliber conferences that do not charge admission. Spectators are not welcome at all.
Event The Internet scene meets at BarCamps. These are top-class conferences that do not charge admission. Spectators are not welcome at all. Conferences can be quite expensive. If you wanted to take part in special events at Xongress'06, you had to dig deep into your pockets. An admission ticket for three days cost 1770 francs. In return, there was a full program with numerous speakers. It is an open secret that speakers at such conferences often buy their way in through generous sponsorship. Companies buy speaking time at conferences and misuse the gathering for product presentations. Annoyed by the increasing commercialization of many conferences, American programmers started their own conference in 2005. They organized a BarCamp near Los Angeles (see below). There was no illustrious list of invited speakers. Instead, all participants were invited to give a presentation themselves or to actively participate in one. The BarCamp concept spread quickly and was also developed further in Europe and Asia. Within a few months of the launch of the first BarCamp, conferences were being held all over the world. The trend is unbroken.
What was initially described by the media as a "garage meeting of computer geeks" is now regarded as a "high-tech conference" or "collective think tank". In Germany, BarCamps are held practically every month. But students also organized such a meeting in Zurich on the premises of ETH Zurich at the end of October. "With success", as organizer Corsin Carmichel says. Another BarCamp Switzerland is planned for next spring, with blogs as the main theme.
BarCamps are also referred to as "anti-conferences" by the community. Franz Patzig, initiator of BarCamp Cologne and co-organizer of the first one in Shanghai, describes BarCamp as an "ad hoc non-conference" that arose from the need for people to exchange ideas and learn from each other in an open environment.
The idea of an "ad hoc non-conference" or "anti-conference" is not an anarchistic conference model where people simply meet and exchange ideas. The idea is similar to the Open Space philosophy, which originated at Siemens. In the '68 era, there was a desire for more creativity and less hierarchy in communication among the Siemens elite and to encourage managers to be more open. Siemens organized an event where important and controversial topics were offered for discussion at themed stands. The Open Space concept found imitators and showed a completely new effectiveness. BarCamping is similar to the Open Space concept because participants can meet and discuss in an open environment. However, BarCamping differs fundamentally in terms of the process and organization.
While the topics are predetermined in traditional conferences, the community itself designs the program. Collectively and according to interest. The participants meet informally in the rooms organized in advance. Once the participants have gathered, each participant briefly introduces what they have to say. Depending on the participants' interests, a show of hands is used to decide which speakers and topics will be on the program. The content of the sessions is sketched out on slips of paper and written on a board. This gives participants an overview of the topics that will be covered.
However, BarCamps are subject to strict rules. Active participation is mandatory, mere consumption is a serious offense. Franz Patzig: "Pure spectators are not welcome." BarCamps require their participants to be actively willing to produce content, share experiences and make them accessible to the community. This mainly happens through personal weblogs, via youTube or on sharing platforms such as Flickr.com. Findings from discussion groups are often immediately edited in the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia. The meeting is communicated, linked and organized via a wiki set up specifically for this purpose, which is always open to participants and can be edited at any time. Information is exchanged online and content is made available to other participants. Networking is central, because BarCampers see network-based discussions as a form of organization for effectively exchanging knowledge.
While the first BarCamps were sometimes very technically focused on open source applications, weblogs, social networking or Web 2.0, today the influence of these technologies on the future of traditional media and the lives of normal Internet users is also discussed. This is why the participants are not just programmers and developers who belong to the original circle of BarCamp participants. The "anti-conference" trend has now also reached large corporations. At the BarCamp in Cologne, for example, bloggers and startup founders were joined by industry representatives, marketing managers and community managers from major German corporations. The event was also attended by university professors and many eager journalists.
The model has now also reached other sectors. The company Lexthink, for example, has started organizing LawCamps for lawyers. But marketing has also discovered the BarCamp form. At the first MarCamp in California, for example, more than 150 participants met to discuss trends in marketing and advertising.
"There is a spirit of optimism "Franz Patzig,
the organizer of the BarCamps in Shanghai and Cologne. WW: When I attended BarCamp Cologne, there were 40 participants in a seminar room for 10. Why do people do that? Franz Patzig: That's the fascination of BarCamps. They are people with visions. People who want to exchange ideas and network and have exciting things to say. What started as an experiment in California now seems to be working all over the world.
WW: Although BarCamp events are springing up like mushrooms all over the world, the media are still cautious about BarCamps. Patzig: At the moment, BarCamps are still perceived as very experimental. Although we do professional press work in the run-up to the event. The media in German-speaking countries are not yet interested in them. That's a shame. Because something is happening here and nobody notices.
WW: What is happening? Patzig: BarCamps enable people to network more intensively. Contacts and knowledge are exchanged more easily. It's crazy. One example. I learned that a participant was urgently looking for developers for a project. But he couldn't find any. I made contact with a company in Shanghai within ten minutes. The two parties are now investigating how they could work together.
WW: Web 2.0 was the topic in Cologne. Are BarCamps the new web trend seismographs?
Patzig: I think so. Many of the participants are networked worldwide, especially where the music of the future is playing, i.e. in San Francisco and the surrounding area.
WW: BarCamp is basically based on the idea of Web 2.0. Participation is the motto. Spectators are not welcome.
Patzig: Participate and exchange ideas. The spirit of the BarCamps also reflects the current mood on the Internet. Away from the consumer, towards the producer. There is a spirit of optimism. After the bursting of the new economy bubble, things have started to move again. These mega deals from Google are, of course, what is being noticed. But the real changes in work and cooperation are what are ultimately impressive.
WW: What can the new web do? Patzig: Improve the world. The new technologies provide users with powerful tools.no entrance fee, no programAs a BarCamp, an international network is created.
The term "anti-conferences" or "unconferences" is also used here. The concept: no entrance fee, no program, only a guiding theme is fixed. BarCamps are open events whose program and content are determined by the participants. The name is a reference to a series of events initiated by Tim O'Reilly called FooCamp and also refers to the term Foobar. Since the first BarCamp in Palo Alto (California) in August 2005 on the premises of the company Socialtext, BarCamps have been held in over 44 cities in North America, Asia and Europe. The topics at BarCamps are varied, but the main focus is on trends on the Internet. The BarCamp idea now also has spin-offs. HealthCamps, LawCamps or MarCamps (MarketingCamps) are held.
Christian Lüscher
What was initially described by the media as a "garage meeting of computer geeks" is now regarded as a "high-tech conference" or "collective think tank". In Germany, BarCamps are held practically every month. But students also organized such a meeting in Zurich on the premises of ETH Zurich at the end of October. "With success", as organizer Corsin Carmichel says. Another BarCamp Switzerland is planned for next spring, with blogs as the main theme.
BarCamps are also referred to as "anti-conferences" by the community. Franz Patzig, initiator of BarCamp Cologne and co-organizer of the first one in Shanghai, describes BarCamp as an "ad hoc non-conference" that arose from the need for people to exchange ideas and learn from each other in an open environment.
The idea of an "ad hoc non-conference" or "anti-conference" is not an anarchistic conference model where people simply meet and exchange ideas. The idea is similar to the Open Space philosophy, which originated at Siemens. In the '68 era, there was a desire for more creativity and less hierarchy in communication among the Siemens elite and to encourage managers to be more open. Siemens organized an event where important and controversial topics were offered for discussion at themed stands. The Open Space concept found imitators and showed a completely new effectiveness. BarCamping is similar to the Open Space concept because participants can meet and discuss in an open environment. However, BarCamping differs fundamentally in terms of the process and organization.
While the topics are predetermined in traditional conferences, the community itself designs the program. Collectively and according to interest. The participants meet informally in the rooms organized in advance. Once the participants have gathered, each participant briefly introduces what they have to say. Depending on the participants' interests, a show of hands is used to decide which speakers and topics will be on the program. The content of the sessions is sketched out on slips of paper and written on a board. This gives participants an overview of the topics that will be covered.
However, BarCamps are subject to strict rules. Active participation is mandatory, mere consumption is a serious offense. Franz Patzig: "Pure spectators are not welcome." BarCamps require their participants to be actively willing to produce content, share experiences and make them accessible to the community. This mainly happens through personal weblogs, via youTube or on sharing platforms such as Flickr.com. Findings from discussion groups are often immediately edited in the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia. The meeting is communicated, linked and organized via a wiki set up specifically for this purpose, which is always open to participants and can be edited at any time. Information is exchanged online and content is made available to other participants. Networking is central, because BarCampers see network-based discussions as a form of organization for effectively exchanging knowledge.
While the first BarCamps were sometimes very technically focused on open source applications, weblogs, social networking or Web 2.0, today the influence of these technologies on the future of traditional media and the lives of normal Internet users is also discussed. This is why the participants are not just programmers and developers who belong to the original circle of BarCamp participants. The "anti-conference" trend has now also reached large corporations. At the BarCamp in Cologne, for example, bloggers and startup founders were joined by industry representatives, marketing managers and community managers from major German corporations. The event was also attended by university professors and many eager journalists.
The model has now also reached other sectors. The company Lexthink, for example, has started organizing LawCamps for lawyers. But marketing has also discovered the BarCamp form. At the first MarCamp in California, for example, more than 150 participants met to discuss trends in marketing and advertising.
"There is a spirit of optimism "Franz Patzig,
the organizer of the BarCamps in Shanghai and Cologne. WW: When I attended BarCamp Cologne, there were 40 participants in a seminar room for 10. Why do people do that? Franz Patzig: That's the fascination of BarCamps. They are people with visions. People who want to exchange ideas and network and have exciting things to say. What started as an experiment in California now seems to be working all over the world.
WW: Although BarCamp events are springing up like mushrooms all over the world, the media are still cautious about BarCamps. Patzig: At the moment, BarCamps are still perceived as very experimental. Although we do professional press work in the run-up to the event. The media in German-speaking countries are not yet interested in them. That's a shame. Because something is happening here and nobody notices.
WW: What is happening? Patzig: BarCamps enable people to network more intensively. Contacts and knowledge are exchanged more easily. It's crazy. One example. I learned that a participant was urgently looking for developers for a project. But he couldn't find any. I made contact with a company in Shanghai within ten minutes. The two parties are now investigating how they could work together.
WW: Web 2.0 was the topic in Cologne. Are BarCamps the new web trend seismographs?
Patzig: I think so. Many of the participants are networked worldwide, especially where the music of the future is playing, i.e. in San Francisco and the surrounding area.
WW: BarCamp is basically based on the idea of Web 2.0. Participation is the motto. Spectators are not welcome.
Patzig: Participate and exchange ideas. The spirit of the BarCamps also reflects the current mood on the Internet. Away from the consumer, towards the producer. There is a spirit of optimism. After the bursting of the new economy bubble, things have started to move again. These mega deals from Google are, of course, what is being noticed. But the real changes in work and cooperation are what are ultimately impressive.
WW: What can the new web do? Patzig: Improve the world. The new technologies provide users with powerful tools.no entrance fee, no programAs a BarCamp, an international network is created.
The term "anti-conferences" or "unconferences" is also used here. The concept: no entrance fee, no program, only a guiding theme is fixed. BarCamps are open events whose program and content are determined by the participants. The name is a reference to a series of events initiated by Tim O'Reilly called FooCamp and also refers to the term Foobar. Since the first BarCamp in Palo Alto (California) in August 2005 on the premises of the company Socialtext, BarCamps have been held in over 44 cities in North America, Asia and Europe. The topics at BarCamps are varied, but the main focus is on trends on the Internet. The BarCamp idea now also has spin-offs. HealthCamps, LawCamps or MarCamps (MarketingCamps) are held.
Christian Lüscher
