How to Create Successful Unconferences, BarCamps, & Meetups for Almost No $$
Susan Mernit, moderator Tara Hunt, BarCamp/CitizenAgency Kaliya Hamlin, Designer & Facilitator, unconferences Elisa Page Camahort, co-founder & conference lead, BlogHer.com
New ways to move discussion forward
‣ Unconferences, barcamps, and other grass roots conference structures are powerful new tools to develop community; virally market standards, tools, and ideas; and launch new companies and networks. ‣ How can you put their momentum to work for you?
‣ That’s the story.
What is BarCamp?
Wikipedia: BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — often focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats.
BarCamp is global, self-organizing, effective
‣ There have been well over 400 Barcamps on all continents (minus Antarctica) over the past 2.5 years. ‣ Topics range from technology to cooking to government services flavored (transitcamp). ‣ An average of 75 people show up for any given Barcamp.
‣ 30,000+ around the world have been at a Barcamp at some point or other
BarCamp Block, Palo Alto, Aug 2007
Over 800 people attended
elf-organized, openspace format, kids area
BlogHer: Grassroots & Growing
‣ What it is: Women-focused blog & ad network, social action component & conference series. ‣ “BlogHer's annual conference is like no other -- it is the thrilling diversity of the blogosphere come to life! Featuring technical labs, educational workshops, intense discussion sessions, relevant sponsors, speakers from every corner of the blogosphere, established and new, and plenty of opportunities to network and socialize.”
BlogHer
2005: One conference with 300 attendees 2008: Eight events, reaching 2,500 people, plus Second Life conference & presence
Community input drives intense engagement
OpenSpace & Unconferences
Wikipedia: An unconference is a facilitated participant-driven face-to-face conference around a theme or purpose. The term unconference has been applied, often self-applied, to a wide range of gatherings that try to avoid one or more aspects of a conventional conference such as high fees and sponsored presentations
Unconferences & Open Space
“There is a role for skilled facilitation and event design that someone who has experience doing it can bring to the table for communities particularly professional technical ones that want to get real work done.”
Discussion—The HOW TOs:
What makes open space, mash-ups & unconferences work? What are the best practices? How do you get started? How do you get the word out? How do you keep costs low?
Resources BarCamps: barcamp.org Citizen Agency:citizenagency.com IdentityWoman: identitywoman.net Open Space: openspaceworld.org BlogHer: blogher.com or elisa@blogher.com