DemoCamp Victoria 02: it’s on!
Mark Lise and I have talked about having another DemoCamp Victoria for months now, talking, talking. But the other day, we realized we could talk about it forever more, or we could just do it. Perhaps that’s a very un-Victorian thing to do? Maybe just talking about things, or commissioning a lengthy governmental study, is the more usual m.o. around here.
And yet, …based on some feedback that one or two people would be willing to step up to demo, and based on feedback from my lunchtime chat at last month’s UDI with our DemoCamp 01 host David Chard, we announced a tentative-but-nearly-for-sure date, same location as the first one. Mark made sure the story immediately went live on the Barcamp site and on Facebook, and of course Twitter.
After that, all it took was a green light (which arrived literally within an hour of asking) from our host, and that’s how 02 was born. Be there, October 30, 5pm (event starts at 6pm), 834 Johnson St., Victoria.
I’m psyched that we’re going to have another crack at this, and that we can again have such a splendid venue for the event, too!
Now, I have heard some vague backchannel noises that maybe there was some parallel visioning going on by others, who were also wondering when the next DemoCamp would take place. And I have heard that some people maybe were surprised that DemoCamp appeared to spring out of nowhere so fast. (To which I’d add: fast? Come now, it has been months since the first one. Do we need a committee to study this thing before we can move on it? I think not.)
Since no one said anything about organizing another DemoCamp to Mark or to me (who was one of the organizers, nay: catalysts of the first one), it just wasn’t happening as far as we could tell. Not as a grass-roots, bottom-up event that’s all about breaking down the silos and getting people together. If you want to break down the silos, then get out there and talk openly to everyone. Connect people! (Add a comma if you like: Connect, people!)
And I will be connecting, because I’ll be talking to everyone I know about it. For me, this is not about just the tech community in Victoria. It’s about the arts, media, government, the business community …you name it.
The only people I don’t really know are golfers — although I did pass former hockey player and current golf course builder Len Barrie in the hallway at CFAX 1070 the other day.
Wonder if he’d be into demos? (Heh.)
So, people: mark your calendars! October 30, 5pm, at 834 Johnson St., the Juliet Presentation Centre — DemoCamp Victoria 02! It’ll be great! See you there!
Hi Yule,
What is Democamp and how do I know if I might have something to contribute or participate with or know if I might want to observe?
Comment by Davin — October 11, 2008 #
Hi Davin, excellent question, and all the information anyone needs is buried in the posts I’ve done (tagged/ categorized with DemoCampVictoria, see sidebar on right). But I need to write a short (and much more user-friendly!!) post to answer your question, because I bet you’re not the only one who’s wondering. So watch for that in the next couple of days.
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Until then, do check out the Barcamp page for DemoCampVictoria01, which includes links on the right sidebar for “the basics” on what it is, how it works, etc.
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Also, the short answer to your question is: YES!! You definitely should come.
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After reading some of the links on the Barcamp page, you might decide you want to propose a demo. But you should definitely be there, even if it’s just to observe.
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Last time we had over 60 people there, and the Juliet Presentation Ctr was filled to capacity. I hope this time will be as popular, so come early if you want to make sure there’s room!
Comment by Yule — October 11, 2008 #
Great – thanks for the link. I’ll be reading up on this and figuring out what exactly I could demo (could be CMS software – that’s what I am working on right now.)
Comment by davin — October 14, 2008 #