Barcamp Nashville 2011 - Histornetiquette

(This is one article in a series written by different authors about BarCamp Nashville 2011. See the previous article in the series at http://flybluekite.com/2011/09/30/six-reasons-business-leaders-should-attend-barcamp/ and see the next article at http://kennysilva.net/)

FOO. BAR. CAMP.

Before travel to a country, it is important to study the culture and understand the history, to learn key elements of the language and etiquette - all to enrich the experience of and potential for enjoyment of the country. So here's some advice for those travelers who will stamp their BarCamp Nashville passport Saturday, October 15, 2011 at the Cadillac Ranch (http://BarcampNashville.org)

Nicholas Holland (http://www.linkedin.com/in/nashvilleholland) got me thinking about the origins of the name "BarCamp" when he was crowdsourcing event planning with a question on Facebook (or was it Google+) about what his company, Centresource (http://Centresource.com), should do at the event, in addition to sponsoring BarCamp Nashville 2011. He mentioned putting up a tent inspired by the "camp" part of the title and so I wondered...

RAREFIED ATMOSPHERE

The origin of the event is disputable, but the atmosphere is undeniable: it has been the same at science fiction "conventions" since the 1930's; was the same at computer science association meetings in the 1970's; was the same at hacker's meetings in the 1990's; was the same at every "unconference" (with titles like Barcamp, Podcamp, Geekcamp, Wordcamp, Mindcamp, Cloudcamp, Crisiscamp, HealthCamp, RECamp, Givecamp etc.) based (more or less) on "Open Space Technology: A User's Guide," by Harrison Owen. (http://www.amazon.com/Open-Space-Technology-Users-Guide/dp/1576754766/ref=sr_1_1)

In 1985, Owen conducted the first "Open Space" meeting: "In his main meeting room he set the chairs in one large circle and proceeded to explain that what participants could see in the room was the extent of his organizing work. If they had an issue or opportunity that they felt passionate about and wanted to discuss with other participants, they should come to the center of the circle, get a marker and paper, write their issue and their name, read that out, and post it on the wall. It took about 90 minutes for the 100+ people to organize a 3-day agenda of conference sessions, each one titled, hosted, and scheduled by somebody in the group." Read more at http://www.openspaceworldmap.org

The first actual "Barcamp" in 2005 in Palo Alto was an alternative event, planned in response to "Foocamp." And Foocamp was the brainchild of Tim O'Reilly, an affable guy originally from Ireland, raised in California, educated at Harvard, who found fortune and fame publishing computer user manuals but prefers to think of his work as "technology transfer," and is on the board of directors of Code for America... Yes, that Tim O'Reilly who put on his annual invitation-only participant-driven conference: "Foo" (for Friends of O'Reilly) camp.

Consider also that "foo" and "bar" are terms historically used as variables, functions, commands and placeholders in programming (that may help explain some of recent the consternation about the amount of technical content - it's never enough for some coders). And contrary to popular belief after the inept operations of some "camps," there is no association with the WWII military acronym "FUBAR." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fubar)

I've attended Barcamps in San Francisco and Boston and Detroit and New York and Dallas and San Diego, and while they may be alike in atmosphere, no two have ever been exactly the same, thank goodness. Because I have found that it is exactly the unique qualities of the people attending in each city that make or break the experience. The Barcamps and Podcamps that I have attended in Nashville have also been unique because of the "Southern hospitality" which pervades every aspect of life here. In other cities I've seen Barcamp attendees arm wrestle or throw darts (and even beer bottles) to see who gets to speak next. Not so in Nashville with a far more organized approach that has generally resulted in a better selection of speakers and topics.

WHERE MY HECKLERS AT?

Having made presentations at a number of camps including Barcamps and Podcamps in Nashville, I've noticed that in addition to excellent organization of the events, audiences in Nashville are in general far more respectful of speakers than audiences in other cities. By that I mean there seem to be far fewer hecklers in any given audience. Destructive heckling, or heckling just to heckle, is no better than obnoxious trolling online, but constructive heckling, where the audience is doing its best to not only engage with the topic, but also keep the speaker honest, is the best possible unconference experience for everyone.

So please speak up, Nashvillians! If you are not presenting, at least add what you can to the discussion. Even dumb questions move the presentation along an honest path. Come to Barcamp with an open mind, but don't be afraid to share what you know, and to call people out if they are wrong or misinformed, or worse yet, misinforming others. It's your right and your responsibility.

"Voting with your feet" also counts as productive heckling. Dave Delaney (http://davemadethat.com) has been great about encouraging this for years. And Nashville has been getting much better at it. Presenters should pay close attention to this and switch to Q&A format before the majority of an audience leaves. No question, good Q&A offers the best of both worlds for the audience and speaker (it is often the best part of the presentation).

SURVIVAL SKILLS

A Barcamp is a marathon, definitely. Not so much in time (not a 3-day conference, but it does run morning to night if you stay for the afterparty - highly recommended), but certainly in energy (both physical and mental). Great presentations can leave you exhausted (a good exhausted). One tip, even though the bar is open, it is probably best to wait until "the sun is over the yard-arm" somewhere in the world before sampling the latest micro-brew. Everyone's metabolism is different, but snoring in an afternoon session is never good form, plus falling asleep in a roomful of geeks (with the collective maturity and sense-of-humor of a 14-year-old) is never a good idea (ask anyone who has woken-up to find a new permanent ink handlebar mustache or worse on their face).

If you are speaking, be early, be prepared, be brief and be seated. I usually just keep repeating the last 2 over and over to myself before and during my presentations. Bring your own extension cords, and never assume there will be adequate technology (bandwidth, projection equipment, audio amplification) because if something can go wrong, it probably will. So be smart and plan on it. Could you do your presentation by candlelight if the power fails? Plan on it.

NOT REAL WITHOUT PICS

If a tree falls in the forest and no one tweets about it, does it make any sound? It might, but if no one tweets or posts or shares about Barcamp, you are missing the point. In addition to constructive heckling, the unconference idea is to share all of the discoveries, new ideas, good jokes and wardrobe malfunctions (oh, I hope not) with the rest of the online community (not just in the Nashville area, but around the world). Unlike traditional conferences where cameras and recording devices are sometimes banned (so you will buy the "official" recordings from conference organizers), someone should be able to follow BarCamp Nashville 2011 by monitoring the #BCN11 stream (http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23bcn11).

Joking with conference organizers one evening, I discovered that every year in the crop of new Barcamp volunteers, someone always suggests videotaping the sessions. It's always a big hoot & holler for conference veterans. Apparently they have tried a number of times, but have always been overwhelmed (complexity of audio in the open bar setting, lighting problems, editing issues, etc.). So unless some really intelligent video production company steps up to the challenge (hint, hint), it is up to attendees to capture and share as much as possible.

SHOWING UP IS 90% OF THE BATTLE

Now that you know something of the history, and some of the current challenges, I would encourage you to attend BarCamp Nashville (and follow these suggestions to get the most out of your experience - be the heckler, share the magic!), and to invite others in the local community to attend, and to invite those outside of the area to tune-in best as possible to monitor the event online. In the case of BarCamp Nashville volunteers, there is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration, no question that is true. But in the case of attendees, just get your butt in those seats as early as possible (on a Saturday, I know). Show up, and with whatever energy you have left, please participate - loud and often!

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Barcamp Nashville 2008 - #bcn08

Where the Big Dogs Go
BARCAMP NASHVILLE 2008

On Saturday, October 18, 2008 at Barcamp Nashville 2008, BOHAN Advertising led a panel of digital executives from the largest media companies in Nashville discussing their current breakthrough work online and their visions for the future…

My first impression walking into the Sommet Center downtown was that this Barcamp was nothing like the early Barcamp meetings I’d attended in San Francisco and New York (or the Barcamp Nashville 2007). Kudos to the organizers for actually organizing this event! Shout-out to the roving master-of-ceremonies, Nicholas Holland, CEO of Centresource, (http://www.centresource.com) who also made a killer presentation on, “Crowdsourcing” – if you don’t know the term, Google it, then call Nicholas.



As the day went on, I did have some nostalgia for the drunken hecklers that filled the later-afternoon sessions of Barcamps past – always an entertainment. But the generous sponsors should be thanked profusely and you should give them all your business.

PRESENTATIONS

Dave Delaney of Griffin Technologies gave the most cogent presentation I’ve seen yet on Twitter and the merits of blogging via TXT message. Note: he started a campaign to raise money for a charity and by the afternoon announced that he had surpassed his goal… This was must-see-TV for marketing and communications professionals -
http://blog.davemadethat.com/2008/10/21/video-microblogging-fast-fast-good-good/

I caught part of an excellent presentation about Public Relations, called “PR 2.0, Now the Deer Have Guns” or something like that… Great concept, very important to remember it’s not just a jaded media audience we are speaking to, but also one where each person has the power of global communications tools and social networks at their fingertips. Don’t be afraid of it… use it!



I had the privilege of introducing Tod Fetherling, the new President of the Nashville Technology Council, for his presentation, “Can’t We All Just Get Along?” This was Tod’s third day of employment with the Council, and he was (and still is) soliciting ideas from Nashville’s disparate groups of digeratti (Digital Nashville, Geek Breakfast, Startup Weekend, LinkToNashville, NAF, AMA, PRSA, etc.) about how the Council can provide more relevant programs and a stronger voice for tech companies’ interests here. Note: he announced the Council has a Ning site, and while he was speaking, a large number of the audience joined online – you should too - http://nashvilletechnologycouncil.ning.com/

WHERE THE BIG DOGS GO

Our presentation “WHERE THE BIG DOGS GO” started with a giant technology fail… Apologies to the Barcamp audience and The Tennessean and Comcast for not being able to show your links – they are all included here…

I felt like that guy who reaches the heart attack victim first onstage at the surgeon’s convention and yells: “Is there a doctor in the house?” …Except that I was asking for a laptop with a functioning internet connection…

THE TENNESSEAN

Fred Menko, VP Digital at The Tennessean forged-ahead without the benefit of audio-visual aids and described some of the challenges and strategies that The Tennessean and other Gannett publications are pursuing. Gannett Co., Inc. is a leading international news and information company that publishes 85 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation's largest-selling daily newspaper.

Note: The popular “MusicCityMoms” website is being expanded to a national network of similar websites (presumably WindyCityMoms, and TheCityThatNeverSleepsMoms, etc.)… They will all now reside at the new online community – http://www.MomsLikeMe.com

Fred also generously answered audience questions while the technology continued to evade us. He graciously took flack from a Barcamper who was very passionate about the content choices and timing of previous news coverage. As my father would have said, “The time to worry is when people stop caring about what you publish.” I saw it as a validation of the continued importance of the newspaper in people’s lives.

COMCAST

Next up was Kathy Himmelberg, Digital Sales Manager for South Central Area, which is comprised of 15 markets in Southeast for Comcast "Spotlight" (http://www.comcastspotlight.com/) - the advertising sales division of Comcast. As mentioned earlier, Comcast customer service operates the Twitter channel “ComcastCares.” If you follow him or send him a message through Twitter, you will see, a real human being named Frank will get you the information you need or find someone who can help you.

Kathy was also hindered by the final part of our technical struggle, and was forced to describe rather than show examples of Comcast’s new Auto Ad Network of national websites, and Video on Demand, and of course, Banner Video on Comcast.net such as:

Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
http://www.mixpo.com/videoad/The-Phantom-of-the-Opera/IRHUUyuRQYSzTrjB7hyGdg

Boy Scouts of America
http://www.mixpo.com/videoad/Tre/wgBcrbEGSMW0i4ljsJ06yA



CLEAR CHANNEL

At this point, the employee of The Tennessean came to the rescue and we were able to continue with the presentation by Scott Winchell, Online Sales Manager for Clear Channel in Nashville. Scott has spent 25 years in the Nashville market, is a graduate of Trevecca, has a music industry background and six years with Clear Channel: 1059 The Rock, 101.1 The Beat, The River, The Big 98...

http://1075theriver.com/main.html
http://1075theriver.com/pages/thegarage.html
http://1075theriver.com/pages/personality_internadam.html
http://1075theriver.com/pages/babyidol2008.html
http://www.wlac.com/pages/ATE_laserone.html
http://www.1011thebeat.com/main.html
http://www.1011thebeat.com/pages/personality_dolewitescooby.html
http://www.1059therock.com/cc-common/babes/
http://wsix.com/main.html
http://iheartmusic.com/main.html
http://erockster.com/main.html

ABC-TV

Then Christian Grantham, Web Manager at WKRN, ABC-TV Channel 2 in Nashville, alumni speaker from Barcamp Nashville 2007, who blogs on NashvilleIsTalking.com, and ran a commercially licensed webcast company that created two music channels on Apple’s iTunes, shared sites that included a Twitter channel:

http://www.WKRN.com/
http://www.NashFlix.com
http://www.NashvilleIsTalking.com/

As he was speaking, members of the audience were sending Twitter messages or “tweeting” about his presentation, and the messages were appearing on the website he was showing. It was a very surreal experience, better than when I watched the political debates with the laptop browsing http://election.twitter.com side-by-side next to the TV.

SOUTH CENTRAL RADIO GROUP

Last but not least on our panel, John Tuminello, Interactive Marketing Director for South Central Radio Group, manages the interactive marketing activities for two radio stations, Mix 92.9 and 96.3 JACK-fm, and is the co-creator of MusicCityUnsigned.com…

http://www.MusicCityUnsigned.com/
http://www.963jackfm.com/
http://www.mix929.com/

BOHAN ADVERTISING

It was initially David Bohan of Bohan Advertising|Marketing (http://www.bohanideas.com and TWITTER http://www.twitter.com/bohanideas) who had inspired me to present this panel at Barcamp Nashville 2008. David has recognized the digital talent developing here in Nashville, and has said more than once, “We need to convince ourselves that we are ready.” If we had more time, we would have presented Bohan’s new campaign for Ebonite, ‘They Ruined Bowling” (http://www.theyruinedbowling.com) - in the spirit of the video “mockumentary,” comedian Dale Jenkins rants and mockublogs and mockutubes (he doesn’t mockutwitter yet) and creates buzz in bowling circles on ESPN-TV and online.

I have also been impressed with Cricket locally (represented by The Bradford Group – http://www.bradfordgrp.com/), and the community they continue building on MySpace using the fuel of musicians’ egos here in Nashville (local bands submit songs, are featured on the Cricket MySpace site, and a free downloadable ring-tone is created for their fans) – http://www.myspace.com/cricketnashvillemusicshowcase

[We had some incredible questions from the audience, and when the video is available this paragraph will be edited to include a link!] There were so many excellent presentations throughout the day; I hope that you will take the time to review the videos and other people’s blogs about Barcamp Nashville 2008 – http://www.barcampnashville.com.

OTHER PRESENTATIONS

One of my other favorite presentations was “My Most Fabulous Geek Life: For Geekettes Only!” Thanks to Katy Kirby, Alison Groves, Elin Eifler, Raquel Maddox, Kate O’Neill, Rachael Qualls, Kim Hatcher and Julie Moore for all the sharing.

Another was “Make Google Your B*tch!”…And not just for the vote-winning, attention-seeking, irreverent title. John Henshaw, Internet Strategist at Sitening (http://www.sitening.com/) gets it (SEO that is, along with other principles of effective online communications), and shares it well (he’s in good company now – Kate O’Neill is their new Managing Director).

Some equally incredible folks in the three different presentation rooms, the hallways and café/bar (smile your on Candid Blogger Camera!):

Jackson Miller, Statzen (http://www.statzen.com);
Karen Parmelee, Producer/Writer (http://parmcharm.com);
Donna Mattick, Nashville Chamber of Commerce (http://www.nashvillechamber.com);
Milt Capps, Venture Nashville Connections (http://www.venturenashville.com);
Paige Presley, Dealerskins (http://www.dealerskins.com);
Nick Bradbury, NewsGator (http://newsgator.com);
Ken Russell, Nexus Group (http:/www.nxs.net);
Michelle McManus, OHL (http://www.ohl.com);
Lisa Kelley, White Chocolate Video Productions (http://www.wcvp.com);
Jennifer Leeda, Atkinson Public Relations (http://www.atkinsonpr.com);
Alex Lavidge, Knoxville Overground (http://knoxvilleoverground.com);
John Carney, Shelbyville Times-Gazette (http://www.t-g.com)

Hope to see all you ‘campers next year!