Barcamp thoughts

I just watched this video about Barcamp, with the goal to show what it’s all about and such.

I first read of it from Sacha’s blog. Incidentally, her blog, featuring her travails as a stude in Canada, is a fascinating read of the adventures (and misadventures) of a young woman learning her way around the campus, and consequently in life.

It loads like molasses (sorry Sacha :D), but when you read it you’ll likely feel like I do, and applaud her, as if cheering on a heroine in a movie, as she goes through her daily stuff. She is me several years ago (just how many years is not the subject of this blog entry thank you very much), and you’d probably find a part of yourself in her as well.

At any rate, Barcamp reminds me strangely enough, of a conference backroom. Anyone who does conferences will tell you that the real action happens in the area behind the stage, where all the geeks, speakers, and geek-speakers join up for refreshments.

The conversations there are fun and all limitations set forth by NDA agreements are thrown into the wind. These really capture the gist of these meetings, afa im concerned. You make friends and have a blast, all the while sharing what you know. In other words, its a party, where the people happen to be interesting (to a geek).

However like any gathering, I foresee some challenges:

1. logistics. Particularly, where.
2. Who’s gonna spend for this. There must be as little reliance on companies whatsoever, and so it has to be kkb.
3. Pinoys are an affable, easy-going lot, so I’m sure it’d be easy for everyone to get along. (This isn’t really a challenge, just thought that out aloud.)
4. Someone has to lead.

Even the party Barcamp in that video must have had some sort of taskmaster to get things going. The local tech scene (whether unfortunately or otherwise), has a lot of kids, and I’ll be honest here, the maturity level isn’t impressive.

It’s very easy for things like these to digress into a drinking session, or taken over by one of those loud boring personalities.

So there has to be some chief dude or dudes to take the reins, if only to every so gently, ask a question to a shy speaker so that he can start talking, start talking themselves and ask the right questions to get others involved, and then step back and watch the magic of people enjoying each other’s company.

It shouldn’t be that hard. No one’s more social than Pinoys. Once you get him out of his shell he’ll talk up a storm.

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