Friday, October 31, 2008
PodCamp Ottawa 2008 is happening November 23
It’s official… PodCamp Ottawa 2008 is taking place from 10:00am - 4:00pm on Sunday, November 23, 2008 in the Panorama Room of Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. Thank you very much to the NAC’s New Media department for making the room available to the community!
This year’s theme is Fresh Thinking and Approaches, the intent being to talk about ways to put a new spin on content creation, presentation, production and delivery.
Like last year, the concept behind PodCamp Ottawa is to engage with people, not technology. The guiding principles are:
- BE SMALL: Attendance will be capped at 80 because a small crowd offers greater opportunities to listen and be heard, and meet everyone.
- BE RESPECTFUL: If you register, please attend. If you determine that you will not be able to attend, please remove your name from the registration list as soon as possible so that someone else may take your place. During PodCamp Ottawa, please be sure to contribute to the discussion and listen to what others have to say.
- BE CAMP: There will be no chairs or tables at PodCamp Ottawa so bring a pillow or blanket so you have something to sit or lie down on.
- BE INVOLVED: Bring your Moleskine, a pen, your ideas and willingness to participate. Please consider leaving your computer at home.
- BE CONNECTED: Make sure you meet and speak with real people. We will not be providing any Internet access; wired or wireless.
- CONVERSATIONS NOT PRESENTATIONS: Anyone who wishes to lead a session is asked to bring their experience and ideas and serve as a facilitator. Please introduce the discussion and then make sure that you manage the conversation so that everyone has a chance to participate. We will have no lecturn.
- NO MARKETING: The goal of PodCamp Ottawa is to advance the creation of podcasts (technically and as a host/producer) and ways in which to make them available. There are plenty of forums at which people can promote their businesses and the business of podcasting and new media.
- SHARE THE LOVE: Every PodCamper is asked to bring $10 for the Snowsuit Foundation. Let’s make a difference!
Registration is limited to 80 people.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Hey Mark,
Thanks for taking the initiative to do this. One comment would be to try to have the camp at the Code Factory here in Ottawa where there is wifi.
For the most part, social media is computer based and,therefore, being able to show people how things work online is priceless.
November 5th, 2008 at 6:53 am
The “leave your technology at home” concept was conceived for PodCamp Ottawa 2007 after many PodCamps in other cities. It became apparent that there had been a focus on flashy presentations and, in many cases, online engagement during the sessions rather than engagement with the speaker and other attendees. Then, there was the famous circle talk at PodCamp Boston 2 which, for many of us, redefined the concept of discussion and engagement.
There was a general consensus among the people that helped map out PodCamp Ottawa 2007 that instead of making flexible guidelines that put the decision on how much energy participants should put into Twittering, live blogging and transcribing the discussions, it was best to create an environment that encouraged (or even emphasized) participation in the event itself; that social media is more about the people, the ways and the reasons for using social media technology.
Ian is a friend and The Code Factory is a great place and location. The NAC was chosen (for the second year in a row) because they Podcast and have been supportive of the community (giving retired equipment away, etc…). Not only do they Podcast, they set the bar high for content creation, presentation and production and are a spectacular example of a business that understands what social media is about and how to use it.
My hope is that those who participate in PodCamp Ottawa will be motivated to get to the next level. From there, individuals can connect to share technological tips. Even better, that we find people interested in sharing technological knowledge at future meetups of the Ottawa Podcast and New Media group.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I hear where you’re coming from Mark. This should stimulate some interesting discussions. I’m looking forward to facilitating. We should probably call this “Podcamp Ottawa - Unplugged” to allow room for a traditional Podcamp event to be held here as well.