About

When planning Barcamp Mobile 2009, the most-asked question was always “Barcamp? What’s that??” Few people here had ever heard of it. Here is the low-down, courtesy of BarCamp Bangkok .

Perhaps BarCamp needs a little explaining. It’s a technology educational event that does not fit any traditional molds. But it’s more than an educational event, it’s a way for people with similar interests and passions to meet and share knowledge and experiences with technology.

Let’s start by defining what a BarCamp is not. It’s NOT a lecture. It’s NOT a presentation. It’s NOT a conference. In fact, it’s often called an “un-conference.”

BarCamp is a conversation. The whole idea is to get smart people that love technology together to start talking… and see where the conversation goes. We don’t even have a fixed agenda.

BarCamp is about participation. There are no spectators, only participants.

Everybody is urged to come prepared to lead a discussion about a technology topic—or at the very minimum actively participate in the conversations that take place.

It’s about taking an active role instead of being a passive spectator.

BarCamp is open. Anybody can attend—as long as they come with the intention of participating in the discussions about technology. The more people we have the more ideas, the more topics, the more perspectives, the more participation, the more energy. The more people the better BarCamp is for everyone.

BarCamp is unstructured. We provide facilities, infrastructure and time slots—but set no agenda. Once the attendees have assembled, they post the topics they want to discuss on a board and then the group selects the topics. But don’t mistake unstructured for unplanned. Lots of preparation goes into creating an environment where communication can take place on many levels. Participants are also encouraged to prepare some discussion points in advance but be prepared to deviate from the plan if the conversation takes them in a new direction.

BarCamp is massively networked. Everybody comes ready to jack into the network and share what they are experiencing. Laptops, routers, hubs, access points abound.

BarCamps are about communication. People bring their laptops and are connected. They are blogging about their experiences in real time. They are posting presentations to the web. They are chatting via IM and IRC. They are streaming video. They are podcasting. The boundaries of the BarCamp extend beyond it’s physical location.

Most importantly, new connections are being formed. People connect to new People. People connect to new ideas. Ideas connect to other ideas and new ideas are formed. Magic happens.

Whatever happens—that’s just what was supposed to happen.

If you know a lot, a little, or nothing about the topics–it does not matter. All that matters is that you are interested and that you want to participate. Even if you know only a little about a topic, there are others who can learn from you. Even if you know nothing, your participation is important; asking questions is a part of the conversation!

We are trying to stretch the learning paradigm here. We want to move from the traditional expert imparting his wisdom, to a group sharing knowledge.

More about BarCamps:

* What is BarCamp? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp
* The Rules of BarCamp. http://barcamp.org/TheRulesOfBarCamp
* See other places hosting BarCamp: http://barcamp.org/

(Source: BarCamp Bangkok)