On Tue, 2 May 2006, Anupama Kamath wrote:

> Have to admit that is true
> Can the speakers give a brief intro of what they are presenting ?

No.

The only barcamp that I have ever seen speakers giving a brief about their
talks was at Bangalore, and I thought it was stupid, and against what
barcamps are about. Someone started it, even I posted a brief, but I think
only 3-4 people actually did - it was that stupid.

Everything at a barcamp is impromptu, on the spot, unplanned. That's why
they call it a "un-conference". That's why it is fun.

At Bangalore, more than 50% of the crowd left in the first few hours
because they expected a "conference". In sharp contrast, the two days at
Chennai were packed and crowds just increased.

Think of a barcamp as a kind of unplanned get-together by friends, with
similar interests. Good stuff always comes out of such meets.

In order to exceed expectations, you should start with low expectations.
:)

Barcamps arent about intense gyan, indepth info, comprehensive knowledge.
They are more about "hey, check out this cool stuff and what it can do".

"Talks" aren't planned or scheduled before a barcamp - you go there,
decide that you want to talk about something, write it on the whiteboard,
pick a slot, and if people are interested in your topic, they sit in,
discussions start, and so on.

The concept of barcamps isn't new - they have been around forever (long
before the name "barcamp" was coined). Heck, I was attending "barcamps" in
my dorm when I was in military school in the 70s! We used to meet up,
discuss stuff. Someone would raise a topic, we'd gather round and start
discussing it.

More recently, such meets have been called "Birds of a Feather" (BoFs) or
even "corridor tracks", and they typically happen during or around formal
conferences.

"barcamps" are simply those same BoFs or corridor tracks - without the
formal conferences. :)

And while Sumeet may have huffed and puffed about nothing serious going on
- in reality, there are people doing things in the background to make
things happen. They are arranging for facilities, sponsorships, venue,
food, etc. What's happening on this list is simply the tip of the iceberg.

For a barcamp, the only "planning" is to make sure that infrastructure is
available. The "content" (yay - a Web 2.0 term at last!) happens on the
fly at the event.

So loosen up, people. This is about finding out new stuff, having fun,
meeting people, making new friends, getting in touch with stuff.

This list is part of it.

Atul