Letters from Camp(s)
I rushed back from FOO on Sunday afternoon (it was hard to leave!) to catch the tail end of Bar, where I found another camp full of amazing people, learning from one another and having uber interesting conversations. Afterwards, we all headed down to Zeitgeist, where the FOOBar Crawl was supposed to take place...but it was mostly Bar (me, being the sole FOO who showed up).
Nevertheless, the BarCampers didn't mind or seem to notice. They were excitedly chatting about the weekend that had just past and wanted to hear about what went down at FOO as well. It was a great exchange of information. I understand that the weekend was exhausting, though. It took all I could muster to go out and not crash. What a weekend!
I met so many great people, had so many amazing conversations, participated in a fabulous singalong, got my laptop etched, got a chumby, hung out with Kathy, learnt all about werewolf, went to oodles of great sessions, held one of my own, camped on the lawn, had about a million magic moments, and enjoyed myself immensely. What I didn't have was sleep...who could sleep when so much is going on!
When I returned from FOO, I heard about all of the negativity surrounding it, which was strange to me, because there was an alternative: BarCamp.
And the fact that many of the biggest detractors to FOO didn't show up at Bar sent a clear message: Their argument has nothing to do with 'open source' or openness. It has everything to do with not being invited to the party.
Yes, having been invited brings a whole new bias. However, I went in a skeptic and emerged understanding that everything isn't black and white. An event that is invite-only just tends to be an event that is more desirable (especially when you aren't invited). That is human nature, not anything to do with how the world should be more open.
If it were...nobody would give a damn about FOOCamp and just go to BarCamp and enjoy themselves immensely.
Tim and his team are smart. They are creating demand for FOOCamp. So much of a demand that the community open sourced it. So much of a demand that others hold unFOO events and talk about it ad nauseum each year on their blogs. This is brilliant. From 'inside the garden walls', I heard no negativity. It was all excitement and positivity. Smart people (many of them who I've never heard of before) having an amazing time.
Is Tim taking advantage of those poor souls? Nope. As Hugh said, "People don't do anything unless there is something in it for them." Even the altruists have to get something out of it.
Cliques happen everywhere. Everywhere. You probably are part of a clique and you don't even know it. Once again, it is human nature.
Personally, I feel good about having experienced it.
Oh...and there were rumblings that next year, you have to extend your invitation to someone else...who hasn't been to FOO. I think that will be very interesting, indeed.
Thanks to the team at O'Reilly for having me! And thanks to the BarCampEarth people for spreading the love worldwide! This is a good model for how positive relationships can form between 'cliques' going forward...
11 Comments:
Oh Tara, what a crock of shit.
I personally could care less about FOO Camp, it's not interesting to me. I turned Tim down when I was invited.
But then I read this bilge water coming out of FOO from Christine for some kind of global data solution osmosis in (guess it) SillyValley, and realize the rest of world is going to have to suffer through more of the same BS that is driven out of FOOCamp year in, year out.
And now, you're playing the "Can't criticize if you don't do X", fill in the X. BS. People can criticize all they want, and either you all can ignore them (I have noticed that there's a stronger filter around California then even China), or you can engage the folks in dialog, maybe even debate.
But don't play the "Let them eat cake" card. I expected that from other people, not you.
Shelley , strong statements not sure what the vibes are on this discourse,. Like you say "People can criticize all they want, and either you all can ignore them" -
I tended to iggy this post, but however had to step in as I could not ignore the comments section :)_
"I expected that from other people, not you. "
Shelley what exactly were your expectations ?
Tara, your post captures exactly the feelings I remember from attending FOOCamp myself and I'm very glad you experienced it for yourself.
Keep leading by example with the positive posts, you will triumph.
Positivity and optimism begets initiative and action. Negativity and bitterness only works if you let it affect you.
And personally I'm quite the fan of cake and cupcake alike. ;)
Because the world does not revolve around Shiny Happy People /pd, where everyone gets together and holds hands and there are no 'bad' cliques, there are only cliques and everyone can be a part of one.
That's hogwash. And completely anethema to what weblogging was promised to be.
And where this, "If you don't do this you can't criticize" card came from, I don't know, but what a way to excuse elitism.
Nothing productive comes of these events. All that happens is every year, this same divisiveness occurs, and when people point it out, the same damn accusations of negativity and what not.
As for my statement, for all that Tara is marketing, /pd, I've felt that she is less willing to push the koolaid as others do. But I shouldn't have such expectations--it's unfair to Tara to develop a static image of her and then react when she doesn't meet it. For that I apologize.
Still, it must be mighty handy for Tim to have BarCamp.
Oh and tantek, do let me know how the Department of Homeland Security responds to your request to put all the data it's collecting on people into microformats.
What a useful concept to come out of FOOCamp. Really.
Shelly said: "Nothing productive comes out of these events." That's fascinating. Because I have created ongoing, rewarding and highly productive collaborations with a number of individuals I met at FOO last year who I never would have met or been able to so quickly form strong connections with otherwise. This year, I was able to crystalize two ideas that have been slowly taking shape and look forward to pushing them into development this year.
Foocamp is a lot of fun. I'm definitely jealous. Yes, that creates pressure. The cool kids all get to have a party together. We all want to be cool, but only 375 of us can be. There are six billion who aren't.
Anyway, I heard that Tim told the audience that I wasn't there cause I made someone uncomfortable two years ago by recording with my video camera at Foocamp.
I've asked Tim if that's true, but haven't heard back yet. If that's true, that demonstrates the downside of these events. They are fun, but don't have too much fun or else you won't get invited next year.
Well, Tara, how will you feel if next year you don't get invited? Won't you be jealous now that you've been and seen the glorious inside of Foocamp?
At least Shelley's pure. She turned down her invite. I sort of wish I had done the same. It's almost like taking a hit of crack and then trying to not do that anymore.
I turned my jealousy into something positive. I had a fun time over at the Ritz in Half Moon Bay. And I learned a LOT from the geeks who showed up.
Man...I've tried to comment back 3x and these captchas are killing me (Tom is right!).
@Shelley. Yes. Crock of shit if I meant that. I only meant that those who did the nofoo/unfoo thing should have been at Barcamp...not everyone. Sorry you misunderstood. I'm certainly not a 'let them eat cake' person. Although I should never be expected to be anything...I fail miserably each time I'm put to a test.
@Tantek - yep! Thanks! You rock. Tantek didn't answer his invitation in time this year in order to let others have the chance. I thought that was really cool. He loves FOO and he loves Bar. He rocks.
@Jane - productive stuff does come out of these events, yes. We all have to be cognizant of community driven efforts, too. I heard that a group was talking about reinventing something that has been worked on for years: XFN. Yikes!
@Robert - I probably won't be invited back because the format for invitations may change next year. That's cool. I'm just glad I went. Really. Even if it's once in a lifetime. I love BarCamp, too...I was torn this year. If I don't get invited back. I won't be torn. Seriously. BTW...I didn't hear Tim say anything about you...but maybe I wasn't around for it.
That's cool. You're a better person than me. I saw all the cool stories and it made me wish I could have been there. But, the problem with ASCII is that it overblows things. I didn't sit around feeling sad for myself. I threw a party myself and it was a total blast. I should have gone to BarCamp, you're right. I just was tired. I stacked too much stuff into last week and it just got to be too much. When I started talking about nofoo I didn't even think that there'd be another barcamp. I totally messed up there.
@Robert - You are forgiven. ;) Just had to bawl you (and that Canter guy) out.
Jane, I'm glad that you personally have received benefit from attending FOO camp.
I don't know if you'll be surprised to hear, or not, that I received benefit from not attending FOO camp.
Seriously, I don't especially care about FOO camp and that its invite only. I do think that invitation is self-selection and thus impacts on diversity, which then inhibits truly innovative work. But that's just me.
I also happen to believe that we don't have to a) move to California, b) get together at least weekly so we have photos to post at Flickr to prove we're worth while, or c) depend on the exclusivity of an event to feel worthy.
In other words, I'm a weblogger. I read people's stuff. I write stuff. I have also found this to be sufficient to be inspiring. Not to mention, I can guarantee that Ted Drewes frozen custard is _far_ better than anything Tim can dish up.
But I will be looking for yours and others innovations coming out of foocamp in the next several months.
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