What is Barcamp Bangkok?

I wrote this for the upcoming Barcamp Bangkok. I thought it was worth sharing.

What is Barcamp?

Perhaps Barcamp needs a little explaining. It’s an educational even that does not fit any traditional molds.

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 firm agenda.

Barcamp is about participation. There are no spectators, only participants. Everybody is urged to come prepared to present something or assist in a presentation—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. 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 the camp 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 present 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 their presentations 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. The network extends Barcamp to every corner of the globe..

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 nothing, you 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/