The Birth of an Unconference
Taking online communities and putting them in a physical space
Johannes Kuhn interviews Chris Brogan, co-founder of PodCamp
Chris Brogan is co-founder of PodCamp (together with Christopher S. Penn). He works as a community developer for Video on the Net, a conference that brings together leaders of the Internet, media, and entertainment industries to discuss a range of strategies, solutions, and best practices.
Brogan lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children. He speaks at conferences and attends several social media networking events. He is currently writing "a few books."
Johannes Kuhn: How did you start PodCamp?
Chris Brogan: My friend Christopher S. Penn and I put this together in the late spring of 2006. I had gone to a paid conference that was interesting, but that left me wanting more interaction. Chris Penn and I met at BarCamp Boston, along with Bryan Person and Eric Skiff, and we liked the model of an unconference, but wanted to talk more about new media tools instead of programming. We felt that we could organize something like this, and so we decided to try. (interview with Chris Messina, creator of BarCamp here)
Q: How was it organized?
A: First, we set up a wiki (editable Web site) where everyone could contribute. We found great people to help us organize, searched for a venue -- over a hundred places -- and then we found someone kind enough to host our event. We reached out to as many people as we knew, sent thousands of emails. 300+ people registered. We expected 50 percent to show up, and 350 people came. That was September 2006 at the Bunker Hill Community College in Boston -- a historic part of the American Revolution. So it felt appropriate to host our "New Media Revolution" there.
A lot of people came: enthusiasts, musicians, the creators and host of Rocketboom, Galacticast, podsafe band Uncle Seth, Amanda Congdon, but also local people like Steve Garfield, C.C. Chapman, Bryan Person, teachers and children, and plenty of business people who weren’t sure what to make of all this at first. And it was stellar. There were no egos. Everyone contributed, collaborated, and grew the experience.
Q: Why another unconference?
A: Well, BarCamp focuses on technology, Foo Camp on an even deeper level. PodCamp focuses on new media community tools, blogging: videoblogging, Second Life. There are also different trends that occur in all different parts of the world: podcasting to your mobile phone, live videoblogging, and more.
Q: How did it work out?
A: People jumped right into it. We had an "un-keynote" and told the people that they were in control. It is their experience. If something goes wrong or breaks, it is their thing to fix it. So if there are two people who want to take a session at the same time, they have to solve it; if somebody sees something on the floor, he or she has to pick it up. From there, the event was excellent. People participated in sessions. Some new sessions were built right on site. People who attended a talk often ended up being part of the talk. Everyone felt as if they were the feature speakers. We use the word "participant" instead of "attendee" for a reason.
Q: Could you imagine altering or expanding the program?
A: No, I think we will stick with our new media tools -- there is a lot to cover.
Q: How do you feel about taking sponsors on board?
A: Sponsors were integral to bringing together a "free" event for 350 people. We focused on building relationships beyond the request of money. Early on, we learned what sponsors wanted back for their money, and we worked with them to understand that we wanted them to be part of the community, first and foremost.
We featured links to sponsors on the site and on our blogs. We made audio plugs for sponsors for our podcasts. We had an un-expo floor, with card tables for sponsors to demonstrate or exhibit. And we hung 8.5" x 11" signs in the main hall to remind the community who paid. I'd like to think our sponsors felt involved with the experience.
Q: What role did you play in bringing PodCamps to other cities?
A: Well, we knew we could not do every PodCamp. so we made it open source -- if you want to run one, do it. We do not even try to approach people who announced to do one -- they mostly come to us if they need advice, and so, for example, we give suggestions what kind of venue they need and how to search for it.
Q: And then you became corporate?
A: We made the PodCamp Foundation similar to the Apache Foundation. It is not non-profit -- one reason is, there is a lot of paperwork to continue to defend your status as non-profit. We formed the foundation to help people organizing PodCamps, and to protect the event's brand from any future misuse. We are not looking to impose lots of rules, but we do want to offer help, should organizers request it. Right now, it is only expenditure, but if we make money or raise money, we will want to use the lion's share of the proceeds to fund PodCamps.
Q: Can you explain virtual PodCamps?
A: The first virtual PodCamp was PodCamp Second Life in January 2007. I didn’t attend, but thankfully, people took lots of photos. It worked well for sharing information, communicating to physically distant groups of people.
At PodCamp NYC in April 2007, the organizers built out sponsor tents on Morpheus's Island, showing some virtual love to those who sponsored the event. Some of PodCamp NYC’s conversations took place in Second Life. Another way to implement a virtual meeting might be using a video conferencing system like Stickam. I prefer the real-life experience, sharing beers, but I can see the value to virtual worlds.
Q: How do you think future PodCamps will develop?
A:We hope to see a lot more PodCamp events across the world. For instance, we are helping organize PodCamp Europe in Stockholm, Sweden for 12-13 June 2007. PodCamp UK is coming. We would love to see more. As strange as it sounds, I would like to see the events get smaller. I would rather many little PodCamps than several huge ones. But that might just be me.
Q: And in general? Will people try to make money with it?
A: One of PodCamp's few rules is that organizers do not charge participants. But people making money from the unconference model is already happening. "Unconference" could be seen in other words as simply a lightweight planning model for information-exchange events. I think it is a great way to build an event, and I could see people earning revenue from eager participants seeking a more participatory approach to their conference experiences.
Q: Why do you think the unconference phenomenon works? And why right now?
A: I believe that people are seeking a more participatory stance in their media. They want to mash up their music, play video games instead of watch movies, interact with their televisions and program their own entertainment experience. Why should conferences be any different?
The value of an unconference is that most participants arrive, and immediately feel that they have some control of their surroundings. They can participate in sessions, interact and build the content, and participate in several ways. I believe the unconference model offers a great value for people seeking useful exchange of knowledge and community-focused interaction.
Edited by Andy Sternberg.
