First Timers Guide

Okay, so this is your first (or eleventy-billionth) BarCamp.  Everyone needs a little help knowing (or remembering in their hangover induced haze) how BarCamp works and what they should bring.  This is that proverbial road map for a successful BarCamp.

How it works

While it seems like complete chaos, BarCamp is actually quite organized.  In fact, it is organized in part by YOU!  Yes, you may not realize it at the time, but you are critical to the organization of each and every part of BarCamp.  So jump in!

See, when each BarCamp starts we have only the vaguest of ideas about what is going to be discussed, presented, performed, or invented.  We open it up to the participants (that means you) to decide what will be the content of the conference.  If you’ve come to listen to some great ideas and topics being tossed around then you’ve found the right place. If you have come with an awesome presentation that you want to deliver, great.  If you have come with a vague idea of a topic that you think might be interesting and want to suggest that a few like minded folks brainstorm over it, that’s great too!

BarCamp is truly about what you want to hear, see, talk about, and do.

At the beginning of the day we post a grid with a bunch of open squares representing conference rooms and times.  People propose talks, panels, and workshops to fill those slots.  Then we all vote on which events we want to join.

That’s it!  Simple.  An entire technology conference emerging from a very simple set of rules.  As Goldstein put it, “the arising of novel and coherent structures, patterns and properties during the process of self-organization in complex systems.”

What to bring

What should I bring to BarCamp Seattle? This guide has 3 sections aimed at getting you ready for your first BarCamp.

1. What to Pack (grouped by Role) – A list of what to bring depending on what you want to do at BarCamp and what role you want to play.
2. Checklist – A flat list of things you could possibly pack.
3. Sources – Read about other unconferences and what to pack for them are documented.

What to pack – by role

The networker

1. Name tag. Your name, your twitter handle. If you don’t use twitter you might want to start just for this event, for the purpose of meeting people. In addition to paper name tags there are electronic name tags for iPhone and also dedicated devices, but be prepared for the attention!
2. Contact info capturing device. If you use your phone for this, you’re already covered.
3. Business cards. However you would like to be contacted – if you have a day job it’s sometimes good to create a new set of cards for personal interests. There are services that will do cards online for cheap. Text can be limited, it might be useful to include on the card what you’re seeking or offering, such as “Seeking active people in arts or technology to be interviewed on my podcast.”
4. Sticky notes. Have a pen and pencil onhand, if both of you are unprepared to exchange contact info, you can still resort to sticky notes.

The documentarian

1. Still camera. Keep an eye out on photo upload and storage locations to find out how to tag your photos for this event. Get people’s names so you can tag people after uploading.
2. Video camera. This has a larger presence than a still camera, but there are times when even introverts might get chatty, such as in between sessions or if a session gets animated. Sometimes people don’t know whether they have a strong opinion about something until the session is well underway, and then look out!
3. Laptop. If you’re documenting your experience using text, a laptop is essential. Expect minimal access to power. Be a good citizen and bring a power strip, and a backup battery for yourself couldn’t hurt.
4. Tags. Pay attention to what other people are posting online about BarCamp and use those same tags (typically #bcsYEAR e.g. #bcs2012) for your own content. This includes twitter hashtags, flickr, etc. The biggest audience for your material will be in the room with you during the event, so stay connected and don’t forget to post a link on the BarCamp Seattle facebook page for visibility.

The idea person

1. Do you have a backlog of concepts that you know will generate a good discussion, or you simply wanted to find out more about? Somewhere in that backlog is a great BarCamp topic. To propose a topic all you’re committing to is being in that room at that timeslot, and describing the topic in more detail at the beginning of the session. Your topic may be a question. Trawl through those sticky notes on your bedside table and bring some ideas with you.
2. You might be the “prepared” knd of session leader who wants to augment the conversation with visual aids or slides. If you’re bringing a mac, assume the projection gear is PC native, which means a truckload of adapters. If you own these adapters, be a good citizen and share them out (labeled so you get them back) for other session leaders using macs.
3. New idea capture device. Sometimes during sessions or even (especially) between sessions, a casual chat or even just overhearing a casual chat will lead you to an idea worth capturing. There’s plenty more where that came from, so capture it while you can before you forget. If ideas come to you easily, you can spend the whole session scribbling away.
4. Get out of your element. It takes guts to propose a session, and the proposed session may or may not have a title that pulls in the people you expect. Sessions can be more defined by who attends than the original idea. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the topic or technology in the title, showing up might connect the dots between an existing interest you already have and this new thing. If you do BizDev, show up for a UI or Marketing session. If you’re a developer, show up for a session on the Music Industry.

The primate

1. Get enough sleep before the event. This can be hard after a work week, but make it a priority. Some of the most valuable time you’ll spend at BarCamp will be during unofficial time, such as before the session schedule gets underway, or after. So if you’re sleeping in, you might miss out.
2. The law of two feet. Remember you can get up and leave a session + join another if you’re not getting what you need out of it. At any unconference the attendees are responsible for their own experience.
3. Interacting in meatspace is more and more of a rarity. Everyone is rusty at it (thanks, social media!) So try as best you can to shake hands and ask people about themselves, you never know what you’ll find out. When in doubt, hang out by the schedule wall and join the conversation about upcoming sessions.
4. Meals are provided however these are one size fits most. If you’re OCD about your food, the timing of such, or have artisinal coffee needs think ahead and pack what you need. No sense getting low blood sugar because you didn’t get your fish shaped pellet when you pushed the button.
5. Seating is of the corporate / conference variety. A pillow might be nice.
6. When and if the sun comes out, you’ll be the world’s hero if you have a frisbee or other physical activity social icebreaker device.

Captain logistics

1. Tradition is to have a FREE table. Attendees bring items they want to give away. Note if your item does NOT fly off the table for whatever reason, it will end up in a dumpster, so have a realistic idea of its appeal. Retro swag, chapbooks, conference souvenirs are common.
2. If you’re still carrying a lot of stuff around, figure out what you can leave in the corner without having to helicopter parent your possessions. If you must take it with you, pants with pockets or a messenger bag would be low impact. Or one of these if you like being single.
3. You might require a visual aid for the schedule wall. The schedule is prepared at the last minute from handwritten session titles on square pieces of paper. Each piece of paper occupies a specific time and location. For example, “Whither Web 2.0 at 1pm in the Pistachio room” Once the schedule settles down, it’s helpful to jot down a list of where you might want to be at any particular time as a cheat sheet. Sure you can go back to the wall, but it gets crowdy sometimes. Sure people snap photos and post them, but these vary in legibility.
4. Parking is tricksy, many spots around Adobe look like free city spots but are in fact private “we will ticket you” type spots. Allow extra time if you drive.

Checklist

• Name tag, fancy or no
• Contact list, paper or gadget driven
• Business cards you’ll hand out
• Pencil, sticky notes
• Still camera, video camera (and share your video & photos with the BCS team)
• Laptop, phone
• Power strip and cords (with your name)
• Extra laptop battery
• Way to find out tags and/or monitor feeds
• Existing notes on session topics + ideas
• Visual aids or slides to accompany session topics
• Mac-specific presentation adapters
• Way to jot stuff down to think about it later
• Plenty of sleep
• Good, flexible, realistic attitude
• An introduction (or just be prepared to introduce yourself)
• Creature comforts – foods, pillow, frisbee
• Your collection of 50 in-box shrinkwrapped Newtons with rare Paul Madden co-branding (or other nifty items for the FREE table)
• Cheat sheet for the schedule wall
• Messenger bag and/or pockets, depending on quantity of above.

Credits and links

• Eric Skiff’s guide to BarCampNYC 2006 (still relevant!)
• Unconference guide by Johnnie Moore
• Unconference guide by Dave Winer

This page was authored and maintained by Elizabeth Grigg, but @brucephenry edited the ever loving crap out of it – send Elizabeth feedback and update requests at egrigg9000@yahoo.com or @egrigg9000 because @brucephenry doesn’t listen to feedback (just ask his wife).