Barcamp Bangkok 2011 - Organizers Meeting

[j0rd]

I just came back from Barcamp Yangon 2011. It was attended by many organizers of Barcamp Bangkok. The topic came up "what the heck are we going to do for Barcamp Bangkok", so I figured we'd schedule a Barcamp Bangkok 2010 - Wrap up meeting to start the ball rolling.

To try and keep this meeting brief and focused, this meeting is only open to those who have helped organize Barcamp Bangkok in the past. Even if you're not planning on assisting with Barcamp 2011, please show up.

To keep things on topic, I'd like people to prepare a list of items on:

 * What issues we faced at Barcamp Bangkok 2010 and how can we resolve them for 2011.

I'm not interested in seeing issues brought up, which you do not have creative and feasible solutions for.

At the end of the meeting, I'd like the group to decide on what organizational groups we will need (marketing, accounting, web) and what their duties will be.

Following the wrap up meeting, we will plan a real Barcamp Bangkok 2011 organizers meeting, which will be open to all those who would like to assist with Barcamp Bangkok 2011.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 2nd (7pm) at Bug and Bee coffee shop in Silom (Sala Daeng BTS Station), Top Floor. If you can not make the meeting, please prepare your list of issues and solutions and email them to me on March 1st and I'll present them on your behalf to the group.

For more information about the venue please visit this link: http://www.bugandbee.com/02ourshopSilom.htm

PLEASE RSVP by responding "+1" as soon as possible so I can reserve some space at Bug and Bee.

Cheers,

 Jordan

[proteus guy]

+1

I think this meeting is a great idea and excellent timing.

Please to the agenda (which I have some specific talking points):

1. Coordination with Software Park/TedX/regional meetings (SG specifically)

2. Attracting participation of more Thais

3. BIG (evangalizing) vs. small (intensive geek) barcamps

4. Offering exclusives or other unique advantages to sponsors and why we shouldn't do this (unless something wants to argue we should)

Not all of these are specific critiques or observations on Barcamp2010 - but are also opportunities that we should discuss for the next one.

  -- Ben

--
Barcamp Bangkok 4: October 23-24, 2010
More details at http://www.barcampbangkok.com/
 
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[Michael Amy]

+1

I'll try to get information from Yangon BarCamp re their organisation efforts, (for those who didn't attend, their organisation was outstanding).

Mike

[James Dejsuphong]

Whooops. Saw the date wrong. +1 For me on March 2, 7:00PM.

My agenda:

1) Collaboration with TEDx event (I'm the organizer for TEDxBKK)

2) Agree with Ben's, we should attract more Thai. IMHO, previous BarCamp is somewhat separate/categorize into Farang and Thai. It's like two events that coincide in the same building. I would love to hear some idea/suggestion on how to integrate and reduce the barrier of the language among Thais and Foreigners.

3) Follow up. Is there anything we could do to create a true "community" of BarCamp? Perhaps a smaller periodical follow up within our community.

By the way, not trying to steal the subject, I would like to invite everybody to our TEDxBKK Simulcast event on March 3. We will (near) live broadcast a TED conference from Long Beach. Our event will be at TCDC Emporium from 10:00AM on ward. Pre-register at http://www.tedxbkk.com/live

Cheers,

James Dejsuphong

ReadyOffice - Managing Director

TEDxBKK - Curator/Organizer

Nettree ISP - Partner

[satoko 31o5 Oh]

+0 (but my spirit is there with you guys)

31o5

[Patipat Susumpow]

Let the spirit of the barcamp rolls with the its new soul.

Keng.

Sent from my mobile device.

เมื่อ 25 ก.พ. 2011 1:05, "satoko 31o5 Oh" <3105....@gmail.com> เขียนว่า:

> +0 (but my spirit is there with you guys)
>
> 31o5
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 18:17, James Dejsuphong <ja...@ready.co.th> wrote:
>
>> Whooops. Saw the date wrong. +1 For me on March 2, 7:00PM.
>>
>> My agenda:
>>
>> 1) Collaboration with TEDx event (I'm the organizer for TEDxBKK)
>> 2) Agree with Ben's, we should attract more Thai. IMHO, previous BarCamp is
>> somewhat separate/categorize into Farang and Thai. It's like two events that
>> coincide in the same building. I would love to hear some idea/suggestion on
>> how to integrate and reduce the barrier of the language among Thais and
>> Foreigners.
>> 3) Follow up. Is there anything we could do to create a true "community" of
>> BarCamp? Perhaps a smaller periodical follow up within our community.
>>
>> By the way, not trying to steal the subject, I would like to invite
>> everybody to our TEDxBKK Simulcast event on March 3. We will (near) live
>> broadcast a TED conference from Long Beach. Our event will be at TCDC
>> Emporium from 10:00AM on ward. Pre-register at http://www.tedxbkk.com/live
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> James Dejsuphong

>> *
>> *
>> *
>> ReadyOffice <http://www.ready.co.th/> - Managing Director
>> TEDxBKK <http://www.tedxbkk.com/> - Curator/Organizer
>> Nettree <http://www.nettree.co.th/> ISP - Partner
>> *

>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 3:51 PM, proteus guy <prote...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> +1
>>>
>>> I think this meeting is a great idea and excellent timing.
>>>
>>> Please to the agenda (which I have some specific talking points):
>>> 1. Coordination with Software Park/TedX/regional meetings (SG
>>> specifically)
>>> 2. Attracting participation of more Thais
>>> 3. BIG (evangalizing) vs. small (intensive geek) barcamps
>>> 4. Offering exclusives or other unique advantages to sponsors and why we
>>> shouldn't do this (unless something wants to argue we should)
>>>
>>> Not all of these are specific critiques or observations on Barcamp2010 -
>>> but are also opportunities that we should discuss for the next one.
>>>
>>> -- Ben
>>>
>>> On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 2:36 PM, j0rd <j0rd...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I just came back from Barcamp Yangon 2011. It was attended by many
>>>> organizers of Barcamp Bangkok. The topic came up "what the heck are we going

>>>> to do for Barcamp Bangkok", so I figured we'd schedule a *Barcamp
>>>> Bangkok 2010 - Wrap up* meeting to start the ball rolling.
>>>>
>>>> To try and keep this meeting brief and focused, this meeting is *only
>>>> open to those who have helped organize Barcamp Bangkok in the past*.

>>>> Even if you're not planning on assisting with Barcamp 2011, please show up.
>>>>

>>>> *To keep things on topic, I'd like people to prepare a list of items on:
>>>> *
>>>> ** * What issues we faced at Barcamp Bangkok 2010 and how can we resolve

>>>> them for 2011.
>>>>
>>>> I'm not interested in seeing issues brought up, which you do not have
>>>> creative and feasible solutions for.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> At the end of the meeting, I'd like the group to decide on what
>>>> organizational groups we will need (marketing, accounting, web) and what
>>>> their duties will be.
>>>>
>>>> Following the wrap up meeting, we will plan a real Barcamp Bangkok 2011
>>>> organizers meeting, which will be open to all those who would like to assist
>>>> with Barcamp Bangkok 2011.
>>>>

>>>> The meeting will be held on *Wednesday, March 2nd (7pm) at Bug and Bee
>>>> coffee shop* in Silom (Sala Daeng BTS Station), Top Floor. If you can

[Pong]

+1 count me in

On Feb 24, 2:36 pm, j0rd <j0rd.s...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I just came back from Barcamp Yangon 2011. It was attended by many
> organizers of Barcamp Bangkok. The topic came up "what the heck are we going

> to do for Barcamp Bangkok", so I figured we'd schedule a *Barcamp Bangkok

> 2010 - Wrap up* meeting to start the ball rolling.
>
> To try and keep this meeting brief and focused, this meeting is *only open
> to those who have helped organize Barcamp Bangkok in the past*. Even if

> you're not planning on assisting with Barcamp 2011, please show up.
>

> *To keep things on topic, I'd like people to prepare a list of items on:*
> ** * What issues we faced at Barcamp Bangkok 2010 and how can we resolve

> them for 2011.
>
> I'm not interested in seeing issues brought up, which you do not have
> creative and feasible solutions for.
>
> At the end of the meeting, I'd like the group to decide on what
> organizational groups we will need (marketing, accounting, web) and what
> their duties will be.
>
> Following the wrap up meeting, we will plan a real Barcamp Bangkok 2011
> organizers meeting, which will be open to all those who would like to assist
> with Barcamp Bangkok 2011.
>

> The meeting will be held on *Wednesday, March 2nd (7pm) at Bug and Bee
> coffee shop* in Silom (Sala Daeng BTS Station), Top Floor. If you can not

[Michael Amy]

Hi guys,

I've got some great feedback from Thaung Su Nyein who was the organising team leader at BarCamp Yangon 2011. This guy is calm, collected and super-sharp. 

The summary below is the plan for the most successful BarCamp so far, in arguably one of the most difficult countries ever to have a BarCamp.

Some of these steps may be obvious, but note the high level of planning and effort that they put into marketing and PR, and also into organising volunteers. 

My notes:

There were, as I recall, 30 organisers total and ~100 volunteers. 8 rooms (not quite enough). Sessions were 45 mins + 15 min overrun/break. No need for lunch break, people just left a session 15 mins early. Sessions were smooth. At no sessions I went to did speakers need to be told they were out of time. Schedule was topic papers on a single board, with copies on the doors of rooms. It was easy to schedule/reschedule and easy for participants to understand. 

Note that participants bought their own food at the canteen! Worked great! No headache! No big rush! No left-over food! No mess to clean up. No worries about food sponsors. No hungry participants. Everybody got food they liked. Venue's canteen must have been happy. Only the volunteers got free food (and, after it was all done, beer. Boy, was that bit fun :D).

Ceremonies:

There were opening and closing ceremonies. The closing ceremony was grandiose but light-hearted and fun, with lots of handing out of appreciation certificates (making volunteers proud and thus likely to help in future), and a lucky draw with top prize of a netbook (smart move - another reason for people to stay until the end). Some participants were invited to talk about how the event could be improved, or their feelings of the event. The closing ceremony was great as it looked impressive for the TV and newspaper cameras there. It said "we were successful" in a way that the media could easily carry. It sent forward a lot of good will and rounded the event off tidily.

Problems:

Some rooms were a bit too far away from the others. BarCamp Bangkok was better in this regard somewhat, as all the rooms were in close proximity, on two floors.

Didn't realise where one of the rooms was until near the end. A map would have helped.

On the first day, some people's topics, meant for day two, were put up too early (day 1) and this caused problems. On the second day they changed policy: sessions had to be confirmed at least 30 mins before otherwise they'd be rescheduled. I'll need to ask them again how well this actually worked in the end.

There was a girl there pretending to be an organiser and deliberately trying to disrupt the event by sending people to the wrong places. People were warned to ignore her.

Anyway, I recommend people to have a read through this prior to the meeting.

Mike

Dear Mike,

I'd like to thank you also for helping to organize more international barcampers to be able to participate at this year's BarCamps in Yangon and Mandalay. 

We value these international barcampers not just because they are foreigners, but because they (you) live in places where there's a lot more exposure to trends, new technologies, open technologies, youtube, new experiences, new kinds of services, etc.

Our network here doesn't permit us to view YouTube (the greatest learning tool that we don't have access to now) or join WebEx conferences - due to bandwidth and/or access policies.

So, we can read the online articles and e-books, but without seeing a video of something in action, we are left guessing how that goes. So, having international barcampers come and show things to us in person, really speak a thousand words.

I just wanted to reiterate this to you, it's what I basically told EJ.

Now about the organization and operation prior to BarCamp Yangon 2011, the following is a gist of what we did.

1. Start announcing on Facebook that we will be re-forming a new organizing team for the next BarCamp. Convene a meeting to form that new organizing team 6 months before the expected date. Organize the team into clearly defined groups with duties and responsibilities.

2. Choose the date for the BarCamp event. Set 2 days of weekend which does not run into conflict with any major holidays or travel periods or final examination dates, etc.

3. Book the venue after the second or third meeting once the date and venue are confirmed. In Myanmar, a place like Myanmar Info-Tech is hard to find.

4. Start publicizing the event, asking for sponsors. Keep updating Facebook pages and official website regularly. Issue press releases. Keep ourselves in the news by coming up with new activities (e.g. Logo competition!, T-Shirt design contributions requested, etc.).

5. Hold a couple of press conferences. Time the first one so that your marketing group can start going around to potential sponsors as the first major wave of publicity hits the news papers. Time the second one so that any remaining sponsor slots can be filled and potential volunteers are made aware that BarCamp is xx weeks away.

6. Post notices at nearby universities or large training centers, about a month or so before BarCamp.

7. Hold a Pre-BarCamp a week before BarCamp. This is basically the first time when volunteers are open invited and asked to come in and register. Make sure Pre-BarCamp date, time and place are announced as widely as possible. We had about 140 volunteers show up for BCY11. 

8. At Pre-BarCamp, explain to volunteers about upcoming event, the organizer team's preparations, the roles the volunteers are expected to help out in. Define clearly each volunteer type's duties and responsibilities.

9. Hire a video documentary team to document both PreBC and BarCamp.

10. Friday before BarCamp, all organizers and volunteers are asked to come in at 8am and work throughout the day. Most volunteers do not have to stay the whole day. But they should come in and pick up their badges, get briefings from their leaders, etc.

11. The organizer team setup:

Team Leader

Coordinator

- Assistant Coordinator

Group Leaders

- Admin Group (arrange productions of t-shirts, vinyl banners, venue, food, etc.)

- Marketing Group (get sponsors and raise funds)

- PR & Web Group (publicity, website, press releases)

- Tech Support Group (network setup)

- Finance Group (keep accounts)

12. Volunteers roles:

- Medical (doctors on standby for medical emergencies)

- Planners (decoration, arrangements)

- Room Coordinators (2 volunteers assigned to each room, make sure speakers arrive and leave on time)

- Tech Support (projectors, network, laptops)

- Translators (translate for international barcampers)

- Media (handle media requests, press interviews)

- Registration desk (accept registration forms, hand out delegate packages)

13. Raise enough money to pay for venue, food for volunteers (participants buy their own food), arrange outside food sellers to come in and sell (with 3000 participants, the regular restaurants at the venue can't handle the crowd!).

14. Invite IT persons from other cities and countries to join.

15. Have point/contact persons for everything.

16. Make cool delegate packages to attract participants.

17. Days before BarCamp, start promoting heavily on online and offline media, about all the cool things that are going to happen at BarCamp.

18. Hold monthly organizer team meetings where everyone attends. Also hold irregular impromptu meetings with key persons for urgent matters.

19. Setup a group email in Google Groups. All communications can be searched later in this one place.

I've CC'ed the group leaders and key persons here, so you can ask them directly for more information.

• Coordinator "Mr Tin Htoo Khaing" <nic...@gmail.com>
• Assistant Coordinator "Mr Wayne Wai Lin Tun" <mr.waili...@gmail.com>
• Admin Group Leader "Mr Aung Myo Lwin (Agga) " <agga...@gmail.com>
• Marketing G Leader  "Mr ZawZaw myolwin" <zzm...@gmail.com>
• PR G Co-Leader "Ms Htaike" <htaik...@gmail.com>
• PR G Leader "Mr Nyi Lynn Seck" <lynn...@gmail.com>
• Tech G Leader "Mr Ravi Chhabra" <ravi.c...@gmail.com>
• Finance G Leader "Ms Myint Myint Nwe" <myint...@gmail.com>

thanks and hope to see you again at next year's BCY,

tsn

On Thu, Feb 24, 2011 at 2:50 PM, Michael Amy <coc...@googlemail.com> wrote:

Dear Thaung Su Nyein,

Thanks for organising BarCamp Yangon 2011, it was a great success and the international participants were honoured and grateful to be part of it.

As you know, John Berns was the main organiser of BarCamps in Bangkok so far, but has now moved to Singapore. Jordan is starting to think about organising the next BarCamp in Bangkok.

I believe we have a lot to learn from how BarCamp Yangon was organised. I think that part of the success of BarCamp in Yangon comes from a massive demand for such an event, but also from having effective marketing and PR teams. BarCamp Bangkok 4 had, as far as I know, minimal marketing effort, and faced many problems in organisation.

Can you share with us any of your experience to help us to create a better event in Bangkok?

In particular I'd like to know what teams there were, how those teams were structured and how they communicated at and before the event. What meetings were held, how long did the planning take and what problems needed to be solved? Who were the marketing people so I ask them questions directly?

Thanks for your time,

Best regards,

Mike Amy

On 24 Feb 2011, at 2:06, j0rd wrote:

[Jordan]

Thanks Mike.

[Michael Amy]

I feel I should make also clear a couple of my viewpoints at this point, 

- I know Bangkok isn't Yangon, I'm not suggesting we carbon-copy their event, but I certainly think we can learn from it.

- I'm don't understand the opinion that "Big BarCamps are bad" i.e. that BarCamps should be kept artificially small or semi-secret so that only the best, select participants come. I feel that's elitist and against the spirit of BarCamp which should be an open event. Organisers should take responsibility for letting people know about it, and if they want to come, and have something to say, they'll come and say it, and more ideas will be shared.

I'm sorry if that opinion bothers some of you, but I was convinced of it in Yangon. If ever there was a test of the theory that "too many people results in lower quality discussions", this was it. Even I was half-expecting a low signal to noise ratio, but was pleased to find that, with so many participants, there was in fact more variety and more depth. More variety to topics. More depth to the topics, especially regarding security & circumvention. There were also deep discussions, e.g. a panel on IP law with maybe 4-500 people in that room. Generally, people were a little bit more involved, more people asked questions, more random people shared their knowledge and deeper questions came up. Maybe that's a cultural difference or down to the organisation, but size worked in Yangon.

Best to all,

Mike

On 24 Feb 2011, at 2:06, j0rd wrote:

[proteus guy]

Looking forward to the meeting tonight!

[Proteusguy]

I'm here now in 2nd floor but they're oblivious as to any reservation
so I'm just taking a space. :-)

[satoko 31o5 Oh]

have fun!!!!

> --
> Barcamp Bangkok 4: October 23-24, 2010
> More details at http://www.barcampbangkok.com/
>
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--
satoko