You knew it was going to happen sooner or later: CampWars!
Doc Searls reports that BarCamp leader Ryan King – who was inspired by FooCamp leader Tim O’Reilly – has gone for the neck of MashupCamp leader David Berlind. Charges King: “MashupCamp took what was a great thing, co-opted it and sold it out.” Searls calls a timeout, saying in his calm Eagle Scout voice: “Unconferences aren’t a system. There is no one formula … We should be helping each other out and maybe even having fun.”
Pass the marshmallows.
Funny thing is, I was such a bad scout I never even got one merit badge — much less the acre of badges needed to make Eagle Scout.
But on this one I feel more like a scoutmaster.
Step back a bit, and we’ll see the whole conference market changing. I’m not sure the high-dollar conf market is shrinking, but I am sure the low-dollar conf market — around important though rapidly-changing topics — is growing.
Should be a business for organizers who can pull together a combination of meeting space, parking, connectivity and laptop power for a good price. That’s really what we need most here.
I’m thinking maybe the equivalent of a travel consolidator, who can get deals on excess meeting space inventory, or something like that.
Or so it seems at 1pm on a Saturday.
Yeah, I was a Cub Scout dropout; couldn’t deal with the Webelos requirements. Nick
Can’t We Just Love Each Other?
Nicholas Carr has a quasi-funny/sad about a spat between the organizers of BarCam…
I didn’t make it all the way to Eagle Scout, but I made it at least past Tenderfood, maybe event to second class.
…not that we’re like comparing things, or anything like that.
:D
Y’know, I’m here geekin’ out at Bar Camp LA and it’s a pretty awesome event — totally something that I think Doc Searls would appreciate.
I really hope that these Camp Wars or whatever dissipate faster than they got started. Seriously, there’s no need to fight — I’ve realized there’s no need to gripe about Mashup Camp — kum bah ya, man! There’s enough space in the world for more than one kind of camp. We’ve got our ideas, they’ve got theirs and that’s what makes this whole great experiment tick.
Anyone for a chorus of Kumbaya?
I’d like to echo my friend and fellow blog-conference organizer Mark Evans’s post earlier today about conferences and un-conferences and camps and whatnot. It seems some noses got out of joint over the whole MashupCamp versus BarCamp thing…
Hershey bars and graham crackers (to go with those marshmallows) anyone?
Disclaimer: I hereby officially give credit to whoever invented S’Mores. I did not invent that wonderous combination and may fire and brimstone rain upon any reporter who leaves open the possibility that I might have.
David Berlind
Mashup Camp co-organizer