[ubuntu-us-mi] BarCamp Grand Rapids

[Ben Rousch]

Robert's comment just reminded me I hadn't sent you fine folks the
announcement for BarCamp Grand Rapids, so here it is!

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Geeks, Makers, and programmers lend me your Inboxes! The seventh
annual free BarCamp * Grand Rapids is quickly approaching, and you're
all invited.

Barcamp is about meeting interesting people, talking about what you
want to talk about, and listening to what you're interested in.
Subjects of discussion have ranged from web programming and digital
photography to computer vision and turkey basting. (No, there wasn't a
talk on having a computer visually monitor your turkey, but if you've
tried it, you're welcome to report on your experiences!)  You see, the
talks are not set beforehand, it's you, the attendees, who give
BarCampGR direction and content.

What's the format?
Presentations are 25 minutes long, with 5 minutes in between. You're
welcome to sit in on a presentation or hang around in the lounge and
talk; it's all the same with us. If you run a presentation, we don't
care how you run it--so long as you don't get us in trouble! Give a
monologue, a Q&A or a round table; it's your topic, your presentation,
your audience. If people didn't want to spend 25 minutes on your
topic, they wouldn't be there.

Don't know what to talk about?
Certainly you have some relatively unique experiences. What do you do
for a hobby? What's something you managed to fix that you're proud of?
It doesn't matter if the height of your accomplishment is changing
your car's oil or if you've wardriven half of the Grand Rapids area;
if people aren't interested, they won't show up at your talk. If they
are, they will.

But I'm not an expert!
Sure you are! If you know the first thing about a subject, you know
more than people who don't. And, yes, people who know more than you
will probably attend your presentation. Interact with them; you both
have something to learn from each other. Chances are, if you're both
really interested in a subject, you'll find yourselves looking for
each other in the lounge, later.

But perhaps you're...

Shy?
That's fine. Come on in, get a look around and a feel for things. It's
a two-day event; come by on Friday, sit in on presentations which
interest you or hang around in the lounge and network with other
people. Perhaps you'll be inspired to talk about something later, or
on Saturday. You never really know.

If you'd like to be able to listen, but don't know if you'll have
anything to say, you can still...

Help Out
On the days of the event itself, we typically need greeters, people to
babysit the facility overnight (some folks stay overnight), people to
respond to technical issues such as "why won't the projector work with
my laptop" and "could someone turn down the lights so we could see the
screen?"

We also have a subreddit this year, r/BarCampGR. Use it to ask for
certain subjects to be covered. Use it to offer subjects that you can
talk about. During the event, use it to have almost-live discussions
about things with people who aren't immediately present. After the
event, use it to post supplemental materials and ask followup
questions. We have a lot of other ways you can keep up to date on
BarCampGR news and updates via the following social media outlets:

    * Website: http://barcampgr.org
    * Campers Email List:
        http://lists.barcampgr.org/listinfo.cgi/campers-barcampgr.org
    * Twitter: @barcampgr
    * Subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/BarCampGR/
    * Facebook:
        https://www.facebook.com/pages/BarCampGR/112347402141619
    * Google+: https://plus.google.com/b/116952079842867940611/
    * IRC: #barcampgr on Freenode
    * LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/479534?trk=tyah

Also, if you'd like to help us organize BarCampGR, sign up for the
BarCampGR Organizers' Email Group and jump right into the conversation
at http://lists.barcampgr.org/listinfo.cgi/organizers-barcampgr.org

So register on the website and come on out to BarCampGR at the DeVos
Communications Center, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI! Here's the
schedule:

Friday, August 24, 2012
    5:00-6:00 PM - Check-in and setup
    6:00-7:00 PM - Dinner (catered by Monellis)
    7:00 PM - Kick things off with opening session
    7:30-9:30 PM - Sessions every 1/2 hour
    9:30 PM - after party (sponsored by Collective Idea)

Overnight
    10:00 PM-whenever the next morning - Camping, all-night hacking, etc.
    Midnight BBQ
    There will be plenty of room to crash on Friday night, so bring a
    sleeping bag. Better yet, bring a tent for the geek base camp.

Saturday, August 25, 2012
    9:00-10:00 AM - Continental Breakfast
    10:00 AM-12:00 PM - Sessions every 1/2 hour
    12:00-1:00 PM - Lunch (Subway)
    1:00-2:00 PM - 5 min Lightning Talks
    2:00-4:00 PM - Sessions every 1/2 hour
    4:00-4:30 PM - Closing session
    4:30-5:30 PM - Cleanup

* Note, despite the 'bar' in Barcamp, the event doesn't take place in
a bar, only the (optional) Friday afterparty does.

-- 
 Ben Rousch
   brousch at gmail.com
   http://clusterbleep.net/