Barcamp? Here? Why Not?

Steve Hanson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:23:51 -0500

I've seen some discussion lately and have had some conversations with people revolving around the question - If this is the "tech corridor" of Wisconsin, why don't we have the kinds of web interactions and tech events that tech areas usually have?"

You'll ask yourself - what the heck does he mean by that?

I'm a web developer, and I build interactive web sites as a freelancer, mostly for nonprofits. This site is actually a pretty good example of what I do. Almost all of my clients are from outside of the area - in fact, one of the reasons I built this site was to try to have a local client - myself. I get clients on the coasts, clients in the Twin Cities, but in the Chippewa Valley, the general response I get is a blank stare. I'm beginning to believe that the Chippewa Valley isn't ready for Web 2.0.

This site is a good example. When I approach local businesses, they often think that this is a great idea, but they don't seem very much interested in participating, despite the fact that it's a great source of free publicity. Nonprofits that I approach in the area seem very wary of building a web presence that lets their constituents talk back to them. The idea that the Internet is inherently interactive seems to be lost on most people here, and I don't know why. I long for kindred tech geek spirits, and I'd love to meet you. I know you're out there.

I also edit a political web site, Uppity Wisconsin . It's based in Downsville (well, I'm based in Downsville so --). I have lots of politically active friends in the area, none of whom participate. They usually say that they're too shy to express an opinion that is publicly available - yet they write letters to the editor, they go to rallies, and they participate in lots of other ways. There are quite a few participants, but they're almost all from Madison or Milwaukee. Isn't there a possibility for web interaction in the rest of the state?

Likewise, I participate in lots of tech activities - Barcamps in other areas, Drupal Camps, nonprofit tech organizations, and more. The one thing all of this has in common is that none of it happens here.

So I have been asking myself - can we do something about that? Which finally brings me to the point. - Why not have a Chippewa Valley Barcamp? It would be a great way for people who are involved in net technologies to meet, and should provoke some interesting discussion. It also will give us all a chance to show off a little and demonstrate what we're doing.

What the heck is a BarCamp, I hear you cry? According to Wikipedia, it is

BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants — often focusing on early-stage web applications, and related open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats.

For more information you can look at http://www.barcamp.org

I'm suggesting that Chippewa Guide and my consulting company Cruiskeen Consulting LLC get together with some other local organizations, and we organize a Chippewa Valley Barcamp. As a first stab, I suggest that we should make it be a smaller affair than a lot of them, and that we should go for a little broader audience than most - let's open it up to technologists of all sorts in the area, including talks on nanotechnology, web applications, the Internet as a communications tool, and more.

So Chippewa Valley, what do you think? I think that a Barcamp some time this summer would be great fun and a wonderful chance to bring together like-minded people. We're willing to organize it if you're willing to participate. Let us know you're willing to help out. A camp in Menomonie, Eau Claire, or Chippewa Falls would be great.

To give you a little better idea what BarCamp is like, here is a video from last year's BarCamp in Milwaukee.