Hey Sandcampers. We're trying to decide if we want to do a full weekend camp(Jan 28-29), or if we want to shift the dates forward one day and make the two main days of the camp Friday and Saturday(Jan 27-28), leaving Sunday open. This issue seems to be a split decision given some basic polling at recent events, but the organizing crew is leaning towards a Friday-Saturday camp in hopes to attract a more professional audience. Many of the group members at the DUG voted for a Saturday-Sunday camp, but nobody seemed to have a strong preference. We wanted to give the community a chance to speak up for a the full weekend option if there were any adamant proponents. We'll overview comments here and make a final decision next week, so weigh in if you have an opinion on the best dates.
Comments
Friday and Saturday Please
Sunday is often a travel day for me.
A Sponsors Point of View
Hi Andrew,
As the person responsible to signing up sponsors in 2010 and in preparation for that role this year. I've been having this discussion with a number of our sponsors from last year, (Phase2, Treehouse, MediaCurrent, ImageX, Volacci) and the consensus is they/we would like to see something on Friday that is marketed toward the end user. We have been debating this topic at camps across the nation, and have concluded that CTO's and CMO's have a higher attendance rate on Friday then on the weekend.
One idea I would like to pursue would be holding a Business Summit on Friday like the one being held this week in Atlanta. http://atlantadrupalsummit.drupalgardens.com/ I have been lightly involved in helping organize this event and I can tell you the response from the business community in the area has been strong. This event is centered around showcasing companies that have successfully deployed Drupal, with the sponsors pitching into moderate the follow up discussions. They're running the events separately, however it doesn't mean we need to follow that same structure.
I'm also not suggesting we sacrifice the great spirit of a camp by changing into a business focused theme. What I am proposing is extending the camp to Friday to bring in a larger audience. One that we can learn from and one that will potentially contribute to the growth of Drupal. These camps are becoming more and more elaborate as the community matures and I believe we need to take steps to continue attracting top notch attendees and sponsors to support our ambitious plans. Achieve sponsor 7 to 8 camps a years throughout the country, however next year we will only be sponsoring camps outside of Southern California that include a Friday. The truth is the cost of sponsorships are rising and the value of attending is falling.
I'm open for ideas?
Thanks,
Ron
Ron Huber
President
Achieve Internet
www.achieveinternet.com
800-618-8777
Friday / Saturday (2 day camp)
My preference is for a Friday / Saturday camp. I think we'll hit a good cross section of people. I also like the idea of it not taking up my entire weekend.
I do like the idea of people reaching out to more of the business and less technically oriented side of the coin, but I really don't want to see a business summit smack dab in the middle of the camp. I feel that would be too much of a distraction and takes away from the spirit of a camp.
If the organization and presentation of the business summit and its content were going to come under control of the camp organizers I would be more receptive of it. Then again, I'm not sure the biz summit organizers would be up for that because we have different goals. I've been getting the impression that some people pushing for the summits are doing it less for the betterment of the community and more so as a marketing strategy and only trying to grow their business. I'm not saying that's you Ron, and I'm not saying growing your business is bad.
Another vote for Friday/Saturday
I am often busy with my family on Sundays. It would be much easier for me make it to a Friday/Saturday camp.
If we do decide to do the camp on a Sunday I will do my best to make it, but I am much more available on Friday and Saturday.
Also, I think having Friday to kick it off is a good idea, because it could be easier for groups of people (co-workers/organizations) to commute to the meeting. They can carpool, and new people may become interested and tag along as well.
+1 for Fri/Sat
Freelancing makes my schedule pretty flexible, but last year camp was a ghost town by Sunday afternoon. A Fri/Sat camp makes sense to me. My recollection from Sunday is that the business summit would be Thursday event organized separately - I prefer that approach.
Friday / Saturday (and Thurday pre-camp)
I also agree with having the camp on Friday as a more business oriented day and Saturday as a more technical day.
We had talked about looking into having Thursday as a day when companies could offer pre-camp training classes, and also as a possible day for the business summit. I think this makes sense, so we can offer more training options, and people who attend an intro class can still attend camp the next day and find some interesting sessions. Also, the business summit would be tied in to the camp, but would not alter the nature of the camp.
BADCamp Schedule
Not sure if anyone else is attending (or has looked at) BADCamp (Bay Area Drupal group) but the schedule seems pretty fitting for a typical conference in which business/organizations AND developers/users benefit. Seems with the summits on Friday, the 'End Users' or 'Clients' can get value from others who are sharing their stories and the direction they are headed, while the weekend caters to the 'Community'.
BADCamp will be my first for Drupal, but I have attended, presented and exhibited at other national software conferences similar in nature. The appeal is to all users, not just developers, and that is the key to their success. Take a look at the schedule for BADCamp below and let's see where that leads...
(Yep I'm new here, but you'll see my face at the next meeting)
Friday, Oct 21, 2011 - Pre-conference activities
9:30am - 5:30pm Free Drupal Training workshops
10am - 6pm Core Developer Summit
10am - 6pm Drupal for Non-Profit Summit
10am - 6pm Drupal for Higher Education Summit
Saturday, Oct 22, 2011 - BADcamp Day 1
8:30am - 9:30am Breakfast and registration
9:30am - 6:00pm Sessions, Birds of a Feather gatherings, Users helping Users, Sprint
7:30pm - 10pm An evening of Drupal (Keynote, dinner & festivities)
10pm onward The Party
Sunday, Oct 23, 2011 - BADcamp Day 2
9:30am - 10:30am Breakfast and registration
10:30am - 6:00pm Sessions, Birds of a Feather gatherings, Users helping Users, Sprint
I agree
The way that BADCamp is doing the training and summits on Friday and then the workshops on Saturday and Sunday seems to make good sense. I think if we do workshops on only one day, there won't be enough time slots. However, starting on Thursday would cut too much into the work week, especially if folks are traveling and want to get to the training or summits. The only change that I would to the BADCamp schedule would be to end a bit earlier on Sunday since the place tends to clear out anyway.
+1 for Fri/Sat
Andrew mentioned the organizing crew favored Fri/Sat and I have to agree. We had a huge dropoff in attendance on Sunday, and it's no fun for presenters who got a late slot that day to talk to an empty room.
It also makes it much easier for out-of-towners to attend. Many of them have to leave early on Sunday anyway, flying east from here takes pretty much your whole day.
I also suggested possibly repeating the beginner-track on both days. I think we've had feedback that 1 day is all that new folks can handle - they get loaded up full of drupal presentations and need time to process. Repeating on both days means everyone can get to at least one.
Anyone want to speak up for Sat/Sun?
+1 for Sat/Sun
I raise my hand for Sat/Sun. For those that need to tend to work issues during the week, Sat and Sun is a better time for meeting and learning from other Drupal'ers.
Three Days
Just to clarify, we're planning to have a lighter pre-camp day for trainings and the business summit either way we slice it. That first day is somewhat separated from the rest of the camp, which is why we're only voting on the two primary days here. It looks like most people are pretty agreeable to the Friday-Saturday camp, which I must say is my personal preference as well.