Posted by greggles on November 29, 2011 at 10:34pm
Normally by this time we'd have a venue secured and be working on various elements of Drupalcamp Colorado 2012.
But...of course there's Drupalcon Denver that a lot of folks are busily working on.
So, I'd like to open discussion:
- Should we try to hold a Drupalcamp in 2012? If so, should we try to do an event similar to what we have done in previous years?
- Should do a totally different Drupalcamp concept for 2012? Maybe we could not try to do sessions, but instead do a mix of paid training and code sprints that would appeal to a more local audience and require less planning/logistic effort.
What else?
I think Drupalcamp Colorado 2013 is something we'll definitely want to do in a style similar to the 2011 camp and there are efforts under way already on securing a venue for that! But we don't need much extra help/work on that until after Drupalcon Denver.
Comments
I think the answer lies in
I think the answer lies in asking, who's the audience for DrupalCamp and will many of them also attend DrupalCon? If it is a similar group and they're getting that conference fix at DrupalCon, an alternative format is attractive.
Personally I'm unlikely to take paid training. The biggest advantage to these local events, for me, is meeting people active in the Drupal community. A code sprint (or a few of them based on skill set) would be a fun way to do that. I'd also suggest maybe a handful of more in-depth case studies, if any local freelancers or design shops would be willing? I've always felt the most powerful sessions at the camps are those which are based on a good case study. We don't often get to do that during the user group sessions since they're more focused on functionality and Q&A.
alt camp styles
In addition to the type of camp sessions/training/sprints, previous discussions have mentioned the following venues/styles for the camp:
Avoid burnout
I really think that the superhuman effort you all are putting out for Drupalcon will require some significant rest after the fact. IMO it would be crazy to do a regular Drupalcamp, but great alternative ideas like jyee's, which hopefully would provide rest and inspiration instead of a bone-crushing amount of work, could be great. Please do not be afraid to skip 2012 for Drupalcamp Colorado.
Also consider the reality of budgets...
I'm going to agree with Randy. I'd be worried about burnout for the group of dedicated individuals who are doing most of the work for Drupalcon. In addition, I would wonder if department heads will budget for one or the other, but not both. Certainly the Roaring Fork Valley Drupal (Western Colorado) shops would probably only send people to one, not both. Obviously the entrance fee is not the primary expense, it's the hotel, food, and travel budget. What if we had a Drupal retreat or a Drupal party that was less structured, but a time to get together and interact. I like the code sprints idea, something much more informal. I like the camping idea, though I recommend we leave the computers behind if we do that.
Seth Brown
Lullabot
970.618.5370
BarCamp/Unconference
I'm interested in a camp that requires minimal planning. I really like the idea of an actual camping camp with tents or cabins in the woods, but even that feels like too much planning to me as I imagine what that it actually requires to put together. Thinking about the bare minimum that we'd need, I think we could have a good event with just a location and good internet. And even good internet doesn't seem absolutely necessary, as we can do a lot on local Drupal installs. That kind of event sounds to me a lot like the BarCamp model of "unconference," which has a good track record of quality events.
BarCamp is pretty similar to how we do BOFs, where anyone can show up and schedule whatever presentation or discussion or sprints they want on some sort of central scheduling tool (e.g. pieces of paper taped on a wall), and everyone just goes wherever they want. I'm suggesting we do an event like this with minimal planning, no registration, no session submission or selection, no sponsors, no keynotes, no programs, maybe not even a website, though that's hard to imagine for a Drupal event. Just a bunch of Drupal people together in the same place for a weekend sounds fun to me.
We have momentum and market demand.
I would like to volunteer for Drupalcamp Colorado 2012. The local Colorado community is one of the strongest in the US and continues to grow with the great market demand for Drupal professionals. I attended the last three Drupalcamp Colorado events 2009, 2010 and 2011 and all were invaluable in terms of social networking, business connections and technical presentations. These events are of critical importance and foster many types of information technology workers accessing Drupal.
In my opinion YES we should hold a Drupalcamp Colorado 2012 and we should keep the OPEN format. Paid training and Code sprints should be offered pre and post camp.
Drupalcamp as alternative to Drupalcon
I also attended the last three Drupalcamp Colorado events and they were fantastic experiences for me.
I realize that the same people that typically help put those together are involved in the planning and execution for the Con, so I think a more relaxed format would be a good thing to relieve some of that pressure.
Would it be possible to utilize existing places such as bars, coffee shops etc to hold small, informal groups of people? Sort of like a guerilla camp?
People interested in hosting a small group could choose a location, post the details and just go from there.
If the information was available on a camp site, anyone who wanted to attend one would be able to find out when and where.
I know that the con will be a huge event but I'm sure that there are those that would choose to attend the camp as opposed to the con for either monetary or other reasons.
I'm not local to the Denver area but would offer to help with whatever I could from here in Lincoln, NE.
Informal
I've been an advocate for informal meetups, especially in this case. I've never been to a true barcamp, but I have no doubt that if we do nothing more than set a few times and a few locations, and a wide range of Drupalerii show up, we'll have a timely, quality and personable event.
Code sprints, bofs, and group discussions are much more appealing to me than the more common case of speakers presenting to audiences. There'll be plenty of that (formal presentations) at DrupalCon.
For a web site, how about if we use this group? We have a wiki pages, polls, events and discussions here. Yeah, I know it's not as fancy as a full blown event site, but, it's already ready for us.
Summary: I'd like to see this happen, but I'd like to keep planning minimal to help keep people from overextending themselves.
Alternative locations
Since the heaviest burden of DrupalCon will be presumably landing people in the Denver area, it may be worthwhile to consider some alternative areas. Here are a few worth considering...
Each of these places have unique "getaway" things to offer for outdoor recreation. I avoided listing more remote mountain towns because I do think we need places that have ample hotels and good internet connections.
A real camp?
I think it might be fun to have a real camp (aka camping) alternative for this year. Pretty sure no other group has done one of those.
Combo centralized, decentralized format
Given the varied thoughts on formats, can we do a little of both.
Have local gatherings with code sprints, BOFs and group discussions but connect everyone via opening/closing remarks.
For example, using the online streaming of our local community access studios then breaking out into local groups. If we have a specialty concentration in a given part of the state, that could be the focus for them, say COD. And those wanting to participate in COD activities could road trip it to that lovely section of the state.
My 2 cents, (US currency)
José G.
Avoid burnout, but enjoy community
This is probably not a great time for me to write as I am in over my eyeballs with Drupalcon Denver. The burnout potential is high. I'd be ready for a traditional Drupalcamp Colorado in 2013. In 2012, I would prefer something much more informal. Something emphasizing community over structure. Unlike our local meetings, I would like to have something that is enough of an event to pull people from across the state,,, avoid segmenting by geography.
Rick Nashleanas
www.monarchdigital.com
Out of Stater
DrupalCamp Co. 2011 was my first attendance. Being from from Kansas, the drive is about 8 hours and I've been debating on whether or not I would attend both events (assuming DCamp Co. 2012 happens) or DrupalCon only. More than likely, I would end up attending both but I will say that if the structured event doesn't take place this year, it won't hurt my feelings. I would recommend to pool the manpower and resources into helping the folks putting on DrupalCon, and setup more of an informal setting for the in-staters who would be willing to go to both. I think the local and instate folks are the one's most likely to go to DrupalCamp, however there might be folks not able to attend the Conference but excited about the Camp.
Here's a thought, maybe setup a poll on the drupalcampcolorado.org website and start polling folks to see who would attend one over the other vs both. This might help the organizers decide on the best route to take with this years camp. Shoot an e-mail out to all the folks who attended last year and see if you can get them to enter the poll.