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BarCamp Cleanup

BarCamp Cleanup

BarCamp Cleanup

So, we've cleaned up, shut down the wireless routers and projectors, stacked the plastic chairs, recycled the pizza boxes and beer bottles, paid the hotel bills, sent the cheque out and gone home to reflect on a fun and successful weekend. BarCampSheffield really did exceed my expectations. How can an event with so little organisation and promotion succeed? I guess it's just all down to the people participating in it. Just look at the great pile of photos (over 400 now!) that were being uploading during the day, or the positive blog responses that have sprung up over the past couple of days. You lot made it work, not us. All we really did was provide you a with a great big room to fill with your enthusiasm. What has disappointed me about it though, was the turn out of people from larger Sheffield companies. Don't get me wrong, we had the right number of people, (any more and we wouldn't have had enough pizza!) but where was Technophobia, Insight UK, Magic Number or even HSBC, whose European IT headquarters are over the road?! What about students from The Sheffield University or the Sheffield Hallam University? We had more students from Leeds Beckett University than locally! (Admittedly, Dean did go up and blackmail them into coming!). I don't get it. PlusNet has spent a long time with it's doors closed, looking inwards, presuming we are the experts, and not embracing the real internet/web community that lies outside of our walls. This year we've gone to FOWA, FOWD, Internet World, Usability in Practice and even SXSW and would advise any developer out there to stand up and go hassle their boss to get them tickets to one of these things. It's amazing the amount of stuff you can learn by getting out of your environment and spending a few hours seeing how other people do it. Hell, I'm talking to Meecard and Thinkfold after their application demonstrations on Sunday about the possibilities of using their applications to help us internally! Get it? You might even get customers!  

Leeds Beckett University

 
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5 Comments
Ian_Green
Not applicable
I thought it was a great event, But I do think the north is a year behind London in the web2.0, techie thing and five years behind the US. AND two years behind Europe. Imran Ali and myself are hopping to do a BarCamp in Leeds. Will you be there?
Kelly
Hero
I can understand the UK being behind the US. Different funding styles, differing business start up environment etc, but the North being behind London is frankly unacceptable in my eyes! Gah! Yeah, I've got my name down for BarCampLeeds.
Imran___
Not applicable
Thanks for the shoutout Kelly and for a really fun day...I'm not so pessemistic about the health of tech in the North, but we can do a lot better...I got a few things planned - including BarCamp+OpenCoffee Leeds - to help cohere the smarts strung out across the region...would you like to be involved?
Kelly
Hero
Would love to. I'm without car which makes commuting a bit of a nightmare, but I'm going to try and at least attend and assist events if possible.
daniel__insight
Not applicable
hi, Kelly, how's life? had I known this was going on I'd definitely have been there. I am kicking myself for having missed it. I see I've just missed Imran's event too - a great month for me. Do let me know of anything similar in future, or if you need any help setting up something simiilar. if anyone just wants to meet up & have a chat / set up something regular - do get in touch. Speak to you soon, daniel