Comments on: Podcamp Boston 2 – The Circle Discussion

By: A Technical Manager’s Perspective » Podcamp Boston Discussion

A Technical Manager’s Perspective » Podcamp Boston Discussion — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:20:26 +0000

[...] from http://www.bobgoyetche.com Podcamp Boston 2 – The Circle DiscussionAfter lunch at Podcamp Boston this past weekend, Chris [...]

By: Time to sit on the floor again » Bob Goyetche

Time to sit on the floor again » Bob Goyetche — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 03:42:45 +0000

[...] idea for Podcamp Ottawa came from Podcamp Boston2, where we all sat on the floor (the infamous circle discussion) and exchanged ideas and methods for making this community thrive. Mark took that event as a sign [...]

By: a look back at Podcamp Ottawa » Bob Goyetche

a look back at Podcamp Ottawa » Bob Goyetche — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:57:26 +0000

[...] Mark Blevis‘ idea for an ultra compact-sit-on-the-floor event, inspired in part by the Circle Discussion we had at Podcamp [...]

By: Paul Lyzun

Paul Lyzun — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 17:57:55 +0000

I am so glad that Mark made the comment about the size of the venue, and other comments were made about un unconference nature of the sessions. I recorded my review of the event the Monday after Podcamp Boston and I was a little self conscious about my rant on the venue. I don’t want to be a faucet of negatism, I want to be part of the building up process. I’m glad that people can see that building up sometime requires taking the time for critical reassessment, before continuing to move forward.

I love the “ask me” and “I want to know” button idea. I hope it happens.

By: Michael Netzley

Michael Netzley — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:19:47 +0000

As I watch the video I cannot help but think about the old statistical concept…gravitation toward the mean. It sounds like PodCamp Boston 1 was small which allowed for something exceptional to happen. But with PodCamp Boston 2 being so much larger, we should expect any such event (PodCamp or otherwise) to gravitate toward the mean.

Proportionally, you have fewer of the earliest adopters, fewer of the earliest champions, and a greater number of people who are perhaps slightly less likely to be first out of the box. Consequently the entire character of any such event will change, fewer people will be the first to create or join impromptu discussions (let alone make the video), and we should expect PodCamp to be more like a typical conference (which seems to be one of the observations that people are making in the video). This is usually the price of success (unless the group is highly atypical).

Looking at this from an organizational development perspective, I would say that it is a truly rare or exceptional event that can be everything to everybody. Event organizers usually have to choose what they want the event to be, and maybe that is what needs to happen PodCamp? Do you want an event that is small, intimate, and spontaneous, or do you want large, popular, and typical? It would be nice to have our cake and eat it too, but…

I also hear a leadership opportunity as I watch the video. It wasn’t that long ago that everyone was new to social media. Acting on the opportunity to be the first to give back, and build a sense of reciprocity, may go a long way for social media leaders who want to maintain that something special about the event. Discussing RSS might bet old hat, but at the same time it is a chance to build and mainbtain the type of community youw ant as people continue to join.

Great video. Thank you for sharing.

By: Dan Patterson

Dan Patterson — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 02:19:39 +0000

Thanks much for posting this, Bob! I think there are some real lessons to be learned here. Let’s share this and learn what we can about evangelizing our medium.

By: Jay Moonah’s Blog » Where’s My “Un”? (a.k.a. Let Podcamp Be Podcamp)

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 22:26:28 +0000

[...] Onward. In the wake of Podcamp Boston 2 last weekend, there’s been a lot of talk about the future of the Podcamp movement, how we as a community want to see things evolve, how to grow audiences beyond the fishbowl, etc. One of the things that has struck in me a lot of this, including the now-famous “circle conversation” that can be seen and heard on Bob Goyetche’s blog, is that a lot of what’s being suggested as “the way forward” is actually what I see as existing within the Podcamp movement as I’ve come to know and love it. In particular, suggestions around creating the conditions for spontaneous conversations and impromptu sessions already exist within the Podcamp ethos. [...]

By: Morriss Partee

Morriss Partee — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:28:37 +0000

Hi Bob, Thanks for capturing and uploading this. I was there, but missed this fabulous gathering which I think wonderfully encapsulates the un-conference spirit. I think the number one, most important thing for any event organizer to keep in mind is to leave breathing room in between the “official” sessions/activities. It’s these type of informal ad-hoc gatherings that attendees love, so building time for them into the schedule is key. I’m going to keep it in mind for PodCampWesternMass and all future events I’m involved in.

By: Joel Mark Witt

Joel Mark Witt — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 01:11:54 +0000

Thank you for posting this. We are in the process of planning Podcamp DC: http://podcampdc.pbwiki.com/ and this is very helpful.

Joel Mark Witt

By: Justin Kaiser

Justin Kaiser — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:13:25 +0000

Great video and great information. Look forward to seeing you all at Podcamp CHI…

More at http://www.podcampCHI.com

Justin