VidCamp – The Media 2.0 unConference

A VidCamp Update

Since we are only a week away from VidCamp, I thought I would update you on how VidCamp is progressing and how things are currently planned. I have met with some of you to brainstorm about VidCamp and as a result of these conversations, the structure of the day has evolved into a something I feel will be quite dynamic, enjoyable and insightful ! So, on to the details…

COST
We were quite fortunate to receive some sponsorship funding from Heenan Blaikie! However, their sponsorship does not cover all of the event costs. So, we will have to charge $20/person to cover the remaining costs. We will be providing Coffee, Tea and snacks throughout the day. We will break for one hour to allow everyone to grab lunch and will provide a list of restaurants and nearby eating options.

ATTENDEES
I am often asked who will be attending VidCamp. Since I respect everyone’s right to privacy, I have created an online (Wiki) web page where anyone attending can voluntarily add his/her name (or initials ) to the list. However, if you give me your permission, I will gladly do this for you. I ask that you tell me exactly what information you would like to publicly publish, e.g. title, web page, email, etc. I would also like to know what you hope to gain from this experience and/or what expectations you might have for VidCamp.

AGENDA
Here is the current plan:

9:00 – 9:30	Registration
9:30 – 9:45	Welcome and Introduction
9:45 – 10:15	Speed Networking (in small groups)
10:15 – 10:45	Defining “What is Media 2.0″
10:45 – 11:00	Coffee Break
11:00 – 11:30	Speed Networking (new groups)
11:30 – 12:00	Identifying the Top 5 Media 2.0 Challenges & Hurdles
12:00 – 1:00	Lunch Break
1:00 – 2:00	Ideas and Solutions to Identified Challenges
2:00 – 2:30	Participant-Led Discussion(s)
2:30 – 2:45	Break
2:45 – 3:15	Participant-Led Discussion(s)
3:15 – 4:00	Participant-Led Discussion(s)
4:00 – 4:15	Break
4:15 – 5:00	Opportunities & Next Steps for Vancouver
5:00 – 5:30	Wrap-Up

Since we are still a week away, some tweaking might occur. But, I hope this will give you a sense of what we are envisioning.

PARTICIPANT-LED DISCUSSIONS (replaces “Presentations)
As you see on the Agenda, the afternoon is largely driven by participant-led discussions. These “in-the-round” discussions will be led by VidCamp participants who would like to present a question or topic of interest and then talk for 1-5 minutes about what their thoughts are. The question/topic will then be thrown out to the group to discuss and debate. Please note that depending on the interest and number of topics, we may talk about these issues in one large group or break into smaller groups. I do not anticipate that each topic will fill up 45 minutes; we will probably discuss several topics in each of these time slots. So, short discussions are quite welcomed. Also, since not everyone present will be an expert on every topic, I ask that you focus on high-level issues and not delve too much into specific technology details. Introducing the appropriate technology issues to the discussion is important, however, keep in mind that the group is diverse and ideally, we want everyone to be able to contribute and ask thought-provoking questions.

TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT
Although we will be discussing cutting-edge business models and new media ideas, I have decided to take a somewhat low-tech approach to VidCamp . I want this day to be about discussions, debates, and conversation. In other words, I want this to be about people’s ideas and thoughts and less about fiddling with technology to make PowerPoint presentations. We will have limited wireless access should people want to showcase examples of their projects or check email. But, the day will be much more about using our physical brains rather than the virtual ones in our computers .

WIKI
For those of you who are interested, we have added a Wiki to the VidCamp web site! (Many, many thanks to Geoff for his hard work on integration and design!) Once you sign-up for an account, you can contribute and edit any and all content on the wiki. I envision that this will become an online resource where we can publicly highlight the expertise and knowledge base here in Vancouver. After VidCamp, I plan to summarize and transcribe all of the ideas, thoughts and results discussed and allow others to see and comment on them, especially those who were not able to attend VidCamp.

READING/LISTENING MATERIALS
I have been adding articles and podcasts that I have found interesting to the VidCamp Resource page. I recommend that you read some of these articles and see what is being discussed and debated in the digital entertainment and new media worlds. If you have any specific resources, feel free to add them to the wiki resource page or send me the link/information and I’d be more than happy to add them myself.

I believe that is everything for now. If I you have any other questions, comments or suggestions, please do let me know. As I said, there may be some tweaking happening in the next week and often these changes are based on recommendations from you — the participants!

Also, don’t forget to either send me your contact information or add your name to the Attendees web page.

I look forward to seeing (and meeting) all of you next week and thank you in advance for your contribution to VidCamp!

Rochelle

Add comment February 10th, 2006

VidCamp: Agenda & Structure, Part II

I have thought more about the VidCamp Agenda and here is where things stand at the moment.Â

Initially, we will break up into six smaller groups (~12 people each) in the morning and start with Speed Networking. Each person will have 2 minutes to present him/herself to another person. After this, the group will be asked the question, What is Media Convergence? Each person will have 2 minutes to come up with a definition and then the group will have 5 minutes to come up with a group definition of media convergence. After this, each group will be ‘merged’ with another group (of 12) and have 5 minutes to create a new media convergence definition base on the resulting group definitions. This process will be repeated until finally, the whole group (i.e. the 75 people merge and a definition is created for the day. The groups will then be disbursed and new/different groups will be assembled. In these new groups, we will repeat the Speed Networking with 1 minute/person. Then the group process will be repeated with the question, What hurdles and challenges are currently present?, with the final result being the top 5 challenges and hurdles. I anticipate that this will take most of the morning, including brief coffee breaks and some general networking time.

During lunch (or ideally beforehand), I would like for all participants to think about a ‘presentation/talk’ focused on how these challenges and hurdles are affecting their industry and/or what they are doing to address some critical new media issues. (In preparation for VidCamp, IÂ will be putting together a wishlist of ideas/topics I’d like to see, but I do encourage others to share their thoughts, as well!)

After lunch, there will be 15-minute sponsor presentations to the entire group showcasing what they are doing in this industry space and how they can be a beneficial resource/partner to those attending. Following all the sponsor presentations, we will have a 15-minute break for any Q&A and general networking. After the sponsor presentations, we will ask participants to make 10-minute presentations (either previously-prepared or impromptu ones based on the day’s activities). We will plan for ~5 presentations/hour, with a break every hour for participants to ask questions and network. Depending on the number of presentations, this timing may change. However, given this general structure, I envision that we will have approximately 3-5 sponsor presentations and up to 15 participant presentations. To allow for a free-flow of ideas and conversations, I do plan to have several short breaks.

My goal for the day is to create a Vancouver-based ‘brain-trust’ where people understand what various Vancouver companies are doing in the new media space and what challenges they face. I also want to facilitate concrete professional connections, where everyone can meet someone who might be able to augment their area(s) of expertise.Â

My ultimate goal is to get Vancouver organizations working together so that we can become a North American Centre of New Media Excellence. Vancouver has all of the requisite industries present and I strongly believe that we are extremely well-positioned to make it happen. We simply need to join together and support each other as we build this new industry and market.

Those are my latest thoughts on the process and the outcomes. If you have some specific wishes, I’d love to hear them and if there is something specific you would like to see happen, please let me know and I would be more than happy to consider it.

Add comment January 30th, 2006

VidCamp: Agenda & Structure

I have received several questions from people asking specifically about VidCamp’s agenda and structure. While I do want to keep the “Agenda” open to accommodate a free-flow of ideas and directions, here are my current thoughts for the event.

VidCamp will be an all-day event that will take place from 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM. There will be a facilitator who will introduce the concept of open discussions and assist in brainstorming. The morning will include discussions, both as a group and in smaller sub-groups, about general industry questions such as:

• What is media 2.0/media convergence?
• What are some of the biggest challenges and hurdles presented by these new opportunities?
• How will these changes affect “my” industry?
• What are organizations doing to prepare for these upcoming changes?

In the afternoon, those attending can share, in smaller groups, their insights and thoughts regarding specific area(s) of expertise as it pertains to the questions discussed in the morning sessions.

Since I do want VidCamp to deliver thought-provoking and intelligent exchanges, I am quite open to changing this structure or discussing other questions. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Add comment January 19th, 2006