Maintaining Community Spirit In Larger Communities
I’m a little freaked out about the size of PodCamp NYC, coming up on April 7th at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, New York. I’m worried that the very heart and soul of PodCamp, the sense that everyone who comes has the power to actively affect the experience, won’t scale when there are over 800 registered participants. How do you scale community? This is a long post, but might be of use to conference and unconference organizers. And one last thing: I’m not telling PodCamp NYC what to do. I’m thinking out loud for all PodCamps on how we might keep community at the core.
I Work for a HUGE Conference
First off, I work for Video on the Net, Jeff Pulver’s conference about the impact of the broadband Internet on TV, film, and broadcasting. This event, combined with VON (which talks about the voice communications industry), brings over 10,000 people together for a few days. And yet, the word “community” is plastered everywhere in the signage and brochures, and the event has a community orientation plus two community developers on staff. If VON can get it done, if Jeff believes so much in community that he pays me and Carl Ford to represent the very nature of community, I can figure this puzzle out for PodCamp as well.
Is “Community” the Flexible Schedule?
PodCamp NYC is so large that speakers and schedule have been mostly turned solid already, whereas in previous PodCamps, one of the appealing features was that anyone at the event could spontaneously schedule a session, provided a room was available, or a suitable space could be found to gather. Well, with over 800 people, that won’t work well in NYC.
The key asset here is PARTICIPATION. I want the people who come to feel that they can drive the content and the direction it takes. Maybe latecomers can’t schedule formal sessions, but how about this?
Recommendation: Build a large bulletin area and designate unassigned spaces where latecomers can schedule ad-hoc sessions onsite, either for follow-on from existing sessions, or to try new things.
Protecting the “Little Guy”
One of my pride-and-joy feelings about PodCamp is that we had LOTS of new people: a 12 year old boy, school teachers, a straight male knitter, and plenty more folks who felt they weren’t exactly the “A List” of new media. But by the end of the event, I’d like to think that EVERYONE felt they had been transformed into superheroes. Sure, we had some podcasting “royalty” in the room, and yes, I was very proud that our inaugural event brought them together under one roof. But the homeschooling mom and the shy guy with the great baritone voice he kept hidden in a whisper got the same, if not more, attention from me as did the folks getting 300,000 downloads a day.
Recommendation: Praise and raise up the new blood, the uncertain, and the fringe players. The rockstars will get their level of fawning without you. Treat everyone as important, as the main reason you’re there, because that’s the truth of it. You’re there to make community happen.
Be Kind to Sponsors as PART of the Community
Every time Christopher Penn and I talked about sponsors, we mentioned in the same breath that we wanted to treat them like the Public Radio model, where you give them love and credit, but feature them more like underwriters than flashy ad brands. We learned as we went that it’s important to give sponsors appropriate love, and treat them all very well, but from the start, we had ideas on how we’d rather see them be treated.
Recommendation: Invite sponsors to offer sessions, to share how-to with their products or services, or to record podcast materials (audio or video) that talk about what they do. Give them reasonable signage and link love online. But be up front from the start that the event is for the larger community, and that you answer to the community first. I imagine most sponsors will get that. (Would any sponsors like to comment about this?)
Media Coverage
The PodCamp that seemed to do the best press to date was PodCamp Pittsburgh. Justin Kownacki and Eric Schark especially really got a lot of press to cover the event ahead of time, and PodCamps tend to well, press-wise, after the event left to their own. But there was nothing ever said or done about what to do with media coverage AT the event. Why? Because as far as I was concerned, anyone from the press who was at PodCamp was there as a participant first, a journalist second. That’s all I can say about that.
Recommendation: Press are people too. Sure, give interviews, but let them learn the same way everyone else is: by experiencing it.
Encouraging Conversation and Communication
If you step back about what the event is about, the most important part of community is getting everyone to talk and convey thoughts and feelings and information about what it is you’re all passionate about. That doesn’t require scheduling or planning or special considerations. It just requires humanity. But you can help it along. Stay attentive at all times for opportunities to connect one person to another, especially if they might benefit from knowing each other better. At the last Video on the Net in San Jose, I had some great opportunities to do this, and every time, it felt rewarding.
Recommendation: Put your best “connectors” to work, getting people to meet new people, and encouraging conversations about the experience. Leave “air” in the schedule for things like this. Encourage group meals and activities.
This is a picture of the day Christopher Penn and I met, shot by Bryan Person, who was also impactful on the creation of PodCamp. That day, we had no idea we’d pull off a really exciting event that would bring together hundreds, but inspire THOUSANDS. No clue. And yet, two guys with the help of plenty more people, got this event going and then let it loose for everyone to take a swing at producing. We don’t have much more experience than you. We have some experience. We learned SOME things. You’ll pick up more, too. All this above are just thoughts and suggestions, based on what I hope I’ve learned.
Weigh In
You might not have run a PodCamp, but maybe you’ve put on another event. Maybe you’re a conference junkie. Did you attend VON or Video on the Net? Whatever. I bet you have thoughts on the matter. Please let’s open up the comment section to a discussion and an enrichment of the post overall. And thank you.
Chris Brogan is co-founder of PodCamp, a free unconference about using new media. He is also community developer to Video on the Net, as well as a startup, Network2, a guide to the best Internet TV. He blogs at [chrisbrogan.com]
(photo credit, Bryan Person. Used without permission, but I hope he gets back to me.)
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Comments
PodCamp Atlanta also knocked the socks off the press world. They were all over the AP Newswires.
I have some additional thoughts about this that I will blog about later as well.
I wrote a post over at Parent’s Eye View on this, and it is about Podcamp NYC although I did not tag it such. When a community based on abundance meets scarcity of time and resources, you face real challenges. You can argue that “tracking” of sessions is segregation of communities, or maybe it just creates micro podcamps within the larger whole. A video podcamp. A newbie podcamp. A Marketing podcamp. And the ability to experience them all in the same day, as you see fit. You can be part of each community, or even none- and ultimately your podcamp NYC experience will be what you choose to make it. You, each individual, are really in control. We just are letting you know where people will be and when. the rest is up to you.
[update- Chris Brogan added a link to Whitney’s site]
Community is key. While I love the sessions at Podcamp and Podcast Expo, just meeting and talking with people is a HUGE part of the experience. Yes, I’m rather awkward at starting a conversation, but being in a space FILLED with people of similar interests helps a lot. If you see me, please, please, please step right up and say “Hi!”
Also, I have run Trek conventions in the past (yes, I said it, so there). Message boards are a great way to keep everyone in touch, even in a world filled with cell phones. And make sure there are “freebie tables”. I can’t meet everyone, but I can pick up their cards or flyers or CDs.
Hiya Chris :) Wow - it’s crazy to see that pic of Podcamp Boston. It’s hard to believe that was only a year ago, isn’t it - it seems like a lifetime.
I have to admit, this list made me smile, because it covers everything that we’re talking so much about as a team and working so hard to preserve.
To me, the true spirit of podcamp (and of barcamp) is the idea of making your own conference. Everyone has the opportunity to give the talks, fix the wifi (or whatever else is broken), and directly affect the event.
So, as we’ve grown beyond our wildest expectations, how do we ensure that everyone still feels empowered?
One of our goals is to create room for and encourage ad-hoc lightning sessions and talks. Steve Garfield’s impromptu Ze Frank session at PodCamp Boston was one of the best parts of the day for me.
We’re also creating an area just for “chilling out” with other folks, getting on the wifi, and having a chat. That seems like a no brainer, but, we want to be sure to leave space for the informal stuff. 15 minute breaks between each session should hopefully also spark some good hallway chats :)
So here’s where we struggle:
There may be a point where it’s just too many sessions in too short a time. We’ve got 12 sessions running at once. When you’re speaking, 11 other talks are going on around you. I’m not sure how to advise other podcamps on that, because closing the speaker list felt antithetical to the event.
I have a feeling that when we send out the draft schedule later today and say “okay, what’s broken, what needs to change?”, a few folks may feel like it’s intimidating to be scheduled against so many other talks and choose not to speak.
I don’t want to lose those people! I don’t want them to feel that they don’t have something great to contribute and lose that amazing experience of sharing their knowledge.
If anything, I’m hoping that instead of dropping out, people team up with others and make “supertalks” on their topic, and I’ll definitely be encouraging anyone who’s nervous about speaking to do that.
Shaping the event from the first moment is very important as well. In your opening remarks of Podcamp Boston, you and Chris Penn made it clear that if something went wrong, not to find you, not to ask permission, but simply to fix it. That’s a very different message from any other conference, and it really changes the whole perception of the event.
You’re saying “we’re not the final word here - you are,” and that makes all the difference.
We’re doing our best to be very true to that spirit!
Eric Skiff and Whitney Hoffman are both veterans of several unconference experiences, and on top of it, Whitney has professional experience helping organize large crowd logistics that stagger the mind. If they have scheduling plans, I subscribe to them.
Clinton- you raised a good point I’m horrible at recognizing. Shy people. I’m the kind who doesn’t exactly SCARE shy people, but most of my suggestions on how to conduct one’s self at an event are rarely easy to emulate should you be shy. Thanks for the kind reminder. In those cases, it’s incumbent on people around the shy people to be as inclusive as possible without being brash, and as quick to point out similarities as possible, so that people have ways to jump in.
Great thoughts, everyone.
Good post, but I’m pretty sure Bryper is gonna sue your ass for using that pic. He seems like the litigious sort. ;-)
See you, and many friends old and heretofore not yet met, next week!
Great post Christ. While this Podcamp will be my first one, I’m not too concerned about there being a “lack of community”. In fact, I think what we’ll witness is a group of smaller communities that result from each of the presentations. As we move from presentation to presentation, the conversation will shift as well and just like in the blogosphere, new people will be brought in to each conversation throughout the day. This will help contribute to the feeling of community. Just a thought!
You raise a good point, Nick. PodCamp NYC will be several people’s FIRST PodCamp. That’s a great thing and not to be overlooked. I bet the community of people there will really rule the experience.
The shyness/”I’m new here” thing is huge. Nothing gives me dry mouth faster than the feeling of being surrounded by people who know WAAAAY more than I do. Part of it is wanting to observe and learn but part of it is the fear of saying something very, very stupid.
I don’t want to be that guy who measures gatherings and events in terms of the number of awkward silences I left in my wake.
-Jon
Chris Brogan- How do you maintain …
Chris Brogan wrote a great piece today, “Maintaining Community Spirit In Larger Communities”, that addresses the fact that the Podcamp movement has become so much bigger than the original organizers really imagined that it would be. He points to the…
Dan York ROCKS. Comment #13 is a link to his post, and he has some GREAT ideas there. In case you’re lazy, here’s the link.
I am TOTALLY PUMPED about your amazing post, Chris, your suggestions and the focus on community that inspired me so much in Boston.
That said, I’d LOVE IT if we can shift from the language about PodCamp NYC that infers we’re in a negative place (”victims of their success” and so on from similarly themed posts).
Last week was my week to get defensive and say, “when we got to 500 people and closed off the list (as our then hosts were concerned about fire codes) we caught a ton of flack. So we opened the lists up, moved to a new venue TWO WEEKS before the event, and found a new place for our after-party.”
But I’m tired of being defensive, especially because everyone knows our (PodCamp NYC organizers) hearts are in the right place, and people’s concerns about community are utterly understandable and justified.
But let me tell you a story; as an actor for over 20 years, my job was to create an intimacy with an audience whether speaking to one camera or in a 2,000 seat theatre. The difference between these two audiences in terms of my role (literally and figuratively) was largely technical (T.V. is a smaller medium; every gesture looks huge on camera, whereas in theatre your voice needs to hit the final row in the balcony, etc.).
I did not have the luxury of thinking, “there are a lot of people here tonight; will my performance suffer because there are so many people?”
I think an ESSENTIAL aspect of this discussion is on the definition of ‘community.’ The word infers an intimacy or a fellow feeling (to me) more than a focus on numbers. In my opinion, an intimate community, in terms of having a bunch of people I talk to, is probably limited to 10 or 12 people around a diner table. I used to have a weekly brunch with friends (it’s where I met my wife) that felt too big when 20 people started coming. I ended up only really having a meaningful conversation with the two or three people next to me.
So I’d urge, nay, ENTREAT folks like you, Chris, C.C., and other luminaries in our core community to recognize that the vision created at Podcamp Boston is the REASON there are so many folks signed up! How freakin’ cool is that??? I would not DARE to think this many people are coming because of me or the other organizers, no matter how hard we worked. People are coming because they are infatuated with the IDEA. When I call potential sponsors or whoever, some of the first things they say are, “That’s really cool.” Then it’s typically, “You don’t get paid? And it’s free?” (half amazed, half pity as they wonder if I’m an idiot).
BUT I’M NOT! Tough noogies to you and Penn, Chris! YOU created Podcamp and made us all fall in love with a transformative event that changed (at least in my case) my adult life! You’re the victim of our success. :)
And you should be! You guys created a paradigm which can only insulate and support everyone who comes to PodCamp NYC. Do you want to know who I think the real rock stars are? The 40-60 teachers coming to the event (K-PhD level). These are the folks ‘taking the tech’ back to the kids who will likely have ALL our jobs in a year or so. They are the ones helping kids discover their voices and how to utilize this technology to transform the world through DIY and Citizen Journalism, etc.
I have some news for everyone reading and it may come as a shock: Community is as lean forward and DIY as Podcamp - PodCamp NYC cannot create community. Period. If you’re worried that we may not be able to, you’re right. Stay home. Cancel your flight.
COMMUNITY STARTS WITH YOU.
That said, Chris, as always, your specific ideas KICK BUTT and as Eric pointed out we’re doing as many as we can (lighting sessions in the mezz, focusing positively on the sponsors as part of the community, etc.)
But we do desperately need you and other voices to understand/blog about the KEY difference between logistics and philosophy and that if we cater to the former we by NO MEANS are unaware of the latter. Even when we had 500 signups and 100 speakers, we wondered how best to make sure people knew where to go without discouraging a participatory feel. So we VERY MUCH NEED your/others’ support if/when the core/grassroots community understandably disagrees with whatever we do, which (don’t tell anyone) won’t happen until later today. (Quick side note here; I have heard from dozens of our speakers asking when they’re going to speak due to their travel arrangements and wanting to let their friends know when they’re going to speak - so remember that sometimes a philosophical decision/preference on one end doesn’t always cater to others who have given time to your event; good side conversation).
But I digress. GET PUMPED, WORLD! (Yes, just had coffee). Podcamp is coming to NYC and you best hope to heck you can be there because the community, content, last-minute mayhem, parties, learning, networking, bagels, taxicabs, and whatever else will BLOW YOUR MIND.
So can we just focus on that now? Please? PRETTY PLEASE???
CHRIS BROGAN ROCKS!!!!!
John C. Havens
Participant, PodCamp NYC
For speakers, one thing that helps foster an “I’m an active participant and contributor not just a passive spectator” experience is to not do “presentations” as much as “group therapy”. :) Sessions should be conversations among everyone there, not just one speaking and others listening. I’m hoping to just get the ball rolling and mediate the conversation, record ideas on the projector, cut off blowhards and encourage the timid.
Also, as a sponsor of PodCamp NYC, it’s my job for people to remember who I am (in the role of sponsor). That means finding some way to give back/give more to the community. If all that happens is that my sponsor name is on a hat or something, that’s not memorable.
So… what’s a sponsor to do?
We’ve tried. He comes by his enthusiasm naturally- no caffiene needed. And thank god it’s infectious when the rest of us start to get tired or feel jaded. We can steal a little of John’s energy and make it through the tough stuff.
/me waves arms in air and shouts ‘Amen’!
My PodCamp baptism was in Toronto, and I could pick at least 20 different parts of the event that set precedents for me, but the best one was the new definition of ‘talks’. ‘Talks’ were conversations: if there was a part that was formal (and trust me, that word is used here as loosely as possible), it hardly took up half the allotted time, with the rest of the session becoming a conversation among the people in the room. THAT was the participatory element, and those were the moments that brought everyone onto the playing field, evenly and enthusiastically.
You can bask in the rockstar metaphor if you want, but I propose that we all look up at ourselves with wonder and leave the rockstargazing for others. Everybody has experiences and insights to share, everybody is as important as the next person, and everybody still puts on trousers one leg at a time. (And if you don’t, I’ll be looking for a demo in the hallway!)
The reason we had such a great run of PR before PodCamp Pittsburgh is because Erik took the time to contact EVERYONE who may have been interested in the event, as far as we could tell. Having one person dedicated solely to that is a godsend.
(And even then, people still said afterwards, “Oh, I wish I’d heard about that,” which proves you can never get in front of everybody fast enough…)
Having such a huge number of people at PodCamp NYC shouldn’t be a problem as long as everyone remembers the basic tenets continually mentioned above: be social, be friendly, ask questions.
The biggest problem I see is the sheer amount of information available, and the trouble some folks may have in deciding what to see.
Solutions? Encourage people who arrived in groups, or from the same company, to NEVER attend the same session. That way, those folks get double the information to discuss afterwards, and meet double the people in the process.
Also, if the presentations are being recorded, make sure EVERYONE knows that so they can catch up on what they missed afterwards. It’ll take a lot of the anxiety of choice out of the equation.
I’m finding that I don’t even bother attending the sessions. I attended so few of them in Boston and didn’t attend any in Toronto. Not because I found the sessions boring. On the contrary, I found that meeting people in the hallways were much more interesting.
I love hearing people’s discoveries after they leave a session. I love brainstorming ideas with those who are jazzed about what podcasting can do. I love being in a position to help someone figure it out as they go from podvirgin to podenthusiast.
My idea of community is to be available. So, if I can’t attend each and every session, I don’t bother. Instead, I’d rather be evangelizing and networking, so that people take their enthusiasm about podcasting to their businesses, their workplace and to their colleagues.
“PodCamp Atlanta also knocked the socks off the press world. They were all over the AP Newswires.”
That’s right! We were even picked up by some news outlets in the UK… international, baby!
Excellent, thoughtful post, Chris. I hope event organizers of all stripes are listening to you. A sense of community can improve every gathering, Podcamp or not. I can’t wait to hear how Podcamp NYC turns out.