Having now attended four Be2camp events, three in person and one virtually, I thought it was about time for a blog post. Partly to explain the #be2camp hashtag that fills my twitter stream during the events but mainly to thank those who organise the events.
For those of you yet to discover the be2camp concept, the name refers to
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be = Built Environment
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2 = Web 2.0, such as twitter or blog sites
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camp = a collaborative, relaxed and informal event
My introduction to be2camp was be2campEast in Chelmsford in April, and then again in June when I bravely presented a Pecha Kucha. A fortuitous meeting cancellation allowed me to watch the live stream for Be2campNW in Manchester where I managed to lower the tone by repeatedly mentioning toilets (in my defence it was related to design collaboration!) and my most recent Be2camp experience was Be2campBrum on 12 August 2010.
One wonderful aspect of a Be2camp is that you are in a room with other people who don’t think it is at all weird to simultaneously watch a presentation, tweet, look at weblinks and connect on LinkedIn. Each event has stretched my brain as well as my perception of what is possible to achieve with Web 2.0.
If your idea of an event involves a nice shiny name badge, a neatly typed agenda and sitting passively watching PowerPoint presentation after PowerPoint presentation Be2camp is not for you.
But if you enjoy really getting involved in an event, commenting and asking questions in real during presentations, an amazingly friendly atmosphere and learning more in one afternoon than you normally learn in one month then you are an ideal candidate for Be2camp.
I am hoping to organise a Be2campOxon in Oxfordshire this autumn so suggestions for speakers and sponsors are very welcome. Following the popularity of the cakes at Be2campBrum a pastry chef might come in handy! The venue I have in mind has an amazing chef so I’m hoping we can come close to matching previous events.
I have to admit that I didn’t make the Wordle cake for Be2campBrum as it was made by Caketoppers whose clever packaging meant it survived the best efforts of the delivery company to sabotage it. The stunning cup cakes were sponsored by Thomasons and came from Kiss Me Cupcakes.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to all those involved with Be2camp and I’m so pleased to have discovered the events via Twitter.
