[HacktionLab] The 2019 Barncamp Inquiry ENDS

Tue Oct 29 18:34:40 UTC 2019

Thanks A, 

I think that was a great insight.  Given that I was pretty much the
benevolent dictator of BC organisation up until this last year, I think
it's absolutely correct.  Effectively I had a van, there was a load of
kit in OARC in Oxford, including a great big marquee, I had a load of
kit left over from doing the festivals 10 years ago, and as A says, we
had all that kit at Bristol Wireless for the same purpose.  A recalls
correctly that we went to site before the event, and started organising
the year before: one year I remember doing a stall to promote it at the
London Anarchist Bookfair in October the year before.  I spent a lot of
time on the phone cajoling people into doing things, liaising with the
farm, sourcing stuff to do.  This role, call it Production Manager, or
something like that,  along with a close group of people doing specific
things, and having face-to-face meetings, and establishing that
everything was understood by telephone, not a wiki, mailing list, nor
chat channel, and a van load of kit that was at hand to source, I feel
is the recipe that made it work, or at least made it work the way it
did. 

I'm really really grateful to you guys for the attempt to organise it
this year and keep BarnCamp alive, and really sorry that it didn't pan
out.  

My summary of things I think are worth doing to make it work are
(reflecting A's email): 

* have one or two people that act as Production Manager 

* cajole people into doing things in person or on the phone (more
powerful and easier to establish what's agreed than electronic methods) 

* make sure the kit is at hand 

* keep it simple, pair it down 

* start as early as possible, like now 

* avoid getting distracted by setting up on-line tools to organise with,
a piece of paper, or equivalent shared electronically will work better
imho 

* it's all about people, persuading them to do stuff, and making sure
they do do it 

* have a plan b 

Like A, I'm always available for help, or advice, or tips, for future
events. 

Cheers, 

Mike. 

On 2019-09-13 15:38, Acesabe wrote:

> Hi BC'ers,
> 
> Sorry not to have been in communication much in recent times, being far away and in little contact with the key BC people since moving to Spain I'm really well out of it now, but just like to comment my 2 cents and encourage you really.
> 
> Having been previously a core person in the first BCs I have a pretty good idea of what went into getting these events off the ground, and it's worth taking into account that *a lot* of the prep and organising work was basically done by one person, much of it well in advance (we did a site visit in ?Jan? one year iirc) and the fact that one person is effectively the *leader* kind of makes things seem easier, translating that into working groups and teams will take a bit of time and practice. 
> 
> I think those involved did a great effort in organising the last planned even especially considering how late it was started, which to me would seem to be the key factor in having fallen short this time. Well done all regardless, event organisation is chaotic at the  best of times so... 
> 
> For a 2020+ BC, lessons learned, processes improved there should be no reason not to try again, and if anyone is brave/mad enough to take on the role as key player in overseeing it, or make sure there is a core of 2 or 3 people to keep the vehicle on the road, might be an idea. 
> 
> Contingency is the other key factor, plan b and c even for all mission critical factors is a must.
> 
> Kit store in closer location makes sense, also reliable transport to get things there and back is essential (MH also had own van remember). We did use a lot of the Bristol Wireless kit too which was convenient but no longer available alas.. (whether "party tent", the white plastic marquee, still lives or not IDK, that was also a BW resource which we got Highbury Farm to "look after")
> 
> Once the ball is rolling, things will just fall into place, especially once there a a few people on-site. A lot of what we did in getting the event started and going was just impro in the days before! Often the tatting down was more tricky as the people vanished Sun night/Monday morning leaving those still there to sort it all out!
> 
> I do hope there will be a next BC and am happy to be contacted in the case of not being sure what or how something was done in case I might know how or who might know etc. Signal chat group or whatever, I'm happy to be in (I am still in the BC IRC chan). Key winning tactic is the old KISS acro is always worth remembering! 
> 
> Hope this helps and encourages a bit, and who knows, maybe we will make it over to the next event! Certainly miss it!
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> A 
> On Sep 13, 2019, at 14:00, hacktionlab-request at lists.aktivix.org wrote: 
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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. The 2019 Barncamp Inquiry ENDS (Ben Green)
> 
> -------------------------
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2019 09:06:51 +0100
> From: Ben Green <ben at bristolwireless.net>
> To: hacktionlab at lists.aktivix.org
> Subject: [HacktionLab] The 2019 Barncamp Inquiry ENDS
> Message-ID:
> <20190913090651.Horde.9rFtL4Y5vQ1lKVbsWNJaVbM at slackmail.co.uk>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed; DelSp=Yes
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> The Barncamp Inquiry data collection phase is over, and I'm also  
> drawing a close to the enquiry in general.
> 
> There were three submissions. Read them at:  
> https://hacktionlab.org/The_2019_BarnCamp_Inquiry
> 
> I don't see that there's much point in collating this since there's  
> only three entries. I'll attempt a little write up, but I think it's  
> best if now have a meeting to take things forward for next year/  
> abandon ship whichever we feel appropriate.
> 
> Thanks for participating in this inquiry.
> 
> Cheers,
> Ben
> 
> Quoting Ben Green <ben at bristolwireless.net>:
> 
> Hi all,
> 
> In order the better understand the issues surrounding the failure of 
> BarnCamp 2019, we want to kick off a relatively informal process of 
> opinion and perspective gathering, with a strong emphasis on what we 
> can do in the future to make our event not just happen, but also 
> totally kick ass.
> 
> For submissions there are:
> 
> * a pad
> * a wiki page
> * my email address
> 
> The central information repository will be this page:
> 
> https://hacktionlab.org/The_2019_BarnCamp_Inquiry
> 
> I'll close this process on Friday 13th September.
> 
> If you wish to mail in, mail to ben at bristolwireless.net with the 
> subject "2019BI". Include a name you wish to be know by. Say if you 
> want your comments kept private i.e. not added to the wiki.
> 
> Cheers,
> Ben
> 
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> End of HacktionLab Digest, Vol 127, Issue 1
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