CreativeCamp Belfast This Weekend

The first CreativeCamp (in Ireland) hit Kilkenny this past March (I had a helping hand in organising the event), an event which started to bring in a nice concentration on design and the arts online. I had many a good conversation with film makers, visual artists, a writer, a theatre director - all of whom were starting to explore the online world as a means to promote their work and connect with fellow artists.

While artists and creative practitioners made up a small portion of the blend of people there (there were initially 120+ subscribed to attend and likely 80-90 there over the day), the key thing is that it brought creative people together from all walks of life both online and off.

So it was great to see Andy McMillan (who I got to meet at this year’s Irish Blog Awards, briefly) annouce earlier this year that CreativeCamp Belfast would be taking place. And wouldn’t you know, it’s taking place this weekend.

CreativeCamp is a self-organised “unconference” - made up of open, participatory workshop-events where the participants are responsible for setting the agenda, deciding on topics and generating the content. CreativeCamp Belfast brings together technology and creative enthusiasts who want to make things happen with web, mobile, open source, new media, music and design.

Of all the events and unconferences to provide some kind of online coverage or online archive of the day, this is one of those events I hope archives everything.

When I passed my driving test earlier in the summer (before the need to have a second driver regardless of your license kicked in) I thought, “this is great - have van, will travel. Dublin, Belfast, anywhere with a bit of motorway”.

Then in typical Irish form you get an invitation to a wedding and two fall on the same weekend, pinning me to Kilkenny on Friday and Mayo on Saturday. So there’s a slight part of me (the musician and music promotor / sponsor / butcher / baker / candlestick maker) gutted that I’m going to be missing out on talks like

• Nick Fitzsimons - Music Licensing - What is it, how to approach it, and why it’s important
• Rich Dale - A Manifesto for a sustainable NI Music Scene
• Anto O’Kane - Building a new model of the music industry from the ground up - open discussion on the best way to keep a band afloat, and even make a few quid.

not to mention the rest of the talks that are taking place on the day, a number of which have yet to have their details published.

Plus it would have given me the chance to spread the wings and head to Belfast, take in a load of new faces on the day - the key thing for me behind these unconference events.

So, long spiel aside, here’s the facts -

• CreativeCamp Belfast takes place this weekend, Saturday September 6th
• It runs 10am to 5pm in Blick Shared Studios (map)
• You can still register here, here or here
• It won’t cost you a penny to attend

To those involved in CreativeCamp Belfast and those attending, have a good one!

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53 And Counting… 3DCamp Is On The Way

I’ve mentioned 3DCamp before but thought I’d put the idea back in your heads as the date is rapidly approaching.

Next weekend (not this weekend) sees the inaugural 3DCamp take place at University of Limerick, the next in the line of themed BarCamp events running in Ireland. The attendees and speakers list continues to grow for what should be a very focused and very informative day covering virtual worlds, mirror worlds, mashups, haptics and all things 3D.

If you’ve never been to a BarCamp type event and the world of 3D grabs your attention then ditch the inhibitions and mark May 24th into your diary.

Twelve talks (so far) have been planned at present, some of which will see Sabrina Dent talking about making money in Second Life, Haydn Shaughnessy looking at ‘Culture, Content and the Next Web’, and organiser James Corbett talking about how he built the Clarion Hotel through Google SketchUp.

For those of you planning on staying over in Limerick and enjoying some of the post-event activities, there’s also an accommodation list available on the site.

3Dcamp Hits Limerick On May 24th

James Corbett and Gabriela Avram are some of the names behind 3Dcamp, the next in a line of great themed BarCamp events to hit the country, and it’s taking place in the University of Limerick on Saturday May 24th.

The day will focus on

• Virtual worlds (Second Life, the Metaverse)
• Mirror worlds (Google Earth and Virtual Earth)
• Mapping mashups
• GPS
• Location based Services (LBSs)
• Haptics (eg. Wiimote hacks)
• 3D modelling (Blender, Sketchup) and all things 3D.
• …and more besides.

Partly due to running around like a headless chicken on the day of CreativeCamp (well, not completely headless, but I think when you’re involved in the organising of an event there’s an element of ‘work mode’ on the day moreso than ‘pure enjoyment’ mode) I missed out on a number of talks that I know are going to crop up at 3Dcamp.

So it pains me to say that while I can look forward to 3Dcamp happening and to the coverage of the day online, I won’t get within 50 miles of Limerick on the 24th of May due my summer gigging schedule (attending in Dublin on the 23rd, playing in Ballina, Mayo, on the 24th).

The day runs from 10am to 6pm with talks and sessions taking place in the University’s Engineering Research Building. For the moment, you can visit the University of Limerick site for directions or head straight over to the 3Dcamp blog and register for free.

Getting Set For CreativeCamp

We’re getting set for CreativeCamp in Kilkenny this coming Saturday. You know it’s on in a castle, right? We’ve also got in the region of 100 people registered for the day and we’d love to see everyone who has registered so far there! Secretly I’m hoping for a 50-a-side game of football or hurling in the park… is it possible?

It is shaping up to be a great day. Myself and Keith will be in the venue tomorrow afternoon and Friday to check on a few last minute things before the doors to The Parade Tower swing open on Saturday morning.

The latest treat for those in attendance comes in the form of organic and fairly traded wine coming to CreativeCamp via McGovern’s Organic Wines. You can enjoy a glass, hopefully in the sun, or perhaps watching a screening of the first episode of a new web-based sitcom being filmed in Kilkenny?

There’s also talk of drinks afterwards as we know there’s a few people staying in Kilkenny. If you’re not booked into Kilkenny and need a few tips, I’ve added an accommodation list to the CreativeCamp blog with estimated walking times from The Parade Tower as well. With almost 20 talks on the day and some terrific sights to take in (do give yourself a chance to stroll around the castle grounds, feed the ducks, play on the swings) and a top class lineup of speakers across varying genres and backgrounds, the day is sure to present something for everyone.

Not to late to sign up - just click here to register!

Take A Look Around CreativeCamp’s Venue

It’s well publicised at this stage that CreativeCamp will be taking place within the walls of Kilkenny Castle.

If you haven’t ever seen The Parade Tower or had a stroll around the castle itself, I’ve uploaded some photos to flickr, snapped on a visit by myself and Keith to the castle yesterday.

If you have photos on flickr that you would like to contribute, why not tag them with ‘creativecamp08‘!

CreativeCamp Continues To Grow

Of all the BarCamp-style events that will happen throughout 2008 along with the numerous meetups for web 2.0 types, bloggers, podcasters and more, I’m really looking forward to CreativeCamp.

Nothing to do with being involved in the organising, or the fact that it’s based in a castle, but that people from all walks are keen to get involved. We’re getting terrific suggestions and offers via email for talks and panel discussions so there’ll be no lack of content on the day.

As it stands, the CreativeCamp speakers lists shows a mix of 13 talks and panel discussions, knowing that there are more on the way. With 29 days, 23 hours and so many minutes left to (according to the widget on Keith’s blog) there are presently 53 people registered. In personal circles I’ve had a commitment from another 5-6 people, two of them I’m trying to involve in a discussion in online video production but the registration numbers continue to grow.

Walter suggested yesterday that CreativeCamp might indeed be Ireland’s Web2.0 Woodstock.

That said, we’ve got no intention of handing out mind-bending drugs, burning down the castle or inviting Creedence Clearwater Revival or The Who along but it should be a great event all the same.

If you haven’t yet registered for CreativeCamp (did I mention it’s in a castle?) and you’d like to come along on the day, or participate as a speaker, click one of the links below to sign up.

Creative Camp Gets Colour

Creative Camp has gotten a little colour, and a tagline to match.

This is the logo we’ll be using for Creative Camp. I think ‘Business - Technology - Creativity’ encompasses the spirit of the day and of the event. On the creative side of things I’ll be speaking with ArtLinks in Kilkenny in the New Year about their involvement in the event.

Offers to participate at an early stage are quite good with some nice ideas coming from the Waterford contingent in relation to design talks and workshops. We’re currently awaiting hosting and once it kicks in I’ll be tackling the blog end of things.

The three strands of activities have been pretty much decided, as have the caterers, the venue (The Parade Tower at Kilkenny Castle) and of course the date - Saturday March 8th.

As Creative Camp is operating in place of “Bar Camp Southeast” and is subject to portability (as in moving out of Kilkenny), it was decided not to localise the logo (like Galway ran with the claddagh and Dublin ran with the castle).

If anyone would like a high resolution copy of the logo (300 dpi JPG, 300 dpi transparent PNG or Adobe Illustrator), feel free to contact me.

Creative Camp For Kilkenny (And It’s In A Castle)

As Keith outlined earlier in the week, we’re set for Creative Camp in Kilkenny on Saturday March 8th. Formerly trading as Bar Camp South East, we’ve a bit of work to do yet in terms of the brand, URLs etc (I’m keen to try out the previously suggested barcamp subdomain idea and get the ball rolling there) but we’ve got a lock on March 8th with the venue set to be the ‘creatively inspiring’ Parade Tower at Kilkenny Castle.

I’ve been going back and forth with Keith and Tom (Corcoran, WIT) over the last few weeks and we’re looking at locking down the theme for the day, interweaving the traditional BarCamp elements of technology and business with the creative flair so ripe in Kilkenny.

Some good feedback came out of the inaugural PodCamp, held here in Kilkenny at the end of September which we hope to carry forward to Creative Camp. While three of us have been in discussion organising sponsors, caterers, the venue and theme, don’t hesitate to have your say or get involved in the day! Drop one of us a shout (knowing I’ve already had a great chat with Bernie and Keith has been speaking to others).

I’m looking forward to the fact that it’s in the Parade Tower. I know the venue quite well (having been involved with another event held there only last week). The main room would sit 120 quite comfortably, has it’s own bar area, full sound booth, several in-house wireless microphones and one seriously large projector. Several breakout / boardrooms are also available, all in keeping with the original decor of the castle itself.

The castle itself has also gone WiFi in recent months and we’re currently talking with the team there in relation to getting a WiFi network opened up for the day.

If anything - you get to hang out in a castle for the day and experience Kilkenny at a good time of the year! Keep March 8th in your diary for Creative Camp in Kilkenny.

BarCamp Galway Today - Live Updates Availabile

There’s live updates available from BarCamp Galway today with two options thus far available to you…

• Keep an eye on the Jaiku channel as a back channel for discussion during the day, if you’re not in attendance it’s a great way to keep up with what’s going on either online or via SMS. If you are in attendance I’m sure you can use to to keep up with what’s happening at some of the other talks… I know I’ll have the mobile on for the day on this one.
• Conn will be streaming some of the day’s events here on uStream.tv, again something I’ll be keeping an eye on. Perhaps a Jaiku alert when streaming is about to kick off?

The Intruders cameras will be out and about as well so me might see some recaps and interviews from them in the coming week or two.

As seen on the wiki, there’s a solid number due in attendance (around 80), the day of course being held in the DERI building at NUI Galway. Details on talk streams, speakers, directions, accommodation and all the jazz can be found on the wiki. Good luck to everyone on the day, sorry can’t be there but will be keeping tabs online throughout the day.

BarCamp Ireland Takes The Jaiku Approach

After following a Jaiku from James Corbett it turns out that Aidan Finn has opened up a Jaiku channel for BarCamp Ireland. Given that we are using Jaiku as a back channel for PodCamp Ireland this September (and getting terrific use out of it), hopefully it will help BarCamp grow in the same way.

If you don’t know already, BarCamp Galway is taking place on Saturday September 22nd.

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