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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PodCamp Ireland Set For September 27th 2008

As the dust settles on 3DCamp in Limerick and bulk orders for sun cream, mustard, burgers and sausages start hitting the shops in Terryglass ahead of OpenCoffee Club BBQ in July, myself, Bernie Goldbach and Krishna De (at present) are putting the wheels in motion behind the second PodCamp Ireland.

What we can tell you at this early stage is that the day will be bigger than last year, it will be held in Kilkenny again, and PodCamp Ireland will take place on Saturday September 27th (same weekend as last year).

For the first themed BarCamp event of it’s type (towards podcasting and new media), we enjoyed a successful day in Kilkenny last September, opening the unconference doors to a host of new faces from the world of the arts, music, design and more.

Bolstering content on the day through new areas of discussion and development in audio, video, podcasting, blogging and catering for complete newcomers to experienced hands, we’ll be hoping to repeat the success of last year’s inaugural event.

If you are interested in getting involved in steering the day, lending ahead at any possible point, do get in touch with any of us. Blogging should resume on PodCampIreland.com over the coming days and weeks as we rejig the 2007 signup process to fall in line with the current system enjoyed by 3DCamp and CreativeCamp (i.e. there will be no wiki signup process as there was last year).

You can track PodCamp Ireland developments on Jaiku by visiting the PodCamp Ireland channel, or over on Twitter track the #pci tag.

OpenCoffee Club BBQ - Don’t Forget The Jalapenos

Jalapenos might not be high on the agenda at the Opencoffee Club BBQ but what you might find in Terryglass on Wednesday July 16th this year are

• Over 40 like-minded people with backgrounds as entrepreneurs, people in startups, investors, those with a love of technology and business and beyond…
• Talks on providing wifi in remote areas, Twitterfone demos and giveaways, location-based services, mobile applications and likely loads more besides.
• Childcare services on the day (great to see this as it was one of the points raised out of CreativeCamp in Kilkenny in March)
• Food, beer, a pub, a lake and the opportunity to network with a terrific bunch of people.

Hopefully the weather stays good and there’ll be some outdoor activities or talks as well. While I haven’t quite figured out if I’ll be able to attend (might get up for the afternoon as I’m gigging that night in Kilkenny) you can register your own interest here or if you are interested in giving a demo or a talk then use this signup link.

Kick-off is 11am on the day and ends “when the last person goes home”. As such, Evert & co. have been nice enough to provide a list of accommodation in the area as well.

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!