Are we really talking about 2 different things? Should DemoCamp really be BusinessModelCamp? Is DemoCamp just a commune for techies? Should we continue to try and grow DemoCamp? DemoCamp was awesome! DemoCamp sucked! Does DemoCamp really matter? To whom? Michael offers an analysis of state of the community. I think there are 2 competing ideas competing for mindshare at DemoCamp.
- DemoCamp for sharing ideas, technologies, projects, and tools
- DemoCamp for launching a business, recruiting talent, finding capital/funding or customers
Why does DemoCamp work?
The reason the DemoCamps work is because they are open. They are an open exchange of ideas. There has been no fee to attend. The only requirement is that you sign up on the wiki so we can try to plan for space. DemoCamps are about learning and sharing what you are doing. DemoCamps facilitiate a latent social behaviour of the human condition.
Suggestions for improving DemoCamp
Oshoma Momoh provides some operational iterations for DemoCamp. Bryce offered up an unevent for design problems. Michael suggests that maybe we need to schedule a business or funding focused unevent, i.e., BusinessPlanCamp.
We have time to do another DemoCamp before Mesh and BarCampToronto and we should iterate on the concept and try something different. I spoke to the Drake about using the Underground but there is a minimum bar tab and it will only hold roughly 100 people. Let’s find a space. Listen to our attendees. Make DemoCamp more valuable to everyone attending.