The timeline looks really nice. Thanks for posting it.
Re. the chats that "should be displayed where everyone including the presenters can read it": the Top Technology Trends Committee from LITA tried it out at ALA last year's conference and it was a huge distraction to those who just want to sit and listen to the speakers. I imagine it could end up be the same at code4lib.
Liza Daly
· 9 months ago
Based on my experience with larger, broader tech conferences, the #code4lib crowd is a modicum of politeness by comparison. You do not want to read the backchannel from OSCON when guys from Microsoft are on stage.
Liza Daly
· 9 months ago
"Modium"? Model.
n00b
· 9 months ago
"Basically, IMO, if you feel like an outcast n00b, YOU’RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH."
Either a significant number of attendees are feeling this way, in which case your perspective is not very helpful, or people aren't. I think I could come up with an argument that the changes that would benefit the most alienated of the bunch would benefit even those who feel most at home, but my point here is that saying people need to try harder is like saying they need to be smarter, literally, like get a brain transplant or something else that simply isn't going to happen. I mean, you could tell newbies in advance that they have to try hard, and maybe that would have some impact, but I doubt much. More likely what will change how hard they try (whatever that means) is the experience of their first time, assuming they come back. If you see that people are feeling "outcast," you can either try to improve the experience of new attendees, or not care/see it as a good thing, or you can blame them and absolve yourself from any responsibility WRT the reality of how people behave. Your apparent choice here is itself alienating to me, since it is classic blame the user and their limitations. Fulfills one major negative coder stereotype for me.
(Of course, I'm in the camp that has no problem with #code4lib and its comments.)
Jodi Schneider
· 9 months ago
@abangert "Either a significant number of attendees are feeling this way, in which case your perspective is not very helpful, or people aren't." Good point! Which is it, and how can we find out?
Emphasis of "old-timers" vs. "first timers" made me a bit sad. In part, conference attendance isn't the right measure. For instance, Eric Lease Morgan attended for the first time this year--so, technically a "first timer" though he's been managing the listserv for years.
This was my second year at the conference. Last year, I was really surprised at how many people I knew, since I do hang out in IRC.
I want code4lib to be open and accessible. I also deeply value the geeky, "if you want it to happen, make it so" way we interact and run the community. As we institutionalize, how that scrappy.
I heard great things about dev8's use of screens a couple of days before the conference and thought about trying to project the backchannel this year. I'm really interested in projecting it next year--though I want to think, also, about other ways to be accessible and open as a community. Ideas?
rosy1280
· 9 months ago
I think the problem is partially in what Jay says and partially in what the noobs say.
Noobs don't try hard enough because we're in a profession where people are inherently afraid to ask questions or say what they know (or don't know) and seem like an idiot. After all we're paid to maintain things that we may know absolutely nothing about, but eventually we become experts on. So as a Noob myself, I went forth and investigated the community, its practices, etc. and was able to insert myself and I feel like I've been accepted. But too be honest, if I hadn't investigated all of this in advance it would have been a completely different conference for me.
At the same time I think that the already "in people" need to remember how hard it is to be on the outside. Some are really great about extending themselves, while others aren't so great. And that's ok. By try to remember how much anxiety you have when you go into any situation and you know no one. Go up and say hi to random people, but also try to extend those conversations beyond a simple "where the hell did all the moon pies go?" Ask them where they are from, what they do, what's their sign. Essentially pick up a friend at code4lib.
Just my two cents.
Declan
· 9 months ago
There were Moon Pie? Dammit. I bet all new people ate them. :)
I was thrilled to see so many hands up when it was asked how many new people there were. I hope that Mark's initial talk about how to be social at code4lib helped.
I have a sick and twisted plan to have everyone do a FOAF, then have an event where everyone stands in a three dimensional representation of the "knows" graph and then take anyone not connected out for a drink. Hey, it's no geekier than that freakish Werewolf thingy.
D
patricksbiggs
· 6 months ago
So how can an artist come up with his or her own unique strategy? Well, one thing would be giving your fans added value, a tip that comes from an industry claiming it's impossible to make any money in the current economic climate: the airlines. Up over a crowded field, there peeks an airline that has blossomed in spite of others' failures: Singapore Airlines. The company's model was simple: Give customers little things they like — make their experience positive, and they will come back. Compared to the cattle-car feeling that comes with most www.chase.com airlines these days, it's not surprising that Singapore is flourishing.Some bands have caught on to the added value technique by starting to offer an interesting proposition: Buy the 12-inch vinyl album and also download the entire thing for free. That combo has contributed to an overall spike in vinyl sales in general, which jumped 36 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. This trend seems to be mostly centered around the indie-rock scene but may eventually trickle over to dance music, where there are still a significant number of vinyl holdouts refusing to relinquish their collections in favor of a laptop.Ultimately, it remains to be seen how the profits will pan out and whether guys like Kerri Chandler and Nick Harris will continue pressing records for another 10 years. Personally, I have confidence they will. Even if digital never turns into a profitable venture, there will always be a market for creative people and the inspiring music they make.
All Comments
Re. the chats that "should be displayed where everyone including the presenters can read it": the Top Technology Trends Committee from LITA tried it out at ALA last year's conference and it was a huge distraction to those who just want to sit and listen to the speakers. I imagine it could end up be the same at code4lib.
Either a significant number of attendees are feeling this way, in which case your perspective is not very helpful, or people aren't. I think I could come up with an argument that the changes that would benefit the most alienated of the bunch would benefit even those who feel most at home, but my point here is that saying people need to try harder is like saying they need to be smarter, literally, like get a brain transplant or something else that simply isn't going to happen. I mean, you could tell newbies in advance that they have to try hard, and maybe that would have some impact, but I doubt much. More likely what will change how hard they try (whatever that means) is the experience of their first time, assuming they come back. If you see that people are feeling "outcast," you can either try to improve the experience of new attendees, or not care/see it as a good thing, or you can blame them and absolve yourself from any responsibility WRT the reality of how people behave. Your apparent choice here is itself alienating to me, since it is classic blame the user and their limitations. Fulfills one major negative coder stereotype for me.
8 things I learnt about using twitter as a participation tool by Olivia Mitchell: http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/audience...
Food for thought for next year...?
(Of course, I'm in the camp that has no problem with #code4lib and its comments.)
Emphasis of "old-timers" vs. "first timers" made me a bit sad. In part, conference attendance isn't the right measure. For instance, Eric Lease Morgan attended for the first time this year--so, technically a "first timer" though he's been managing the listserv for years.
This was my second year at the conference. Last year, I was really surprised at how many people I knew, since I do hang out in IRC.
I want code4lib to be open and accessible. I also deeply value the geeky, "if you want it to happen, make it so" way we interact and run the community. As we institutionalize, how that scrappy.
I heard great things about dev8's use of screens a couple of days before the conference and thought about trying to project the backchannel this year. I'm really interested in projecting it next year--though I want to think, also, about other ways to be accessible and open as a community. Ideas?
Noobs don't try hard enough because we're in a profession where people are inherently afraid to ask questions or say what they know (or don't know) and seem like an idiot. After all we're paid to maintain things that we may know absolutely nothing about, but eventually we become experts on. So as a Noob myself, I went forth and investigated the community, its practices, etc. and was able to insert myself and I feel like I've been accepted. But too be honest, if I hadn't investigated all of this in advance it would have been a completely different conference for me.
At the same time I think that the already "in people" need to remember how hard it is to be on the outside. Some are really great about extending themselves, while others aren't so great. And that's ok. By try to remember how much anxiety you have when you go into any situation and you know no one. Go up and say hi to random people, but also try to extend those conversations beyond a simple "where the hell did all the moon pies go?" Ask them where they are from, what they do, what's their sign. Essentially pick up a friend at code4lib.
Just my two cents.
I was thrilled to see so many hands up when it was asked how many new people there were. I hope that Mark's initial talk about how to be social at code4lib helped.
I have a sick and twisted plan to have everyone do a FOAF, then have an event where everyone stands in a three dimensional representation of the "knows" graph and then take anyone not connected out for a drink. Hey, it's no geekier than that freakish Werewolf thingy.
D