[OSList] What's the difference between BarCamp and OST?

Harold Shinsato via OSList oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
Sat Aug 27 16:40:25 PDT 2016


I got my start in Open Space via BarCamp.

I first heard about FooCamp, wished I could attend, and eventually found 
out I could host my own BarCamp. Others in my state had heard about 
them, and there was some support in my community to initiate one in 
Missoula.

Then the 2007 JavaOne conference in San Francisco included a "BarCamp" 
side track with Kaliya Hamlin facilitating. It was poorly attended 
(about 16 people out of potentially 15,000+), but Kaliya invited me to 
the "Real Thing", her Internet Identity Workshop a few days later not 
too far away (Mountain View). It was a real Open Space, and it was there 
that Kaliya introduced me to Lisa Heft. The following winter I took 
Lisa's training.

But since people already recognized and supported the BarCamp "brand", I 
just ran my BarCamp with true and blue Open Space. Opening and closing 
circles, butterflies, bumblebees, surprises, and whenevers/whoevers. We 
kept the BarCamp moniker for 6 years doing it each time as an Open 
Space. Only the seventh year I was finally able to lop off the BarCamp 
part. (And there was much rejoicing.)

Read the history of BarCamp: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unconference. 
It comes from Open Space! The origin story was obscured in the past, but 
now it's out in the open. Sarah Winge organized the first FooCamp for 
O'Reilly based on her experience with OST, *AND WITH CONVERSATIONS WITH 
HARRISON OWEN*.

However wayward are the children of Open Space - I'm grateful to BarCamp 
(and FooCamp) for launching me into something that has totally inspired 
and invigorated my professional and personal life. Thank you BarCamp! 
May you eventually acknowledge and honor your heritage!

     Harold

On 8/24/16 4:47 AM, Barry Owen via OSList wrote:
> I could write a veritable book about my experiences with BarCamp here 
> in nashville, TN in the past 6 years.
>
> It's pseudo self organization at best . . . There's a tip of the hat 
> to unconference at the beginning as folks arrive and are invited to 
> write down "Things they want to Learn" and "things they want to teach".
>
> The "organizers" then fill the schedule while the participants mingle, 
> and the event starts (as aforementioned) with a very brief introduction.
>
> Most sessions are "teaching" and not open dialog and many are 
> pre-loaded speakers who were specifically invited to come with all 
> expenses paid.
>
> my understanding is that BarCamp was initially designed as a 
> "Technology Conference" for computer Geeks, so perhaps it 'works" 
> better with Geeks. Using it for other other purposes (Organizational 
> Development/transformation etc) is an unintended use of the original 
> format.
>
> So - I think BarCamp serves the intended purpose well - and I believe 
> some misguided folks are attempting to plug a square hole with a round 
> peg thinking that it's interchangeable with OST
>
> My 2 cents
>
> This ain't Open Space!
>
>
> *_Barry Owen_*
> */Real Estate Strategist/*
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>
> On Tue, Aug 23, 2016 at 4:53 PM, Amanda Bucklow via OSList 
> <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org 
> <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
>
>     I had never heard of BarCamp. I was smiling too as I read Martin’s
>     response. If anyone mentions it to me, I will just roll my eyes :-)
>
>     Amanda
>
>     Amanda Bucklow
>     Independent Commercial Mediator
>
>
>>     On 23 Aug 2016, at 20:51, Eva P Svensson via OSList
>>     <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
>>     <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>> wrote:
>>
>>     Martin,
>>     I smile when I read your text - I can almost feel your irritation
>>     over comparing OST with Barcamp :-)
>>     Thank you all who had answered - I now think that I will not ever
>>     say that it’s like OST, but that they had borrowed a few thing
>>     but got them backwards…(oops)
>>     :o)
>>     Eva
>>
>>     Bästa hälsningar
>>
>>     Eva P Svensson
>>
>>     *EPS Human Invest AB*
>>     */Co owner Genuine Contact Group Inc/*
>>     */Medlem i Beyond Performance Group/*
>>
>>     /"Verksamhetsutveckling genom människor skapar långsiktigt
>>     välmående företag och organisationer"/
>>
>>     Anåsbergsvägen 22, 439 34 ONSALA
>>     Besöksadress; Norra Allégatan 8, Göteborg
>>     Tfn: 0300-615 05, Mobil; 0706- 89 85 50
>>     www.epshumaninvest.se <http://www.epshumaninvest.se/>
>>     Skype: eva.p.svensson
>>     Facebook sida: EPS Human Invest AB
>>     twitter:@EvaPSvensson
>>
>>     */"Jag kan inte lära dig något. Allt jag kan göra är att ställa
>>     frågor till dig, och låta dig själv finna svaren." Sokrates/*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>     23 aug. 2016 kl. 11:42 skrev Martin Roell via OSList
>>>     <oslist at lists.openspacetech.org
>>>     <mailto:oslist at lists.openspacetech.org>>:
>>>
>>>     Eva P Svensson via OSList wrote:
>>>>     Dear friends,
>>>>     Today I heard a woman talking about setting up a meeting using
>>>>     BarCamp as a method. I asked her to explain to me what it was
>>>>     and when she did that I had a hard time finding the differences
>>>>     between that and Open Space. One thing was that, as she
>>>>     explained it, the time slots were 45 minutes then 15 minutes
>>>>     pause then new 45 minutes and so on. Otherwise it seemed more
>>>>     or less like copy and paste from Open Space. Anyone who knows
>>>>     more about it?
>>>>     :o)
>>>
>>>     I have attended a good number of Barcamps and OST meetings, and I
>>>     believe I even vented my frustration about BarCamps on this list
>>>     before. :)
>>>
>>>     To make a long story short, a few points of how BarCamps are
>>>     different.
>>>     (This may be just my limited sample of Barcamps held in Germany
>>>     in the
>>>     last 4 years.)
>>>
>>>     * No circle at the beginning
>>>     * A ritual "say your name and your three #tags" instead before
>>>     things
>>>     start (stopping the flow, boring the hell out of everyone, etc etc)
>>>     * When announcing a session, one asks for a raise of hands to gauge
>>>     interest.
>>>     * The "Facilitator" then allocates you a room ("thank you for
>>>     announcing
>>>     your session so cutely. Here's a room for you.")
>>>     * and sometimes STICKS THE PAPER INTO THE SCHEDULE FOR YOU (you
>>>     don't
>>>     get to choose the room for yourself: they do it for you!)
>>>     * Facilitators generally make looong remarks about BARCAMP
>>>     before things
>>>     start and ask for a raise of hands, how many people have attended
>>>     BARCAMPS before, and how many (more is better)
>>>     * Facilitators inform people that BARCAMP is AMAAAAZING because:
>>>     YOU GET
>>>     TO PARTICPATE! WOW!!1 They make the event more amazing by
>>>     talking about
>>>     how amazing it will be (preventing anyone from getting to work).
>>>     * Much of the butterfly conversation is about BARCAMP and how
>>>     AMAZING it is.
>>>     * There is usually no issue, but a "theme" for the event; what gets
>>>     posted are not "issues" but "sessions". (In the Barcamps I
>>>     attended, not
>>>     a single session was posted that had a question mark in it.)
>>>     * "Sessions" are often teaching, delivered by extroverts
>>>
>>>     One a more serious note:
>>>     Barcamp differs from OST culturally, in the sense that it is
>>>     often used
>>>     for what I'd call "participatory teaching / knowledge sharing
>>>     events":
>>>     In Germany, they seem to become popular with companies now, as a
>>>     way to
>>>     save education budgets ("our staff can now share knowledge with
>>>     eachother! Using BARCAMP!! ITS CHEAPER THAN SEMINARS!!!!"),
>>>     whereas OST
>>>     functions... hm, better? more naturally? - as a problem solving...
>>>     thing. Or so.
>>>
>>>     Or, very simply and more personal: Everytime I hear someone say
>>>     something along "Barcamp is not so different from Open Space, is
>>>     it?" I
>>>     get quite mad, because I have often seen amazing things happen
>>>     in Open
>>>     Space events, and never seen anything amazing happen in BarCamps.
>>>
>>>     YMMV.
>>>
>>>     Martin
>>>
>>>     -- 
>>>     Martin Röll, Görlitzer Str. 25, 01099 Dresden, Germany
>>>     +49 178 4984743 <tel:%2B49%20178%204984743>, @martinroell,
>>>     http://www.roell.net <http://www.roell.net/>
>>>
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-- 
Harold Shinsato
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http://shinsato.com
twitter: @hajush <http://twitter.com/hajush>
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