InfoCamp Seattle 2010/FAQ
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Add any questions you want answered about InfoCamp Seattle 2010, or help answer questions!
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- InfoCamp-related questions, that is!
- Add yours here...
What is InfoCamp?
InfoCamp is an unconference for the information community. It's for anyone interested in user experience, information architecture, interaction design, user-centered design, information design, library & information science, online search, information management, informatics, and related fields.
Founded in Seattle in 2007, InfoCamp is now going worldwide!
Who attends InfoCamp?
InfoCamp welcomes anyone interested in information-related topics, from any perspective! You'll meet practitioners from industry, academia, non-profits, government, libraries, and other sectors; people seeking work; and students.
InfoCamp attracts people from a variety of disciplines, such as information architecture, informatics, library & information science, taxonomy, interaction design, user experience, user-centered design, information design, online search, information management, informatics, technical communication, human-centered design and engineering, human-computer interaction, and more.
Read a bit about who attended InfoCamp Seattle 2009 here.
How do I contact InfoCamp?
- seattle@infocamp.org for InfoCamp Seattle questions
- sponsorships@infocamp.org for sponsorship inquiries
- info@infocamp.org for questions about starting your own InfoCamp
- join the InfoCamp Seattle mailing list
- twitter.com/infocamp
- facebook.com/infocamp
- LinkedIn group
- The people who are organizing InfoCamp Seattle 2010 are listed on the people page of this wiki
When and where will InfoCamp be?
InfoCamp Seattle 2010 will be on October 2 & 3 at Seattle University. Read more about the venue on our blog. Directions, parking, and other transportation info is on this wiki's "Travel" page.
How do I register? When does registration close?
You can register online here. Registration will be open until 411 people have registered, or until 5:00 pm (PST) on Thursday, September 30 — whichever is first. Learn more on the InfoCamp blog.
How much does InfoCamp cost?
Learn about ticket prices and more on the InfoCamp registration page.
Why does it cost what it costs?
While the sponsors who help keep registration low are REALLY appreciated, they don't entirely cover the costs of InfoCamp, including venue rental, event insurance, equipment rental, catering, lanyards, t-shirts, signage, and more.
InfoCamp is run by volunteers: no one is paid, including the organizers or the invited speakers. We’re a registered non-profit with 100% of any income going to cover this one event. We do it for the love, baby.
Find more details in a blog post from 2009.
Can I attend for just part of the weekend?
Yes. All InfoCamp participants are free to participate in whichever parts of the event work for them. You'll still need to register even if you're showing up for only part of InfoCamp.
I'm traveling to InfoCamp from out of town. Hotel & travel suggestions?
There's a travel, lodging, and transportation page, which includes info on a block of discounted hotel rooms, on this wiki. Please contribute to it or add questions!
What is the format of this unconference?
See the Format & Sessions page on this wiki.
Can I lead a session at InfoCamp?
Yes! See the Format & Sessions page on this wiki for more details.
How do I sign up for and lead a session?
See the Format & Sessions page on this wiki.
What if I don't have an idea for a session?
Attend anyway! Nobody is required to lead a session. See the Format & Sessions page on this wiki for more.
What topics will be discussed this year?
Since InfoCamp is an unconference, we won't know exactly what topics will be covered until the event actually starts! Participants will sign up to lead sessions during the weekend. Learn more on the Topics page of this wiki.
What topics were discussed in previous years?
View a list of sessions at InfoCamp Seattle 2007, 2008, and 2009 here.
Is this city-specific?
InfoCamp is not city-specific. It started in Seattle in 2007, but is now going worldwide. For information about starting your own InfoCamp, see the InfoCamp Starter Kit.
Although many InfoCamp Seattle participants are from the Seattle area, ANYONE is invited. We already have people registered for InfoCamp Seattle 2010 from Aurora IL, Burnaby (Canada), New Brunswick NJ, North Hollywood CA, Ottawa (Canada), Pennington NJ, Portland OR, Redmond WA, Richland WA, Roy UT, Seattle WA, Vancouver (Canada), Vancouver WA, and Windsor CA!
This FAQ is city-specific -- it's for InfoCamp Seattle 2010. Do we need a general InfoCamp FAQ?
Will there be any pre-InfoCamp events?
Yes! Two enthusiastic InfoCampers have designed a couple of pre-InfoCamp meetups. Hang out with other folks interested in InfoCamp on August 25 and/or September 23! Details available on our blog.
What after-party meetups are going on? Where are they?
In past years, InfoCamp Seattle has featured a party on Saturday night. We'll probably do the same this year, but the specifics haven't been planned yet.
Will there be any follow-up work happening post-InfoCamp? In other words, how can we continue the relationships and discussions started at InfoCamp?
The discussions and connections made at InfoCamp continue on twitter.com/infocamp, facebook.com/infocamp, the LinkedIn group and on a personal level. This wiki stays up, too.
One of the sponsors for InfoCamp Seattle 2010, ASIS&T PNW, runs a monthly meetup, the Seattle IA/UX meetup, which might be of interest to folks who attend InfoCamp Seattle. Another meetup that might interest some InfoCampers is Library Drink Resolvers. Are there other relevant monthly meetups? Want to create one for InfoCamp? Let us know!
As InfoCamp is an unconference, it's really what the community makes of it -- if you think of a good way to facilitate the continuation of conversations and connections in a more structured way, please share!
Are you looking for event volunteers?
Not at the moment. We've reached volunteer capacity.
What do InfoCamp volunteers do?
Soldiers in the Volunteer Army will be called on to staff the registration desk, provide modest technical support for sessions, take photos, other tasks, and generally give us a hand during the event. Volunteers are participants, too! We'll expect a couple hours of a volunteer's time in exchange for free registration.
Who's behind InfoCamp?
We're a bunch of friends and colleagues who volunteer our time to create and run an independent, affordable, fun, and non-profit event for the information community.
Check out the people page for a list of the InfoCamp Seattle 2010 organizers.
On our blog is info about the 2009 and 2008 organizing committees, if you're curious.
Learn more about InfoCamp's founders and origins in this article published in the Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.
What should I bring to InfoCamp?
You might want to bring business cards, a camera, a laptop, a personal water bottle or coffee mug, etc.
And of course, if you plan to lead a session, bring whatever you need for your session. This might be a laptop, a handout for participants, notes to yourself, or just an idea!
Will there be food and drink at InfoCamp?
Yes. Details soon!
Will there be wireless internet access at InfoCamp?
Yes.
How should I tag things related to InfoCamp?
The twitter hashtag is #infocamp.
On other sites (flickr, etc.) we'll use infocamp, infocampseattle, or infocampseattle2010 - whichever you want.
What does InfoCamp look like?
Check out some of the photos from previous InfoCamps on flickr, here or here. And you're welcome to join the InfoCamp flickr group!
What have other people said about InfoCamp?
Some of our favorite comments in our post-event surveys include:
"I loved it. Loved the conversation, the spontaneous self-organization, the participation."
“Amazing diversity and enthusiasm. I felt like I was part of a community of passionate professionals.”
“I needed a break from the rules and restrictions of the domain I work in and just explore ideas and concepts. InfoCamp totally did that for me.”
“I felt much more at ease presenting at InfoCamp than I have anywhere else – the participants were amazing: they asked questions, made comments/discussion, were interested and friendly – in short, IT WAS AWESOME!”
"This event was awesome, it was my first InfoCamp but certainly not my last. I was blown away by the perfect mix of professionalism and comfort. Well played."
"There was a terrific sense of egalitarianism, and a spirit of co-operation and learning was embraced by all."
"This format is amazing -- I wish other conferences were half as fun!"
Want more? Check out this list of articles & blog posts about InfoCamp Seattle.
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