InfoCamp Starter Kit

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Contents

Welcome!

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.

InfoCamp was founded in Seattle in 2007, but why confine its awesomeness to Seattle? We would love to see InfoCamps in other cities, and this starter kit aims to support efforts to host InfoCamps elsewhere.

As you have questions and ideas, get in touch with other folks running InfoCamps around the world -- and local people who might want to be involved in your new InfoCamp. You could use, for instance,

to make these InfoCamp connections!

Originally written by Aaron, Andy, Kristen, and Rachel
Last major update: May 2010

About this starter kit

This is only a rough draft to help you get your own InfoCamp started. This page will change over time. As with all things InfoCamp, this is an evolving and organic process. Improvements will be made as we learn through doing. Our aim is to encourage energetic and passionate members of the info community to take matters into their own hands and form local events that bring people together and exchange ideas anywhere... everywhere.

Keep in mind that everything from InfoCamp is CC-licensed, so please feel free to borrow whatever components suit your needs to help build your local event, under the CC conditions. But should you be interested in the InfoCamp concept enough to put one on yourself, we are here to help assist and facilitate your endeavor.

The origins of InfoCamp

InfoCamp was invented and founded by Rachel Elkington, Aaron Louie, Corprew Reed, Kristen Shuyler and Andrew Szydlowski in Seattle in 2007. Four of the founders were leaders of ASIS&T chapters (ASIS&T UW and ASIS&T PNW) at the time. All the founders were either current students or alumni of the UW Information School. We met each other through our social & professional networks, and worked together when we realized we wanted to throw a fun, useful, affordable, and independent event for anyone interested in anything relating to the intersections of information, people, and/or technology.

The first InfoCamp was in Seattle in 2007, and it has run annually in Seattle since. In 2008, Jan Jursa asked if he could use the InfoCamp graphics and idea to run an InfoCamp in Berlin, Germany - we said yes, of course! In late 2009, Heather Ford inquired about hosting an InfoCamp at UC Berkeley. Again, the answer was yes, and InfoCamp Berkeley 2010 was born!

This is just the start - folks are talking in NYC, Boise, Portland... and now you're thinking of putting on your own InfoCamp!

More resources related to this section:

Your InfoCamp

If you want to call your event an InfoCamp, it should be:

  • an unconference for the information community
  • open to students and professionals from all interested/relevant fields
  • non-profit and volunteer-run -- including no paid speakers & no paid organizers
  • affordable for participants
  • CC-licensed

Beyond that, go wild! We hope you'll be creative in how you design your event. Your InfoCamp doesn't need to be a cookie-cutter of InfoCamp Seattle.

Designing your InfoCamp

The advice in this section is just that -- advice. You don't need to follow everything said here. We hope you'll create vibrant, fun, user-centered events that work for well for your local community.

Format, topics, sessions, and schedule

You can design your InfoCamp to be any "flavor" of unconference. Participants can lead sessions on any topic related to information, from any perspective.

It's not necessary to set a theme, slogan or tagline for your InfoCamp. One real value of the unconference format is in allowing the themes to emerge organically.

At InfoCamp Seattle, we run a two-day event -- all day on a Saturday and Sunday, with a party on Saturday evening. We create and publish a mostly open grid ahead of time, but the actual agenda is designed during the actual event. Session ideas are discussed online ahead of time, but sessions are not set until the event itself. A keynote speaker kicks off each day. Other than that, anyone can present (first-come, first-served). To create the agenda, interested people sign up on a large paper schedule on a wall in a common area. We then invite the people listed on the schedule to the stage so they can introduce their session, and so the gathered participants can decide which session to attend next. We also update the wiki in real time to reflect the evolving agenda.

InfoCamp sessions can cover anything related to information, from any perspective. Topics in the past three years have ranged widely – knowledge management, careers in UX, copyright, low-budget usability, geoinformatics, social software in libraries, the mobile web and more.

InfoCamp sessions are usually more loosely organized than normal conference sessions. They don't have be rehearsed and polished with slick PowerPoints (although that’s acceptable). Participants can be creative with session content and format. For instance, they can…

  • gather people to discuss a common interest
  • solicit feedback on a design
  • describe a half-baked idea
  • organize a panel
  • present research findings
  • set up a debate on a controversial topic
  • start a conversation group
  • discuss solutions to a problem
  • brainstorm an idea

The purpose of this format is to encourage collaboration, interaction, discussion, and real-time innovation. The benefits of this format include the immediacy of the topics - the sessions didn't have to be submitted months ahead of time - and the fun, exciting (and a bit chaotic) feeling of being part of an event that's being led by everyone.

You don't have to follow this exact schedule/format, but you can if you want.

More resources related to this section:

Venue

Decide on the date & venue first. All other logistical considerations flow from having the days and location set. Also, venue will probably be the greatest expenditure.

If you pattern your InfoCamp after the InfoCamp Seattle format, you’ll need a big auditorium space, a meal space with a staging area for catering, and at least five breakout rooms. Don’t forget to scope out space for a registration desk, coffee and snacks, and sponsor tables.

Remember: humans take cues about how to act from their surroundings. Therefore, the more humble and laid-back the atmosphere, the better. Skip hotels or fancy conference centers. Get creative and think schools, universities, libraries, community centers, etc. For inspiration, see our blog post about how we chose Cleveland High School in 2009.

Flow is tremendously important for an event like this. The physical layout has a major impact on keeping the energy high. Limiting bottlenecks and confusion lets the participants focus on conversations and connections. Ideally it is nice to provide enough room to fit just about everyone for the congregating moments (keynote speakers, lunches, etc). But you don't want a space that is too big, so that your event doesn't feel overwhelmed by the empty space.

Try to find a venue that allows you to provide free wireless access. An essential element of the success of an unconference is the ability for any participant to access the Internet at any time. Such access allows people to blog while at the conference, upload photos in real time, share new sites, look up a reference, download files they'd like to share and so on. Make sure you have a fast connection and multiple access points.

Tips on designing the venue

  • Large gathering room - Gathering everyone together at one or more points during the event (for a welcome session, a keynote, introductions to the breakout sessions, and/or closing session) is really important to the community feel. You want everyone to fit, so the maximum number of people who can fit into your large gathering room (auditorium, etc.) will determine the maximum size of your event. For instance, if the auditorium in your venue holds 80 people, you could probably sell 90-100 tickets. (You can sell more than the actual number of seats, because not everyone who buys a ticket will show up, and not everyone who attends is present at every session.)
  • Breakout rooms - You'll need 4-9 breakout rooms for the sessions. The exact number of rooms will depend on the maximum size of your event (which is determined by your main gathering room) and the number of people each room holds. Classrooms are often ideal; conference rooms can work well, too. If your breakout rooms vary widely in size, it will be more challenging to figure out which session to hold in which room. If they are similar sizes, choices will be easier. Moveable furniture is ideal, but fixed seats work, too. You might want to use your auditorium as one of your breakout rooms.
  • Registration table - A good "user experience" must include a smooth and friendly check-in process. Make sure that the registration tables are at the main entrance and in a large space. Keep the number of tasks to do and items to hand out at registration to a minimum, so that you can check everyone in quickly. The registration table may also be a good place to have a "information booth" once registration has slowed down.
  • Schedule space - Try for a larger space that is centrally located, because people will be checking the schedule often. There will be dozens of people gathered around at times. For the schedule itself, people will change their mind, switch time slots, etc. One method that has worked well in the past is to make the time-slot squares the same size as 8.5x11" printing paper so that a blank sheet can be taped over to make changes and start anew (as seen in this photo or this one). Near the schedule, provide paper, sharpies or other pens, tape, and a small table on which to write. You may also want to station a volunteer near the schedule to answer questions during peak sign-up times. If you are feeling adventuresome, you can try to transcribe the schedule to a wiki page before each session break.
  • Sponsor/exhibitor space - While trying not to be dominated by sponsor interests, it has been immensely valuable to have sponsors bring in a table and show their desire to be involved in the community. This should be positioned in a way that does not dominate the space, but is easily accessible and can be more of a casual interaction.
  • Lunch space - If you're providing a meal (and we recommend you do, to keep everyone from dispersing at lunchtime), make sure your caterer has a place to stage their food, and people have places to sit and eat.
  • Coffee/breakfast space - Find a central place (perhaps a hallway, or the vestibule to the auditorium) to provide big pots of fresh, hot coffee and other beverages. Participates NEED coffee. This has traditionally been one of the most important requirements. Make sure to caffeinate them early and often. A light breakfast, if provided, can be served in the coffee area as well.
  • Wayfinding signs - Come prepared with proper labeling to indicate what room is where and help people navigate the infamous "down-the-hallway-to-the-second-left-and-up-the-stairs" situations. At InfoCamp Seattle 2009, we named rooms after birds, and gave each room a color and a cartoon bird so that they would be easier to remember (as seen in this photo).
  • Maps - It's helpful to provide a map of the venue at registration.
  • Flexibility - Things don't usually go completely as planned... which is a great thing! That's where the magic happens. So be flexible and prepare to move stuff around and see how you can adapt to meet the needs of how the participants are using the space. This might including have a reserve of portable equipment, folding chairs, tables, whiteboards, and large presentation post-it notes.

More resources related to this section:

Food & drink

Supply plenty of coffee and food. Make sure to provide coffee first thing in the morning and food for lunch, so participants don't have to leave the site. It's great if you can bring in your own food and/or caterer, further keeping costs low. Prepare for a variety of dietary needs (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc) as much as possible. You might want to have bar and evening social events to motivate participants to stick around and socialize throughout the conference.

Team

Running InfoCamp is a labor of love for those involved. Its not easy to put on an unconference - but it is fun, if you have the right team!

To create your crack team of InfoCamp organizers, look for ways to plug into local professional organizations, because those are the places to find like-minded people. Ask your friends and colleagues; then ask them to ping their friends and colleagues. We suggest at minimum four people, with five as a best practice. Consider the skills and personalities you want to put together into a dream team. Don’t be afraid to approach people in your community – that’s how InfoCamp got started in Seattle!

Also contact your local university's information school, library school, communications department, technical communication department, or human-computer interaction program to recruit volunteers to help you on the day of the event.

Once you've delegated, step back and give your team room to be creative!

Participants

One of the strengths of InfoCamp Seattle over the years has been the interdisciplinary nature of the gathering. As one 2007 participant said, “it felt like a full spectrum of information and web related experts, usability, librarians and info specialists from public and private sectors."

InfoCamp brings together a wide array of people who work with or study in the information fields, broadly defined. You'll want to invite anyone interested in information-related topics, from any perspective. You'll find that your gathering may include professionals, people seeking work, and students -- and folks from industry, education, non-profits, government, libraries, and other sectors.

Registration & sponsors

Make registration cheap, so that students and practitioners in not-for-profit organizations can afford to attend. You may wish to have two levels of registration - one for general admission and one for students. You can streamline the online registration process by working with Eventbrite or another online registration service. See more notes about registration in the venue section above.

Sponsorships can allow you to keep registration affordable. Try to find sponsors that will bring some value to your participants -- pursue companies or organizations that you think your participants will actually be interested in. Select sponsors that you think you'll enjoy working with. Often, good sponsors are the local businesses and organizations who are recruiting UX designers, information architects, librarians, taxonomists, usability specialists and other information professionals.

Give potential sponsors a proposal describing the perks and benefits to them of sponsoring your InfoCamp either with cash or with in-kind donations such as venue or printed materials. In return, you can offer sponsors links/logos on your event website, a "thank you" from the main stage, a mention on your social media outlets, an exhibit table during InfoCamp, and/or free attendance for individuals related to the sponsor. You don't have to offer all of these - you can negotiate individually.

We found that it's often best to avoid printing sponsor logos on t-shirts, handouts, or other printed materials, since (unlike web pages) they are not easily updated, and since you may get sponsors after handouts, etc. have gone to press. Also, you'll want to wait until the sponsorship check is in hand before moving forward with any of the sponsorship perks.

Sponsors should not influence InfoCamp's schedule or topics, and (as with any participant) they shouldn't sell their products in sessions at InfoCamp.

Remember, InfoCamp is non-profit, so charge (or fundraise) only what you need to run the event.

Logo and graphics

We're currently developing a logo and style guide to help InfoCamps who want help kick-starting their visual design. Using them will help identify local events with the broader InfoCamp movement -- and exclaim to the world your info-geekiness. Feel free to remix or use graphics from InfoCamp Seattle 2007, 2008, or 2009, as well... it's all CC-licensed!

More resources for this section:

Marketing and social media suggestions

We have some suggestions for marketing your InfoCamp, which we'll send to you once you've contacted us.

Next Steps

What now?

First, list your city on the front page of this wiki, and put any contact info or ideas you want to share with the InfoCamp community on that city page.

As you have questions and ideas, get in touch with other folks running InfoCamps around the world -- and local people who might want to be involved in your new InfoCamp. You could use, for instance,

to make these InfoCamp connections!

Then, email us at info@infocamp.org to inform us of your interest! We're a small volunteer team, and still figuring out how to best spread the InfoCamp ideal, but we'll do our best to support your InfoCamp. We'll help out by:

  • sending you more information, including the marketing & social media suggestions
  • connecting you with other folks in your city interested in InfoCamp (if we know of any)
  • and, when you're ready, setting you up with a web presence on infocamp.org.

And you'll be on your way to hosting your own InfoCamp!

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