Picking Demos for DemoCampGuelph
January 21st, 2010[ Guelph Tech ]
Observing the closed approach of selecting people to attend tedxWaterloo combined with having some people be surprised to learn they didn’t receive a demo spot at next week’s demoCampGuelph have lead to this post. To be clear, there’s confusion because of a lack of clear message from me. I don’t communicate so well….
First off, please understand that DemoCampGuelph is a entirely volunteer run event. No one, including myself, makes any money running this and it does take real time and energy away from our jobs, lives, families, etc. Could the messaging and process be better? Yes and please talk to me directly if you’re offering to shoulder some of that work because I’m all ears. Second, I do my best to convey that you can apply for a demo spot at DemoCampGuelph which is why the site says “Contact me directly to apply for a demo spot!!”.
Up until one or two events ago, the process consisted of me spending a significant amount of time chasing people to demo because we never had enough people willing to demo. There was never a need for a selection process as it was only a dream of mine to have that need.
Today we’re in the lovely position of having more people wanting to demo than we have time for. That’s huge and the last thing I want is for people to be discouraged at not getting a spot and stop applying. If that happens then we’re back in the above position which means more work for me.
So, the process as it stands today? Anyone can submit a pitch for a demo spot up until the week prior to the event. At that point we’re closed to new submissions. Then Ali and myself meet, review the submissions and select six demos. How do we choose? It’s not a science but I’ll do my best to convey our approach. We’re biased towards Guelph. It’s demoCamp so we prefer code and working technology over pitches and powerpoint. We love people who demo things that people in the crowd benefit from, meaning they could literally build something with it tomorrow. That means frameworks, services, tools, etc.
Beyond that, we do our best to talk to people during/after each event, hear what people like and don’t like and factor all that into the decisions. It’s very important this remains a credible event which means I’ve never personally demo’d and if you’re a close friend of mine then unfortunately you likely never get a spot either. Honestly, you should choose your friends more wisely.
Bottom line, if you don’t get a spot it’s likely not a reflection of your demo but choices need to be made. Our only intent is to deliver a relevant event and connect tech folks in Guelph. If things keep going as they have been with this event then we’ll likely strike a committee of regular attendees who will take on this selection process, ie have the community choose.
See you all next week!