Albeit two entirely different kind of events, for me, the MozFest and
MozCamp 2012 were more like a two-lap circuit, with a couple of hours'
pitstop at my work-town.
But still, I think each of the event needs a separate post, because they are quite of a context switch, and difficult to narrate on same pitch. So, my MozFest post went on ahead, and here's the post about the MozCamp 2012.
Oh, bytheway - here's the not-so-organized Flickr set for the impatients: http://www.flickr.com/photos/im-phreak/sets/72157633063798684/
But that aside,there were indeed a couple of new faces - mostly developers, GSoC contributors et al. Delighted faces; overwhelmed with first time experience of what truly can be called a cosmopolitan event.
I'm pretty sure, that this time the event venue & the hotel was pretty far apart & the breakfast arrangements were at the venue, rather than the hotel - just to fight that issue, which I must say, worked great!
It's difficult to mention each of the small-small factors that turned out to be good strategies, and I wonder it's even possible to do so. Nevertheless, from selecting Singapore as the venue, to selecting hotel with metro-station directly underground - all of it leads to a very good experience for the attendees and shows a rather good management skills of the management.
However, hosting the main venue inside of a shopping mall (Scape), without very good directional-guide/discoverability to session rooms lead to quite of a distress to attain the talks. By the time you get a hang of the room locations, among the shop/stores & rush of people, the event was over! Many people, including me, preferred to stay at the main conference hall - if not visiting the Hub occasionally, for the development sessions.
By the afternoon, I've had to represent India at the Community Quills - a short standup report before the global audience on the state of Mozilla in our local community.
Then there was the talk on News Mozilla (NeMo), which I had to facilitate, along with Kinshuk & Chit - because Dwaraka, the project lead, couldn't get to attend MozCamp for his semester papers. We planned to have a G+ hangout setup, for his virtual presence. Interestingly, Chris Heilmann sat to attain my talk - among the very handful of audience. I wasn't having any cold feet, and was already feeling good about it when Murphy struck back! From crashing of hangout, to accidental presentation-laptop shutdown (with quick recovery using Chris' MBP - mighty thanks!) - and everything awful had to happen within that 30min window - while you're trying to make a point out of all the cross-questions of Mozilla PR which may lead to potential termination of the project for any carelessness, as well as covering for another speaker who suddenly was not feeling well. Well, I'm glad now it's just a matter of "past".
The day ended rather surprisingly, with a community dinner with all the folks in the Downtown area. Forgot the restaurant name - sue me - was damn busy Karaoke'ing... Oh boy, what a night!
More than what to say, I was nervous about how to say it. Graceful, diplomatic answers in realtime wasn't ever my forte - and, I was sweating inside to control any sudden spill of tongue-in-the-cheek phrase, screwing up the whole thing. Luckily... no loose-motion-causality happened! :P
There were some last minute catching ups to do, goodbyes to bid, and hanging around the Singapore to get it over with. So by the evening, some of us bundled up and went on our way. It's offtopic - I'll pass!
If only that was a real word! Oh well, I said it - so it is now...
The point is, even though I'm too bad at recalling names, I recognize most of the prominent Mozillians from at least Asia - which in turn means, less number of new faces in each next event.
However, apart from meeting the newly formed Nepal community delegates, the lone Mozillian from Pakistan, folks from Filipino community & most of the Bangladesh community - met some new staff Mozillians who are from Asia, such as new UX/Design hires Larissa Co and Bram Pitoyo. Should've managed to catch up more with Amy Tsay and Jorge Villalobos - the awesome ones from the Addons team; and wish I knew the person called Lisa Brewster from beforehand - only later discovered her to be damn interesting!
And among the other minute insignificant trivia... I also met Brendan Eich.
I'm not sure how's that gonna change things, if at all. As long as it is a platform to meet new Mozillians - share, brainstorm & get inspired - I'm cool with it.
I also figure, inter-community meetups of local-community clusters can be a key mechanism to increase community bonding & inter-collaboration - if not as an alternative to MozCamp.
But still, I think each of the event needs a separate post, because they are quite of a context switch, and difficult to narrate on same pitch. So, my MozFest post went on ahead, and here's the post about the MozCamp 2012.
Oh, bytheway - here's the not-so-organized Flickr set for the impatients: http://www.flickr.com/photos/im-phreak/sets/72157633063798684/
Less Indians at MozCamp
Well, to be honest, this wasn't a sudden realization. I already was aware that there weren't many Mozillians joining us from India - mostly localizers: long term, well renowned ones - apparently for the flaw in the ad-hoc nomination procedure, or for being unable to use it properly (it's debatable).But that aside,there were indeed a couple of new faces - mostly developers, GSoC contributors et al. Delighted faces; overwhelmed with first time experience of what truly can be called a cosmopolitan event.
Many logistical issues fixed - new introduced
Let's face it, in previous MozCamp, we've had trouble getting Mozillians up from bed to get them to the conference room - because it was easy to get up whenever you wish, have the breakfast & then if you feel like - join a session.I'm pretty sure, that this time the event venue & the hotel was pretty far apart & the breakfast arrangements were at the venue, rather than the hotel - just to fight that issue, which I must say, worked great!
It's difficult to mention each of the small-small factors that turned out to be good strategies, and I wonder it's even possible to do so. Nevertheless, from selecting Singapore as the venue, to selecting hotel with metro-station directly underground - all of it leads to a very good experience for the attendees and shows a rather good management skills of the management.
However, hosting the main venue inside of a shopping mall (Scape), without very good directional-guide/discoverability to session rooms lead to quite of a distress to attain the talks. By the time you get a hang of the room locations, among the shop/stores & rush of people, the event was over! Many people, including me, preferred to stay at the main conference hall - if not visiting the Hub occasionally, for the development sessions.
0th Day
I had reached early on the day before the main event. Mainly to attain the Contributor (task management) tools meeting in the morning. In the evening, there was the Welcome Event, Country Fair and of course, the Gangnam Style!1st Day
When the day started, I was already gauging the heatmap of prevalence & importance of Firefox OS for the upcoming year - and oh boy, it got all the attention. All of it!By the afternoon, I've had to represent India at the Community Quills - a short standup report before the global audience on the state of Mozilla in our local community.
Then there was the talk on News Mozilla (NeMo), which I had to facilitate, along with Kinshuk & Chit - because Dwaraka, the project lead, couldn't get to attend MozCamp for his semester papers. We planned to have a G+ hangout setup, for his virtual presence. Interestingly, Chris Heilmann sat to attain my talk - among the very handful of audience. I wasn't having any cold feet, and was already feeling good about it when Murphy struck back! From crashing of hangout, to accidental presentation-laptop shutdown (with quick recovery using Chris' MBP - mighty thanks!) - and everything awful had to happen within that 30min window - while you're trying to make a point out of all the cross-questions of Mozilla PR which may lead to potential termination of the project for any carelessness, as well as covering for another speaker who suddenly was not feeling well. Well, I'm glad now it's just a matter of "past".
The day ended rather surprisingly, with a community dinner with all the folks in the Downtown area. Forgot the restaurant name - sue me - was damn busy Karaoke'ing... Oh boy, what a night!
2nd Day
On the last day, there were too many things to do and not enough time to do most of it. Mainly, I was pretty tensed about the Volunteer leadership panel, in which I again had to represent community leadership in South Asia, along with Vineel and other leaders from APAC & Africa.More than what to say, I was nervous about how to say it. Graceful, diplomatic answers in realtime wasn't ever my forte - and, I was sweating inside to control any sudden spill of tongue-in-the-cheek phrase, screwing up the whole thing. Luckily... no loose-motion-causality happened! :P
There were some last minute catching ups to do, goodbyes to bid, and hanging around the Singapore to get it over with. So by the evening, some of us bundled up and went on our way. It's offtopic - I'll pass!
MozillianSpotting
The point is, even though I'm too bad at recalling names, I recognize most of the prominent Mozillians from at least Asia - which in turn means, less number of new faces in each next event.
However, apart from meeting the newly formed Nepal community delegates, the lone Mozillian from Pakistan, folks from Filipino community & most of the Bangladesh community - met some new staff Mozillians who are from Asia, such as new UX/Design hires Larissa Co and Bram Pitoyo. Should've managed to catch up more with Amy Tsay and Jorge Villalobos - the awesome ones from the Addons team; and wish I knew the person called Lisa Brewster from beforehand - only later discovered her to be damn interesting!
And among the other minute insignificant trivia... I also met Brendan Eich.
Looking forward
I'm not so sure if we'll have a MozCamp this year. Drafting a blog five months after the event has its own informative-advantages, and rumour has it, we'll probably have Summits like back in old days - but don't take my word for it. If such is the case indeed official announcements should come sooner than you think.I'm not sure how's that gonna change things, if at all. As long as it is a platform to meet new Mozillians - share, brainstorm & get inspired - I'm cool with it.
I also figure, inter-community meetups of local-community clusters can be a key mechanism to increase community bonding & inter-collaboration - if not as an alternative to MozCamp.
good choice of words, very neat and well written blog. Got chance to know about MozCamp. Its inspiring.
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