Let BarCamp Change Your Life

or…

Jweeks.net

CrowdSource Your Life

MekongICT.org

Why BarCamp?

• Why CrowdSource?• Why should I care?

Why Not?

• Sometimes life can seem a little ‘FUBAR’.

• So get out of your ‘comfort zone’ and meet people In Real Life –

‘IRL’

The value of IRL: 1st Cambodia Blogger Meetup,

2005

IRL builds community

‘IRL’ is physical networking.

Watch out, you might actually make friends!Friends care about your work, your life, your

feelings.Some ‘case studies’ of IRL:

‘Case Studies’

– Personal Information Technology Workshop

– BarCamp Bangkok Dating Seminar– Clogger Summit– Sexy Cambodian Bloggers– Queen of the Geeks– ‘Bopha Chiang Mai’

Personal Information Technology Workshop

www.pitw.wordpress.com

After the workshop:

• Hundreds of college / high school students trained & sharing

• For the presenters and associated staff:

– Chantra: BarCamp / Open Institute / private sector work

– Viirak: BarCamp, Cloggers Corner, NGO & private sector work – now in Kenya!

– Kalyan: scholarship overseas– Nearirath: scholarship overseas– Chak Sopheap: scholarship overseas, ‘Global Voices’

work– Cloggers Corner / Clogger Summit / BarCamps follow

Meanwhile, in Bangkok …

Presentation from ‘31o5’

Outcomes:

• ‘3105’ becomes ‘geek star’ of ASEAN BarCamps, coverage on social media, podcast, radio, TV

• ‘Unconference’ format of ASEAN BarCamp welcomes sharing cultural / social / humorous issue

• “barcamp changed my life and created my daughter”

Clogger Summit

BethKanter.org

Due to IRL trainings and meetings:

• EVERYONE wanted to attend Cambodia’s first social media ‘Clogger Summit’

• Cambodian and Cambodia based bloggers met each other and also met enthused overseas bloggers.

Outcomes: Made a LOT of new friends

Outcomes: Enthusiasm for more tech meetings like ‘Cloggers Corner’

and ‘BarCamp’

Outcomes:• Beth Kanter raised over $4000 for her

travel and the conference – she is now known as an expert fundraiser and published author.

BethKanter.org

Outcomes: Analysis of Khmer Blogging scene by Global

Voices’ Preetam Rai leading to…

BethKanter.org

A TED talk

Don’t worry, I’ll include links to talks and videos. :D

Why Are Cambodians ‘Unlikely Diplomats’?

• YOU are in demand for global meetings and feedback.

• Just don’t be afraid to apply.

Examples:

Bloggers Nearirath and Chharda present at BarCamp Saigon on ‘Sexy Cambodian Bloggers’

Nearirath Sreng

Heng Huy Eng: the only female Southeast Asian

Coder at Open Knowledge Festival - Finland

Courtesy International Land Coalition

CrowdSource Your Life

• No, it’s not about dating, sex …• or being from Cambodia / Southeast

Asia• Join BarCamps, Tech Meetings,

Unconferences….• Share your ideas• Everywhere you go, you’ll find ‘like

minds’ and new ideas. For example:

I Talk About Comics!

And wherever I Go (Indonesia)

Malaysia

Singapore...

Thailand…

… you’ll find friends.

New Ideas: At Mekong ICT Camp 2010 I barely knew

anyone. I started sketching people.

New IdeasBy the end of the conference I was a lot less

shy.

New Ideas

• During the Camp I learned about ‘Open Data’ from expert Laurence Millar.

• This changed my thinking, and gave me a job for two years creating ‘Open Development Cambodia’

• I returned in 2013 to share the results of our hard-working team. I never expected this.

• Now I’m thinking of MORE projects. – Open Data, Open Comics, Open Everything.

OpenDevCam.net

MekongICT.org

Conclusion

• Attend BarCamps, UnConferences, Tech meetings. ‘IRL’ – In Real Life.

• Present on what you like and know. (Even if you think no one will care.)

• Don’t be shy. :D

Thank You!

Links:

http://goo.gl/xsDWO More adventures at Jweeks.net