Do you like computers? Do you like the Internet? People who, like me, would not only say yes to these questions, but also not even quite understand why someone wouldn’t, fall under a oft-used title these days, geek. I was never a big fan of the term geek, because it certainly wasn’t something I would have wanted to have been called as a child, but its been reappropriated as of late, and is apparently something cool now.

Are you a geek? Do you live in Armenia? People who, like me, answered yes to these questions, were at the Third Annual Barcamp, Yerevan, which was held on June 4-5. This is the second Barcamp I’ve attended in Armenia, and last year I gave a presentation on my studies regarding the usage of Armenian Webfonts. I regreted not being able to give a presentation this year, but my schedule wouldn’t allow it.

Whenever I participate in an event in which I have played no part as an organizer, I feel a sense of serenity. After so many years of coordinating events of one type or another, I feel like its a true privilege to just show up and observe one. So, I enjoyed my time as a passive observer at the Barcamp.

Impressions

I have been extremely impressed by the Barcamp’s organizing committee. During the Barcamp, they seem to be present at all times, working to keep the event running smoothly. They engaged the participants in a very friendly manner, and eagerly answered people’s questions, despite the fact that no one paid a fee to participate (one of the rules of a Barcamp). In the months prior to the event, they regularly tweet updates to the event’s and their personal profiles, as well as maintain the event’s blog. This is the international standard for geek event promotion, but its a source of pride that they don’t do a good job “for being in Armenia”, but are simply doing a good job.

It is also worth noting that Armenians have a certain habit of formalizing things. Its a natural inclination to make events appear organized by imposing structure and bureaucracy where its not always necessary. The cornerstone of a Barcamp is its informality. Its wonderful that the organizers have been able to maintain a stasis of order and informality despite our discordant culture.

It also does the organizers credit, and speaks to the growing sense of geekiness amongst Yerevan’s young adults, that the attendance of the this event has steadily grown every year.

Reflections

After having attended this event for two years, I can say very certainly that its true virtue is not its many presentations, but in the non-virtual social networking that occurs. Its an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to convene and interact. The participants of this event are not cut from the same cloth. They are mostly young, mostly Armenian, and nearly all active in online social networks, but that is the extent of their similarity. Some are into social media and citizen journalism. Others are geeks of the true order, engaged in computer science and engineering. A few are of the class of communicators and designers. Businessmen and entrepreneurs are in the mix too. Finally, there are some people who showed up simply because it seemed like a cool place to be. (Perhaps literally, because the air conditioning at AUA is great). The potential for the exchange of ideas that could occur in this environment could be pivotal for Armenia’s future development both economically and socially.

Expansion

Keeping this in mind, one thing that I heard many people mention was that it was unfortunate that it should only happen once a year. I am of the same opinion. As they say, when something isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Therefore, I wouldn’t suggest that the organizers should alter the general format of the current Barcamp, or simply do it half-yearly or quarterly. Nevertheless, it seems clear that the demand exists. Perhaps more focused barcamp style events could be hosted in smaller formats a couple times a year, with one focused on Social Media and another on Web Design, Development, and Business Development. I understand that the capacity of the organizing committee is limited, and this may hinder their ability to expand programming. If this is the only limiting factor, hopefully the ranks of the committee will grow over time so that new people can learn from their experience and widen the scope of their activity.

Language

Armenia has always been a multilingual country, with most of the population speaking some amount of Russian and/or English. The few guests who had come from abroad were welcomed to speak in their native language. Perhaps for most this wasn’t a problem, but it seemed that for at least a few, many things weren’t understood. In my case, being able to speak Armenian and English meant that the Russian presentations were out. For others who didn’t understand English well, the opposite was true. For a few that didn’t know Armenian at all, such as the international guests, it seemed to me that most of the presentations were unintelligible. I realize its expensive, but having translators, at least in the main hall, could be a big improvement.

Self promotion

If I have one gripe about the openness of the Barcamp format, its that it enables people to come and advertise their own products for half an hour, for free. If, in the presentation of their product, they discuss some idea or approach, technological or professional, which could be useful for the attendees, then I accept it. However, I don’t like the idea of Barcamp being used as a platform to promote one’s product. It shows a lack of respect for the audience. I’m sure that if they wanted to promote their product they could be a paid sponsor of the event like many other companies were.

I don’t know how this can be discouraged, but it would be great if it didn’t continue in the future.

Congratulations

I would like to sincerely congratulate all of the people responsible for this important event. I hope and pray that they’ll be able to continue their work for many years to come for the benefit of the Armenia’s economic, social, and cultural life. This sort of effort is exactly what we need.

Note I had to re-title this post from “Nonconferencing for a Brighter Tomorrow” to “Unconferencing for a Brighter Tomorrow”, because Nonconference is not a word. Unconference is a word. My bad.