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ACHUB MediaCampBucks07 Summary
Well it has been well over a week and I’ve decided that now some time has passed I’d unload some of my thoughts into my blog, after all remember my blog is the same as you’d get from me in the pub, so join me in a drink while I mention my personal highlights.
The ACHUB MediaCampBucks07 was the first if its kind for Bucks, in fact the first of its kind for many areas in UK, the slant of this event was enabling an interface of sorts between people working in the commercial sector and academia, and you know what, we all certainly achieved that.
On the day we had three broad themes running:
• Education/Web2.0
• Audio & Music
• HR/Policy/Community
Therefore three sessions were running simultaneously in order that a variety of choice was constantly present for all the participants, it was a cracking atmosphere with everyone checking out the schedules posted-up on the session room doors, and deciding if the current topic was for them, or not.
The event started for me on Friday morning by collecting Kris Eliasson from Heathrow who was representing Sony Ericsson. This guy is an ex-student of mine who studied with Audiocourses.com the distance learning school I am CEO of. Kris started as a student and then became a Production Advisor for the school and then since those days we have become good friends, and this was the first time I got to shake his hand in real-life and move onto serious discussion about the future of mobile content distribution, was awesome.
The event also saw another ex-student of Audiocourses.com in Mike O’Hara who has gone on to make audio his main income stream having set up a thriving business around podcasting, again what a buzz to see these connections firing.
On the Friday evening many of us met up in a local venue for a couple of drinks and a chat, this was the first time most of us had met and it was a real buzz seeing the next character walk in and introduce themselves, finally putting a real face to names was amazing. Observing different groups of people with wide ranging backgrounds and jobs getting social together was a thrill.
I met some amazing people on the day too numerous to mention, you know who you are and how we interacted, and let me just say thanks so much for giving and sharing, YOU made the day a success, and I’m excited to see you again soon.
I want to personally thank a few people for making the day happen, firstly Asha Treacy for driving me to the venue first thing Saturday morning, (I had abandoned my car the evening before following 4 pints of beer). CJ for being very organised and “calling time” with 10 mins to go in the sessions, this was awesome and not planned, she just took control of that and I need to thank her for it, we needed that structure. Eaon Pritchard the talented Scott who put together the logo for MediaCampBucks07 and also came up trumps with some direction boards and banners (sponsored by Weapon7) which we placed around the campus, smart man is Eaon, though he did have me worried as he had been out on the pop the night before and was missing in action for a while. Mike for getting a serious Jam scene going on in the Glasshouse on Saturday evening, sadly I missed most of it but checked out the repeat on Ustream.tv.
ACHUB MediaCampBucks07 was a success without a doubt, we had about 60 participants throughout the day all told. I’m humbled by all of this and I feel a sense of something great, we have created a brand which has a sense of expectation attached to it, all the participants now know what to expect from an ACHUB event.
Looking to the future of the ACHUB we plan to have a virtual event take place in SecondLife before xmas, probably music heavy, and also plan to host another real-life event for some time in the new year which may be similar to MediaCamp, or may be something different completely, in fact if YOU have some ideas about that I want to hear from you, I’m keen on using the momentum we have with ACHUB to continue hosting has we have done since 06.
Just to conclude ACHUB exists in two places:
Recently we have secured the domain ACHUB.ORG which will likely become the main portal before too long, and yes, with user accounts so you can participate with the content, after all it is YOURS, this is YOUR group, your brand, your dynamic to embrace and share.
As a closing statement I’d like you to continue the growth of the group by bringing someone in, a stranger someone “outside” of this web2.0, someone who needs it most.
I’m keeping this short but let me know your highlight of the weekend with a cheeky comment.
Chris Hambly






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Comments
I had a blast
Y'know, the best things about this event:
i) no navel gazing/dick waving
ii) people actually willing to learn
iii) not in London
iv) catching up with Mike O'H after too long
I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next one, should it happen.
Couple of constructive feedback comments on the day (here rather than email so other commenters can comment):
i) What part did the sponsors play? Clearly they contributed time/money/etc, but there was no obvious presence from them (stands, handouts, etc)
ii) Drinks. Drinks. Drinks. Even a slab of water bottles would have been great (get a sponsor to cover the cost next time?)
iii) Tech problems with projector in audio/music stream. Might just be symptomatic of well-used projector, but it caused mucho fun when it didn't work on any Macs (and since all the presentations were on Macs, it was extra fun)
iv) Having munchies and such would have meant people could naturally congregate around certain rooms - the day started v well with everyone hanging out in the same room (games design room, iirc), but people just seemed to dissipate after that.
Hope this is received in the spirit it's intended - I had a great time!
'Part from that, it was great to put a name to a face and I unreserve
Hey Pete, love the feedback,
Hey Pete, love the feedback, exactly what we need.
OK here goes:
i) What part did the sponsors play? Clearly they contributed time/money/etc, but there was no obvious presence from them (stands, handouts, etc)
We actually went low on the sponsorship angle and set levels of coverage based on what they put in.
Chinwag only requested a banner on the wiki as well as in the Facebook group, which they got. Also they sent in some "stuff" to hand out (I said I'd do that as an extra for them) but that stuff arrived on the Monday after the event!! If you want a plastic Chinwag wallet let me know I have 200 hundred of them!
ii) Drinks. Drinks. Drinks. Even a slab of water bottles would have been great (get a sponsor to cover the cost next time?)
Yes, actually sponsors did cover the cost of Tea and Coffee that was made available at the front desk in flasks.
iii) Tech problems with projector in audio/music stream. Might just be symptomatic of well-used projector, but it caused mucho fun when it didn't work on any Macs (and since all the presentations were on Macs, it was extra fun)
Yes the room you were in has a projector set up to work with a PC (bloody macs!)
iv) Having munchies and such would have meant people could naturally congregate around certain rooms - the day started v well with everyone hanging out in the same room (games design room, iirc), but people just seemed to dissipate after that.
Well that tech centre has a no food policy so no way around that, in the planning I did toy with having food, but it is NOT allowed in those rooms. Having said that people enjoyed walking around to differing sesisons I think, and some of that was upstairs too.
Stay tuned my friend we'll do another one soon, I'm seriously up for that, and I think now we have a brand and momentum the next will be much larger.
Great Day :-)
Joining you with a glass of Shiraz in my hand...hic!!
Highlights of the day for me.....
I liked the relaxed, laid back attitude about the 'unconference'. A really nice change from sitting in the same spot being talked at all day. Everybody got a chance to participate.
I came away thinking HR Strategy, web and recruitment and how social media can play a part with this. I've just taken on a project at the uni to look at the whole recruitment process and I am already taking small steps (and believe me they are very small steps!!) to changing old culture with our advertising. People are buying in but still lots to think about and it won't happen over night....
Insight to Second Life..definately thinking about going into this. Apart from wanting to fly, I'm very keen to look at other lands and virtual recruitment fairs companies have set up. Feel a bit of reseach coming on here...
Meeting with people before hand on the Friday night was excellent but what was even better was everyone got the chance to reflect together after the event. The added bonus of the sing song was just too good.
I read Pete's comment about people dispersing later in the day...
If time allows it, maybe next time you can fit in a 20 min session straight after lunch (with drinks and nibbles where ever accessible) to regroup?? Just a thought.....
Well done and look forward to the next one......ooh look time for another Shiraz!
Really enjoyable day
Hey Chris
Just want to add to the comments above that I really enjoyed the day, met some great people and generally had a fab time!
You did a great job Chris and I'm sure everyone who was there really appreciated the work you did in putting the whole thing together.
Highlights for me:
- Catching up with Pete, Emma, Jason and your good self (I agree with Pete, it's been far too long)
- Meeting Lester Barnes (what an incredibly talented composer that guy is!)
- Learning about autoresponders. Thanks for that!
- Having such a fun singalong in the pub afterwards
All in all, excellent stuff! Look forward to doing it again next year.....
Mike x
An inspirational and thought provoking day
An inspirational and thought provoking day, especially liking the Interactive Advertising in TV / TV 2.0 and Second Life events.
It's just a shame I had to shoot off in the afternoon and miss out on all the Saturday afternoon / evening shenanigans.
Looking forward to the next one!