In China there are tonnes of tech events and often they can become very boring. People on stage speak for too long about things that can be said in less than half the time and consequentially the crowd zones out because they lose interest. To defend against boredom and encourage more audience driven interaction, a new style of event called BarCamp was created, and now spans more than 350 cities worldwide.
Originating from Silicon Valley in 2005, Shanghai will host the 9th BarCamp. This is an event for anyone in the tech community to unite. Famously dubbed “un-conference” where anyone, from a first year student to a renowned entrepreneur, with a deep passion for technology is given a stage to share their ideas with like-minded techies. It is an open platform for anyone to share and learn about brilliant and some bizarre ideas.
Hosted by TechYizu, a Shanghai-based volunteer group which helps support and organize events for China’s tech community. BarCamp Shanghai is open to anyone and free thanks to sponsors, including SingTel innov8, Google China, and People Squared. More than 300 people are expected to attend this time. Attendees will find new opportunities to network with fellow geeks, exchange ideas, or even host a session.
Speakers at BarCamp are self-identified and their sessions are shared in real time, as attendees show up on the day of the event. Listeners come with little knowledge of the talks they will experience during the day. As a galvanizing principle, the only “rule” of BarCamp is that there are no rules, aside from a guideline against anyone using BarCamp to pitch his/her company.
Although truly unscripted, the team at Techyizu promises a broad range of topics. Based on local trends, topics might include:
- new internet and mobile tech
- design, social networks
- Location Based Services
- cloud computing
- e-commerce
- gaming and gamification
- startup entrepreneurship and financing
Last year’s topics included:
- A Taste for 4G Technologies
- Scalable Web Architecture for Startups
- Chinese Netizen Speak
- How to Hack your Body’s Operating System
- Hot Social Games in China
- iPhone App in a Month
- Startup Analytics – Numbers that Count
- How to Get Acquired by Google (given by the Director of APAC Commerce for Google)
Here are the details:
When: September 24, 10-5pm
Where: Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) Building 7, 234 Songhu Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai. Near Jiangwan Stadium metro line 10.
Cost: FREE! Yay!