DISQUS

Christopher Penn, Financial Ai · 2 years ago

As I mentioned to Bill on his blog post, I've been representing a corporation in student lending since I started podcasting, and so far I've managed to not screw up too much. :-)

Remember Men in Black: a person is smart. People are stupid. If the corporation in question appears stupid, then find a person IN that corporation, yank them out of the corporate bubble, and bring them to PodCamp. You never know who will be the next Scoble.

Christian · 2 years ago

I would normally be the first to have a whinge when the corporations rock up to have a piece of the grassroots action but I think the great thing about an unConferance is the lack of formality.

Don't forget the rule of two feet.. If you don't like a chat/discussion/room/person.. Get up and move on.

A podcamp is what you (the individual) makes of it.

Everyone has something to offer.

Why not corporations..? Anyone know how big the bar tab is..?

Geoff Livingston · 2 years ago

Wow! Thanks, Chris!

I am so with you on this. I just wrote a post last week called Six Reasons to Lighten Up on Businesses. All of the blogodrama is getting to be a bit much.

It comes down to sugar or spice. We all know which one is more effective. No one wants companies to act the same way. But the only way to get them to engage in social media principles like transparency is to welcome them and have a two-way dialogue.

Instead of crucifying companies we should let them know, "Hey, that's not cool, here's how we do it. Next time if you want to play, please abide by the rules." This approach is much more likely to yield results.

Some cos will never get it. But they won't build successful communities either. I think stating an even-keeled opinion and voting with our feet is a much stronger statement than throwing a tantrum.

Gary Barber · 2 years ago

Locally we have had Microsoft contribute to several unconference like events, the people they sent were intelligent and outside the corporate mold. They waved the Microsoft flag a bit, but they often put the boot in as well. They where as much a participant as anyone else at the camps.

This brings me to Adobe. Adobe in Australia are about to embark on cfCamp. And frankly I believe (hope I'm wrong) its just going to be an Adobe Roadshow. Adobe want to control the venue, alarm bell one. Adobe don't really want Microsoft there, only small local sponsors (alarm bell two), They are dominating the program schedule, alarm bell three and finally they are not really embracing the people that turn up to present are the right people. They are over organising it. Are they cashing it, frankly IMHO yes.

Is it me or does this sound like they are just not getting what a *camp is all about. People have tried to tell them. Sadly they are appealing to the Adobe FanBoyz, and that is part of the problem, a lot of these people are not used to *camps (in Australia), and will just follow Adobes lead. Lets hope I'm totally wrong, eh.

Jim Hathaway · 2 years ago

Chris, this is a good summary of an issue many of us are dealing with. I like your suggestion to get some of these corporations in a room with people who are living and breathing this stuff.

Connie Bensen · 2 years ago

About this - If we’re going to say that big companies don’t “get it,” shouldn’t we be helping them?

Yest. morning in Facebook I happened upon a group that totally irritated me because the person that started it, started a discussion thread with this question: Corporations are losing so much time to staff using FB, but how can their marketing dept leverage it?

Does this sit wrong with anyone else? So, yes, I agree that it's our job to help spread the word (& I maybe tweeted a call to action which resulted in 4 of us responding gently that FB is a productive tool).

Dave Delaney · 2 years ago

Hi Chris:
Long time reader, first time commenter. An unconference is what the organizers and attendees make of it. You can plan one that is simple and small, with no budget needs. Or you can go big and make one that will appeal to a larger crowd.

We went big with BarCamp Nashville. We had larger sponsors involved for several reasons: sponsorship dollars that we can put back into the event (ie. bar tabs, food, keynote speakers, goodies, etc.); building awareness, bigger corps. tend to help spread the word, both internally and externally; for first time unconference towns, the sponsors helped us build credibility to ensure a large attendance (and it worked); and finally, to help attendees rub shoulders with the big kids (networking for students to sales people).

Thanks Chris. Keep up the great work. I love reading your blog and tweets.

Cheers,
Dave

Whitney · 2 years ago

Dani Diaz from the local Microsoft Developer's den came to Podcamp Philly and generously donated a fully tricked out XBox with Guitar Hero that lots of pople had fun playing with, and someone was lucky enough to walk home with as well. And poor Dani did get some Mac vs Microsoft heat from the crowd. No one pretended to be fan.

I have a PC and a Mac; and I am glad to have had people from Apple come teach a Garageband class, and to have Dani from Microsoft coming and looking to see what was happening and who might be dying to create new and better apps for his company. Where better to look than in our midst?

I want every company to get it; to look beyond a sliver of focus groups telling you what you want to hear, to looking to what we want, think, feel, need, and how "we" interact with "your" product.

Corporations, businesses of all sizes and shapes, want it to be an outstanding success- their product or service needs to be fantastic. I want them to release thngs that simply make me say _WOW! and I need that/want that.

But they can't read my mind, and their best chance to "get it" is to engage us and ask us, and that's what we all want anyway, right?

Let's all be people and friends helping each other; let's get away from the battle zone mentality, the us vs them that is so destructive.

Marina @ Sufficient Thrust · 2 years ago

I'm tired of hearing people personify corporations (and government, for that matter).

In Washington state, where I live, you only need one person to form a corporation, and I, therefore, am a corporation. Am I disallowed from participating? What if my corporation were five people? 10? 250? At what level do we lose our humanity? Should we stop at a certain level of success? What about corporations that need 1,000 employees to replicate the same kind of success that another type of business can do with one or two?

I suddenly have a strong urge to re-read Atlas Shrugged.

Jon Burg · 2 years ago

When brands are part of our day to day lives, why shouldn't they be accessible via new/social media?

Brands make statements in their advertising, in their service, in their utility. They impact our lives every time we interact with them.

If social media is part of our lives, then why should they be there as well, particularly when it comes to service, user empowerment and enhancing the social media experience?

Sure, we don't want Facebook spam, but there is still plenty of opportunity for open collaboration apps brought to you by Microsoft (much like those currently offered by Zoho).

Why would you want to slam the door on a good thing?

Dale Cruse · 2 years ago

Rather than complaining about "evil corporations," people should instead be willing to become agents of change and transform those organizations.

Nicole Simon · 2 years ago

Wonderful, as I was just thinking about a similar kind of post in German, something along the lines of "what you should do and not do when attending a barcamp as corporate".

And yes, they should come, see and learn. If they are willing to learn, they are welcome. If they are not, then they are as unwelcome as anyone else.

Plus just like with childreen, they need somebody to guide them through the process. They are used to certain mechanisms which are natural to them but may be highly offensive to others - without the intention of being offensive they may not know what hits them.

So yes, please. It is about tolerance on both sides - because many times those evil corporations are much more open than those "oh my god! somebody in a suit!!!! evil!".

chrisbrogan · 2 years ago

@Gary- I think if Adobe wants to run a Camp, it just means that *.Camp like rules should prevail. I don't inherently mind if they run a cfCamp, because I think I'd want Adobe featured heavily in a camp about their product. Where they'd shine is if they worked hard with the Adobe hackers and Adobe critics and the Adobe naysayers, to bring that feedback (the useful stuff) back to the design headquarters. That would be cool.

@Connie - that's scary, but I think there's a me-too feeling right now around social networks and social media. Some of that will suck, in plain English. And yet, there's a chance that some companies will pick it up and figure it out in a useful way. Where will WE be when they catch up? Quechup? Hmmm.

@Dave - thanks. I'm a lover of yours, too. I think companies who are willing to buy beer for BarCamps are making a goodwill gesture. I'm grateful for the gesture. From there, I want to know what they want from my community. As the PodCamp gategeeper (with Penn and all the other Podling...), I am wary of who wants access to my community and how they'll engage them. And yet, I WANT decent companies to have good access, for two way conversations.

@Whitney- I bet that was an informed experience for BOTH sides of the equation, especially if Apple and Microsoft took the step of listening to everyone in attendance, as I bet they did. Here's my question back: did people ENGAGE Apple and Microsoft, and take advantage of the opportunity of those people there?

@Jon- great point. It's like when TV shows don't show someone drinking a Coke.

@Nicole - you've totally just given me a good post to write. Thank you. I love the idea of writing up a guide for how *I'd* want people to engage my friends at these events. So, thank!

Ed M · 2 years ago

Hey, I'm not sure you've heard but Microsoft is no longer evil. Once it aquired the Catholic Church is became good. I'm telling you that reconciliation can even help the once evil now good Microsoft.

Whitney · 2 years ago

I think we can be hard on individuals as "representatives" for their whole companies. For example, if you've had a bad experience with a product, and you meet someone who works for that company, most people are not too shy about saying "You know, I had one of those, but it never worked right." or a simple "That sucks."

And often the person you talk to has no power to change a thing, making you seem like an ass, and leaves them feeling like htey need to apologize or do something to make you feel better, but there's nothing they can do.

Making constructive comments and critiques helps others get it "right." I just did this for a Verizon sponsored event for its new FIOS service on my blog, http://ldpodcast.wordpress.com/ and I was not paid a thing nor am I affiliated in any way to this event.

But I sure want the people over at Verizon to know how to approach geeks like me to crave FIOS if only to get it in my neighborhood faster.

The point here is this- it's about talkng about a company and their products with them, if possible, and perhaps picking up little things that can help them up their game. Everyone wins in that situation. Offer solutions, not just critique.

Krish · 2 years ago

It is some kinda double edged sword. I face this in my open source evangelism. On one side, I face people from the free software community who just want to hold Microsoft as an evil empire and want to keep it out of open source. On the other hand, there are people like Matt Asay and Tim O' Reiley, who don't miss even a single opportunity to suck up to Microsoft's open source "attempts". My position in the issue goes something like this. Microsoft should be allowed to enter the open source world but not under their own twisted definitions of open source but by accepting the letter and spirit of open source licenses. As far as I am concerned, Microsoft should not be stopped from entering the open source arena but it can come in only if it accepts the letter and spirit of open source licenses. The same argument applies in the case of social media too. Microsoft should be allowed to enter social media circles but it should change its attitude and respect the customers and competitors. If we can ensure that Microsoft stays that way, I think we should embrace them into social media fold.

Krish · 2 years ago

A relevant article to this discussion from the enterprise POV

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/fear_of_we...

Rick Mahn · 2 years ago

Interesting post Chris. Oddly I've been thinking about a similar perspective. Corporations aren't evil, but mainly have the interests of their investors as the main goal to their success.

What needs to be done is engage them, like you mention, but also to understand that it's hard to get the message to the inner core of decision makers. Sometimes it happens easier than others, but there are many levels of bureaucracy to get through to this group. That's quite a trick and what you propose helps bring attention to the process.

My train of thought has been taking me down another realization though, that the corporatization of nearly everything from ball parks to restaurants my be part of the problem of participation in our physical society. Hmm, needs more thought, but the social interaction of any corporation will be a large part of it's success going into the future in my opinion.

Regards,
Rick