Foo Camp is an invite-only event for top hackers to create a plan for lectures, demonstrations, and forums. The goal is to solve computer and internet problems and create relationships between hackers. It aims to “cross-pollinate” the minds of various hackers working for many different companies. The event has inspired similar camps and rivals in the industry.
The Foo in the term Foo Camp stands for Friends of O’Reilly, and is the brainchild of O’Reilly Media head, Tim O’Reilly, and his vice president, Sara Winge. O’Reilly Media started out humbly as a technical writing company in the 1970s and has now grown into an industry giant, publishing books and websites on a variety of computer-related topics. The idea for the camp came about after the dot com bust, and it’s an invite-only event held for the top hackers (computer experts) in the country.
What makes Foo Camp interesting, aside from its invite-only status, is that there is no specific agenda until attendees arrive. Invitees then need to create a plan on Friday night as to what lectures, demonstrations and/or forums/discussions will take place. For O’Reilly Media, part of the goal is to bring together some of the best minds in computing and the Internet to solve problems (like trying to reduce spam mail). Since the first Foo Camp was held in 2003, other industry professionals have held similar camps, and some O’Reilly Media employees have started Foo Camps outside of the United States. In 2007, New Zealander Nathan Torkington hosted the first Kiwi Foo Camp in New Zealand.
In addition to bringing together people with great technical skills to solve computer problems and Internet problems, Foo Camp aims to create relationships between hackers that will result in more innovative programming and technologies. Foo Camp further helps O’Reilly Media stay on top of all the “buzz” about new ideas or emerging technologies. This helps the company in building advanced technology websites and publications.
O’Reilly Media originally made up the guest list, but now guests are encouraged to nominate others to attend future Foo Camps. The “non-lecture” nature of a Foo Camp is meant to inspire people to think outside the box and think on their feet. Guests must be prepared to present, demonstrate and discuss their ideas and to work with others in the field to improve or modify these ideas or to put them into practice.
The goal is to “cross-pollinate” the minds of various hackers working for many different companies. Instead of being profit-focused by offering invitations to a few people, the field is ideas-centric, focusing on creating better technologies, regardless of individual company profits, to serve everyone using various technologies. About 200 people attend each annual “camp”. While amenities such as access to restrooms, tents, and food and drink are available, the camp will not operate unless participants are willing to work together to develop a program.
Some other people in the industry find Foo too exclusive and have developed rivals for the field. The SocialText company hosted its first Bar Camp in 2005. The main difference, while still adopting the non-convention style, is that anyone can join and participate in the event. This differs from Foo Camp, which remains an invitation-only event.
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