Guest: Chris Radcliff. Topics: SpaceUp as an unconference, a BarCamp. How to do a BarCamp and why regarding space matters. Chris Radcliff was our guest for this program to talk about the SpaceUp unconference and the model being used for SpaceUp unconferences around the country. For more information, visit www.spaceup.org. In our first segment Chris explained SpaceUp, what an unconference is and the entire BarCamp concept. Later in the segment we got into the specifics of the SpaceUp unconference, what the opening session was like and then Chris explained the session grid and it is developed by those attending the unconference. I thought it was interesting that he said about 100 people attended the first one and that each person introduces himself with name, ID, and then three words about themselves. He said it only too a few minutes to do this for the entire group. The SpaceUP model relied on five volunteers for organizing and another 10 to 15 volunteers for other forms of assistance. Those attending decide on the content. SpaceUp charged $75 at the door and the had both video and streaming audio for their meeting. One can see some of the sessions on YouTube by searching for SpaceUp or visit their wiki, http://wiki.spaceup.org. In the second segment Chris mentioned that BarCamps were started several years ago in the tech industry and by the O'Reilly Publishing Conference. The SpaceUp meeting went from Saturday noon through Sunday around 6PM. Listen to how Chris described the events. I asked him about the expected outcomes for the meeting so listen to what he had to say about this. During this segment, he talked about Ignite Talks, a five minute talk with slides designed to get people inspired. One such talk he mentioned that has gotten lots of traction was titled "Space is Boring" and you can easily see it on YouTube or their wiki under the Ignite Talk category. In our third segment, Chris described the Moon Pie Contest and we talked about contests for a BarCamp meeting. He also described the San Diego Air and Space Museum and we talked about the type of venue best suited for these unconferences. Educational outreach was mentioned by one of the listeners and we also talked about students attending the SpaceUp meeting. Toward the end of the segment, I asked Chris to do a compare and contrast with a traditional conference and a BarCamp meeting. I believe you will find this compare and contrast discussion most interesting. If you have questions or comments for Chris Radcliff, please contact him at info@spaceup.org. Make sure you reference Chris and The Space Show in your subject line.
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