Drumbeat/events/copenhagen/notes
Contents
Drumbeat Copenhagen - August 20 2010, Forsamlingshuset 5e
Photos
Introduction to Drumbeat
Torben and Henrik gave a brief introduction to Drumbeat and an overview of the event - a mix of Drumbeat gospel and CPH-style friday bar (a proud local tradition after a week of hard work) in a unique old warehouse in the Copenhagen Meatpacking District Kødbyen.
Introductions Circle
We all sat in a circle and introduced ourselves by name and mood. About 65 people had showed up. We decided to do the event in Danish, and translate for non-danish speakers (of which there were 4 - the swedish participants preferred danish). Comments on this decision are most welcome!
Spectrogram
We did four spectrogram statements to kick off the event, and to start a conversation around "what is the open web".
- "If my spouse of child wakes me up in the middle of the night and asks me what the open web is, I'd know what to reply".
Some were initially confused by the statement (keeping it simple is paramount when speedgeeking!), others argued that the open web is not always understood in the same way by non-geeks, and that Facebook is part of the open web for most people.
- "When I use Facebook I feel remorse".
This was a particularly animated debate - Denmark, after all, has more Facebook users per capita than any other country. Arguments ranged from "I don't use Facebook" to "I heard about this event on Facebook but often feel remorse not to have left FB, to "Facebook is an inclusion mechanism; it shows people what can be done on the open web".
- "The internet, right now, is free and open".
- also very animated - some argued that parts of the web are indeed open, but that concentration of data in the cloud, enclosures and lock-ins threaten the web as we know it today. Others argued that the internet and the web have always had fluctuations between open and closed and that it will stay that way. In that sense, it is "basically" open.
- "Governments should regulate to protect the open nature of the web".
- this spurred a lot of debate and movement as government regulation often goes only one way. On the other hand, if governments don't, the web will be governed by corporations. Swedish participants noted that government regulation of our behavior online is a fact, but it often happens under different names. Opinions were particularly polarized during this last debate.
Speed Geeking
After a short break, a total of 7 projects speedgeeked. Please contact henrik at mozillafoundation dot org if you have video from the presentations.
Brett Gaylor speedgeeking Web Made Movies - from home
- P2PU School of Webcraft - Pippa Buchanan
- Flattr - Peter Sunde
- WebMadeMovies / See wired mag about the demo - Brett Gaylor (per videochat) / Henrik Moltke
- Distributed Privacy Settings- Jeppe Kruse
- I2p - an anonymizing network, offering a simple layer that identity-sensitive applications can use to securely communicate. Presented by Robert Foss.
- Labitat - a hackerspace and FabLab in Copenhagen, presented by Johan Bichel Lindegaard.
Working Groups
Each working group worked on ideas as long as they needed - conversations carried into the beer drinking / food session.
Please create a page for your group and fill in what you talked about + any eventual next action steps!
Conclusion
Overall, Drumbeat CPH worked like magic - a good mix of local flavors, great location and a strong and diverse mix of participants. Spectrogram and speedgeeks worked well (but too many people can stiffle movement during spectrograms!], but due to the noise level and acoustics, some had problems hearing. Still, they had a taste, and left interested in leanring more. Letting working sessions segway into socializing worked well, providing those participating take time to document following and to follow-up individually.
Drumbeat will be back soon, hopefully, with an Aarhus event and possibly another CPH meetup before or around x-mas. Stay tuned and follow @abemad and moltke on twitter. We could setup a mailinglist if you bug us :)
Thanks
Thanks to Torben / @abemad and Lars + Forsamlingshuset 5e for providing a unique location, and to the Mozilla Foundation for sponsoring food, drinks and supplies.
