Thanks for coming to BarCamp NewsInnovation 2010!
First, nothing should be said about BCNI without thanking the Temple University Department of Journalism as the event�s main sponsor. Without ,�the conference would have been in my basement in Fishtown, and nobody wants that.
I�d also like to thank eMediaVitals for picking up the tab to try taping the sessions, Technically Philly for the labor and lunch help, SPJ for helping pick up the cost of supplies and WhoWhatNow for paying for breakfast.
Variety’s Chris Krewson once called BCNI a Philly Cheesesteak: messy but ultimately satisfying. And in that spirit this post will be kind of all over the place.
SPJ to sponsor BCNI 2010
Coming in at the 11th hour, the Society of Professional Journalists has announced that they will be lending support to BarCamp on Saturday.
We thank SPJ for its help this year (and last)!
Coming Saturday: BCNI’s very own scheduling application.
The Annenburg Building at Temple University has three floors where presentations will be given. However, our big schedule board will only be in the building’s atrium. To solve this problem, Carl Leiby has kindly allowed BCNI Philadelphia (again) to use his awesome scheduling application.
The application, which formats the schedule to be read on iPhones and mobile devices, was originally used during BarCamp Philadelphia. That means there will be no need to run up and down steps to check and see what presentation you would like to attend next.
The schedule won’t be live until Saturday, so�bookmark http://s.bcniphilly.com on your phone.
Lucky you, Philly has a few new restaurants opening
We asked our friends at the GPTMC: Where can�BCNI attendees get some grub?
Surprisingly they pointed out a whole bunch of newly opened restaurants that even locals like us weren’t aware of. Happy dining!
New Offerings From Celebrated Chefs:
- On the heels of opening MidAtlantic Restaurant & Tap Room last fall, chef Daniel Stern has set up shop in Two Liberty Place with R2L, an Art Deco-inspired restaurant and lounge featuring his unique take on creative American cuisine (rabbit nachos with jalapeno mousse, chicken daube with braised winter vegetables) and an extensive wine and cocktail list. 50 S. 16th Street, 37th floor, (215) 564-5337, r2lrestaurant.com
- Italian maestro Marc Vetri of Vetri and Osteria fame has gone back to his Washington Square roots and opened Am�s, an authentic Roman trattoria specializing in rustic small-plates like lamb sausage and fried artichokes, a small but focused wine list and a rock �n� roll soundtrack. 412 S. 13th Street, (215) 732-2647, amisphilly.com
- Celebrity chef Michael Schulson, who built his name at Stephen Starr�s Pod, his own Atlantic City spot Izakaya and TLC�s Ultimate Cake-Off, brings small-plate Asian cuisine to Midtown Village with Sampan. The sleek open kitchen dishes up satays, noodle dishes, dumplings and sushi, spanning the Pacific Rim and beyond. 124 S. 13th Street, (215) 732-3501, sampanphilly.com
- Vegetarians are rejoicing with the arrival of Thoreau, the Loft District�s new meatless grill from Mike Jackson, the chef and owner of the highly regarded Blue Sage in Bucks County. Eclectic global fare like blue corn asparagus tacos and tamarind peanut noodles are prepared with flourishes from the chef�s vegetable and herb garden out back. 1033 Spring Garden Street, (215) 232-9001, thoreaurestaurant.com
New Restaurants, New Restaurateurs:
- The wines are low-priced at Zavino�s marble-topped bar in Midtown Village, and the eats cooked up by chef-partner Steve Gonzalez�pizza with toppings like b�chamel, local mozzarella and Kennett Square mushrooms and antipasti (cured meats, artisan cheeses and seasonal specials)�are sophisticated yet similarly affordable. 112 S. 13th Street, (215) 732-2400, zavino.com
- New American cuisine goes underground at terra, the intimate, low-lit 40-seater below Tavern on Camac where chef Eric Paraskevas turns out such whimsical dishes as pork and cheddar spring rolls and the �blithering idiot braised lamb shank� with turnip puree and Brussels sprout escabeche. 243 S. Camac Street, (215) 545-1102, terrapa.com
Who’s coming (in logos!)
As a quick scan of our attendees list will show, BCNI draws a diverse crowd. Newspapers, startups and universities have all signed up to come.
For your logo-viewing pleasure, here are just some companies scheduled to attend:
WhoWhatNow our latest sponsor, join them!
We’re pleased to announce that WhoWhatNow has agree to sponsor BCNI’s breakfast!
The project, by University of Missouri professor and�Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Jim MacMillan, aims to be a wire service for citizen journalism. MacMillan says he wants to take crowd-sourced news to the next level and find a way to reward independent journalists. �For more details visit WhoWhatNow.com.
We thank Jim for his support, but BCNI is still looking for a few more sponsors to sponsor Lunch and our after party. For details check our sponsorship page or email Sean Blanda.
Your guide to presenting at BCNI Philly
At a typical conference, the only way you’re able to present is to cross your fingers and hope some special committee gives you a call. At BarCamp NewsInnovation, however, getting on the schedule is as easy as filling out an index card and posting on the schedule grid (above).
BarCamp follows the “unconference” model where the attendees fill the schedule board with their own presentations. Besides, the best way to get everything you can out of BCNI is to present!
What should I present?
The only requirement is that your presentation has something to do with news. Some ideas:
- Present the latest project you, your team or your company is working on. For example, last year the Washington Post showed off how they got Sprint to sponsor their real-time news aggregator.
- Have a round table discussion on a topic you’d like to know more about. For example the CoPress crew presented on “How do you reinvent j-school for 2020?”
- Propose an idea. What would you like to change in the industry? Do you have a new monetization strategy? Share it!
- Share a lesson you have learned over the past year. For example Philly.com shared how they “swarmed” the Obama-Clinton�Pennsylvania�primary.
- Still stuck? Check out our uservoice forum or the list of last year’s presentations.
- When doubt just make sure it is something we haven’t heard before. BCNI is about moving the conversation forward.
The technical stuff
- You have an fifty minutes. Take as much of that up as you’d like.
- All rooms are college classrooms, and most have computers.
- Each room has a podium, a Microsoft Windows machine and Microsoft Office.
- Each room has a projector.
- You can bring your own laptop and hook it up to the�projector, though we suggest you just stick your presentation on a USB drive and back it up on a Google Doc instead. We make no guarantees that your laptop will have the right video port.
Hope that helps and see you there!
Where should I stay?
Where to stay for BCNI. Click to see the entire Google Map.
Several people have asked where is the best place to stay for BCNI.
It is probably best to stay in Center City Philadelphia and take the Broad Street Line to the event. Click the picture to the right to see our quick illustration of the area you want your hotel to be in. The closer your hotel is to the Broad Street Subway line (shown in orange) the easier your travels will be.
If you are having trouble finding a hotel, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation�has a handy hotel search that allows you to search by price and location (remember: you’ll probably want Center City hotels).
Want to sponsor the BCNI afterparty at the Draught Horse?
While last year’s afterparty had us all treking to old city, this year BCNI aims to make your post-BarCamp life easier.
BCNI 2010′s afterparty will take place immediately after the event at Temple’s very own Draught Horse, a nine minute walk from the event.
The afterparty will undoubtedly be amazing, but we’re looking for a sponsor to chip in to make the event extra special (read: open bar). For under $1000, Draught Horse is willing to provide at least two hours of free drafts and well drinks to all attendees.
If you are interested in sponsoring the afterparty (or BCNI) contact organizer Sean Blanda.
Some sessions you may see at BCNI 2010
While BarCamp has an open grid format, some attendees have reached out and told us on what they plan to present. Keep in mind that, thanks to BarCamp’s structure, this could all change at any time. But hopefully, along with last years presentation list, it can provide some inspiration for other presentations. You are presenting, right?
- Daniel Bachhuber �- Current state of Knowledge Management Systems: Daniel plans to explore the structured data could be categorizing in every story they write.
- Mel Taylor, sales consultant - Profitable local news outlets
- Andrew Mendelson, Journalism chair, Temple University: Temple University is poised to make the switch to a track-less journalism curriculum that�emphasizes�entrepreneurship and the web.
- Drew Lazor, Food editor, Citypaper: Drew runs the one of the most popular food blogs in the city, Meal Ticket. He plans on offerring tips for leveraging the Citypaper’s brand to win the competitive food blog wars in Philly.
- Marc Steel, Online Editor, Citypaper: Marc never saw a database he couldn’t whip into shape. Who knows what he’ll talk about?
- Jim MacMillan, Photographer/Founder, Who What Now: Jim hasn’t told us what he’s presenting, just that he is.
