Aaron Lerch

I’m starting to take this crazy idea of an “Indy Code Camp” and slowly bring it into reality. But I can’t do it alone. I’m not asking people to make a huge commitment (that’ll be me), but rather I’m looking for people who can help in very specific ways, each of which is hopefully not a large burden. These are the types of things I need help with. Can you help out? Or do you know a guy who knows a guy that can get cheap stuff from his brother-in-law? Contact me! Send me mail at aaronlerch [at] gmail [dot] com.

• Location - know of a great place to meet? Do you work there, or know who to get ahold of? Even if you just know the name of a place you once went that you really really liked, let me know.
• Sponsors - as grass-roots as I want this to be, stuff ain’t free. And if we do it the “free” way, we’ll be meeting in my house projecting onto a blank wall, and sharing a 2-liter of Diet Pepsi. Unless you think that sounds fun, we’ll need some sponsors. Do you work for a company that would sponsor an Indianapolis (and midwest, really) developer event? Sponsors get ad space on the website, at a minimum (the rest depends on the venue), but no special privileges. Companies that would sponsor a code camp know that developers care about code, not marketing. Employees of sponsors the same right to present as anybody else–no more or less. And to reiterate: marketing fluff is a no-no, code camp is about code.
• Planning - have you planned, or even attended, a code camp before? I could use some advice and help. You don’t have to be a midwesterner either - feel free to email me whatever advice you’ve got. If you are local, or would plan on attending, and want to help with planning, let me know too.

As an aside, I’m getting more and more excited about an event for midwest developers to express what interests them, and to present on it–themselves, if they want. And heck, if you’re not from the midwest and want to present, go for it. You can stay at my place while you’re in town. My wife is a great cook. And, while I enjoyed Indy TechFest and think the folks who put it on did a fantastic job organizing it (yes, I’ll be asking them for help/advice too ) - I’m jazzed about the “home grown” nature of a code camp. Nothing is “fed” to us, meaning existing interest in your topic is the prerequisite for presenting. The developers attending decide on the content.

The website (indycodecamp.com) is coming along and will be up soon. You’ll be able to suggest tracks and topics, sign up to present, express interest, etc. It’s all using “unconference” by Lorin. Once things are solidified, the automatic scheduling will make sure you can attend the maximum number of sessions you’re interested in, minimizing conflicts.

To avoid coming close to Indy TechFest, I’m going to try to make this happen in the “off cycle” (6 months or so later). We’ll see.

Thanks in advance for your help. If you can’t help, please blog about this and link back to this post to help spread the word!

Update: Here are a few links I’ve already found that are helpful.
The Code Camp Manifesto. Not new, but a good reminder of what it’s all about.
Interview with Chris Williams and Doug Turnure about organizing the SC Code Camp. A short, but informative podcast.
Organizing a Code Camp at the semi-official Code Camp Wiki.