PublicMediaCamp

One thing that’s impressed me about some of the unconferences I’ve attended is that they’re based on a simple charter. For example, PodCamp asks you to follow six basic rules when organizing a PodCamp, such as the event must be new media-focused and “All attendees must be treated equally.” Having a charter helps explain what makes your camp different than other camps, and sets some basic expectations on how it’ll be conducted.

In that spirit, I’ve taken a crack at drafting a 10-point charter for PublicMediaCamp:

1. It’s all about strengthening public media through ongoing collaboration with the public. That’s why we’re all coming to this thing.
2. There is no audience, only participants. Be prepared to take an active role in the event’s success: see rule #1.
3. All presentations and sessions at PublicMediaCamp are on the record; blogging, podcasting, tweeting, etc are all strongly encouraged, in conjunction with the tag #PubCamp or a local variant of it.
4. Any presentation materials shared at PublicMediaCamp must be released under a Creative Commons noncommercial-attribution-sharealike license so they can be used at other camps:
5. If you want to lead a session, you must write your name and describe the topic in a presentation slot, either on the pre-conference wiki or on the session schedule wall at the conference itself. Make sure you clarify whether you’re prepared to lead the session itself; if not, you should be prepared to help recruit the right people.
6. Everyone introduces themselves at the start of the camp, but you must be brief. Your name, affiliation, and no more than three more words summarizing why you’re there.
7. All sessions must obey the Law of Two Feet – if you’re not getting what you want out of the session, you can and should walk out and do something else at the camp.
8. Campers are encouraged to break up into teams and tackle projects during PublicMediaCamp, but they’ll have to report back to everyone at the end of the camp – including listing who’s doing what so we can start keeping track of projects after the camp.
9. Closing session wrap-up presentations, if you choose to give one, must follow the soft boiled egg rule: five minutes or less, and another two minutes for questions.
10. If you take notes, post them on the camp’s wiki so everyone else can benefit from them.

Please let me know what you think. Is having a charter worthwhile? If so, do these 10 points make sense?