You Can Have a Mashup Camp Too!

After Tim O’Reilly started his Friends of O’Reilly (FOO) Camp, bringing together diverse talent to discover new ideas and create a buzz around emerging technologies, similar camps such as the BAR Camp have sprung up in the Valley.

“Mashups embody the idea of organized chaos. Even chaos can lead to the birth of new stars in the universe.”

Mashup camps are the latest incarnation. Silicon Valley held a two-day mashup recently at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. This camp brought together the creators of technology, their consumers and enablers, all under one roof. Its aim was to ignite creativity and generate new ideas about the Internet and community-based applications and technologies.

300 developers, users and service providers from some of the top technology companies and open source projects gathered to present, listen and learn. Participants included Google, Yahoo, Sun, Microsoft, Adobe, Amazon, EBay, SixApart, SocialText, SpikeSource, Eclipse, and others. Groups formed around discussions covering API best practices, finding APIs, EBay Web services, Yahoo APIs, Amazon Web services, Google’s Virtual Earth APIs, search, storage, mobility, wiki tagging, creative commons and licensing. The Computer History Museum was filled to capacity. Already hundreds of enthusiasts are signing up for the next mashup camp. Although the location of the next camp is yet to be decided, the objective is to find an even larger place, where everyone who wishes to, can join in.

What exactly is a “mashup”?

Wikipedia defines a mashup as a website or application that seamlessly combines content from multiple sources into an integrated experience. The word originates from mashing up different kinds of music in the recording industry. At mashups, participants strive to develop new content and applications by sharing knowledge, using collaboration tools like wikis, wi-fi, podcasts, videologs, weblogs, forums, online meetings, RSS and e-mail. Progress is based on the exchange of information about application interfaces provided by the creators and required by the consumers. Any participant can join a mashup on a first-come-first-serve basis. The camp is designed to be inclusive and everyone can invite their own interested communities.

“Think about the opportunity to remix by holding a mashup camp in your city or locality.”

Mashups embody the idea of organized chaos. Even chaos can lead to the birth of new stars in the universe. In the universe of digital content, just think how cool, creative content can be envisioned, composed, perfected and contributed from literally every sphere of interest–music, photos, images, film, animations, literature, poetry, language, art and culture. In a gathering similar to the Mountain View event, the SXSW Interactive Festival held recently in Austin, Texas brought together new media entrepreneurs, innovators, Web designers, bloggers and keen observers to discuss digital convergence, interactive movies, content, revenue models, have geek lunches and share ideas. Yet another example of organized chaos in the guise of a fashionable mashup.

Do a mashup in your city

Think about the opportunity to remix by holding a mashup camp in your city or locality. Mashup camps in your locality can provide an exciting platform for combining the energies of creative individuals in different fields, allowing them to interact with each other as well as to understand and better use digital and open technologies for innovation. Starting off can be as easy as selecting a time and place. Then begin planning. Use a wiki, podcasts, e-mail, chat, and blogs as camp infrastructure. Throw a `mashup ideas’ party. Hold a `best mashup concept’ contest. Give prizes.

So how about organizing a mashup camp on technology or digital content in your own neighborhood. Watch the creative community grow and illuminate a few stars along the way.