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If I pay, I expect something of value be proved FOR me, not necessarily BY me.
That said, I'm certain that anyone ponying up the dough won't be displeased.
Podcamp is not a god given right. It should be treated as a privilege. It is not sunshine. It is not a public park (that you support through your tax dollars, even if you think it's free). If you want to learn, you pay for school through tuition or through taxes or by buying a book, or using your library card (which you pay for through your tax dollars...) Very few things beside oxygen have a zero marginal cost. For Podcamp Boston, we're essential asking people who want to attend to pay their marginal cost. Call it an unconference tax if that makes you feel any better. :)
I have never been to any other conference that was free to attend- even small education conferences around here cost at least $25-$100 minimum to attend. Podcamp has never been free- we've all just worked really hard to get the costs underwritten by individuals and companies in the community. now we're asking the community to bear some of that burden itself. I think that evens the playing field and makes it even more fair. I am sorry if $50 seems way too expensive- but it also tells me you don't think the experience is worth $50, and that's fine. That's your value set. Since it costs me about $50 (with tip) to take my family out to dinner at a moderately priced restaurant like TGI Friday's, I really don't think this dollar amount is too high.
Try a chip in account. get a friend to sponsor you. If it's important to you to go to podcamp, you'll make it a priority in your budgetary process and you'll mske it hsppen. It's a strict opportunity cost, ala Adam Smith.
Whitney, you nailed it. $50 is NOTHING for the value that can be gained from going to PodCamp. I can now count the value of those connections in the high tens of thousands of dollars from the projects we're doing, so $50? Yeah, I'm ok with that.
I have no idea how objectors and volunteers correlate, but I, quite honestly, am delighted to pay to attend so I'm not obliged to volunteer!
Time is money, and the time you have all put into PodCamp is invaluable. The end. :)
Jennifer
Sara Streeter did it with NewBCamp in Providence, and has started something great, inspired by PodCamp but not PodCamp.
Chris Hambly in the UK did it, with MediaCamp Bucks based on his interpretation of PodCamp but not PodCamp.
Justin Kownacki did it with BootCamp PGH. Not PodCamp but PodCamp-like.
Jeff Pulver created VON Camp within his own conference. Again, perhaps inspired by PodCamp but definitely not PodCamp.
As a result, the new media community is richer, bigger, and more diverse with these new conferences than without them, and I wholeheartedly welcome others to start their own events. Frankly, I'd be thrilled if there were a PRCamp, a MarketCamp, a VideoCamp, etc. all in the Boston area. We have New England Podcasting and Boston Media Makers, but there's not only room for more at the table, there are entirely empty tables.
* Venue - we picked places that had good wifi, were indoors, etc.
* A/V - nice to have, not necessary, but nice to have a screen projector, etc.
* People - yep.
That's it. Go run events!
I did want to mention one more related thing that I found slightly irksome and frankly a bit confusing when I saw it -- the idea that this is a "sponsorship." People signing up for Podcamp Boston are not "sponsors" any more than I'm a sponsor of Springsteen or the Leafs when I go to see them. Sponsorship implies, among other things, that there's a choice not to pay. There isn't.
Let's call a spade a spade: it's an admission charge.
I agree that Podcamp's not a right, and I'm not saying it's wrong to charge for it, or that it's not worth the admission fee. I'm just saying that the alternative that Chris presented (go to a free PodCamp in another city if you can't/don't want to pay the $50 for PCB3) isn't a reasonable one if you live locally and the $50 is a hardship for you. And really, the only people for whom the $50 would be a consideration are locals, because if you're already paying to travel to/stay in Boston, another $50 isn't that big of a deal. I wasn't commenting on anything but the last paragraph of Chris's post.
From my point of view, as someone who works in a non-profit membership organization, I can see that the fifty bucks for PodCamp Boston is going towards space -- the site + utilities like Internet access, power, etc. But, again speaking as someone from the non-profit world, I can also see that it's going to be hard to convince some folks that this is reasonable. I know this because at work I hear from people who want to volunteer in lieu of paying cash, and while I'm sympathetic I'm also aware that the utilities bills have to be paid in cash, not in volunteer hours.
The only thing I might suggest is that instead of saying that fifty bucks buys you a "sponsorship," I would change terminology and say that fifty bucks buys you a "membership." The membership gives you the tangible benefits of attending PodCamp Boston 3 and being first to be notified for the next PodCamp Boston, and it also gives you the intangible benefits that come with personal identification with a membership organization. This may sound a little silly, but over and over again we have seen how the personal identification with a non-profit entity is in fact a real (albeit intangible) benefit -- that's why when you fork over your money to public radio, they call you a member and suddenly you feel much better about forking over your money.
My $.02 worth. Your mileage may vary.