Mewn ychydig dan wythnos, bydd Aberystwyth yn leoliad ar gyfer
Hacio’r Iaith 2012 (28ain Ionawr 2012). Hwn fydd y trydydd digwyddiad, ac un o’r ‘barcamps’ mwyaf yng Nghymru.
Mae llawer wedi gofyn i mi esbonio beth yn union ydi ‘barcamp’… wel…
Mae bar camp yn fath arbennig o gynhadledd sy’n cael ei ddisgrifio yn Saesneg fel ‘unconference’, does dim amserlen, dim digwyddiadau na siaradwyr wedi ei drefnu… mae popeth yn cael ei drefnu ar y diwrnod.
Ydi, mae’n swnio’n wallgof, ond mae’n gweithio. Mae’r amserlen yn cael ei benderfynu ar y diwrnod gan bawb sy’n troi lan. Mae pawb yn cael ei annog i arwyddo lan a siarad ar unrhyw bwnc maen nhw eisiau. Er bod thema’r digwyddiad ydi technoleg, mae’n bosib dehongli hyn mewn sawl ffordd i siarad am unrhyw bwnc, ac mae’n bosib trafod unrhyw beth o effaith polisi’r llywodraeth ar ddefnydd y we, i hanes ‘memes’ y rhyngrwyd.
Dwi wedi bod i sawl digwyddiad o’r math ‘ma, ac mae pethau’n gallu bod mor eang â ‘ny… yn ystod Barcamp Llundain 2011, ddaru cannoedd o bobl troi lan i wrando a siarad. Mewn un ystafell, roedd dynes yn disgrifio ei gwaith hi o adolygu siocled ar ei gwefan hi (roedd hi di dod a rhywfaint o siocled hefo hi!), tra mewn ystafell arall, roedd blogiwr wisgi yn rhedeg sesiwn “Absinthe for Beginners”, tra mewn ystafell arall roedd person yn rhedeg sesiwn ar greu gemau ar gyfer yr iPhone. Y peth gwallgof? Roedd hyn i gyd o fewn yr un awr!
Ar ddechrau’r dydd, fydd y bobl yno yn ymgasglu wrth y ‘grid’ a rhoi lawr pa drafodaeth maen nhw eisiau cynnal. Fel dwi wedi sôn yn barod, mae’n bosib siarad am unrhyw beth (fel i mi ddweud, siocled ag absinthe…). Y cwestiwn nesaf yw, oes *rhaid* i mi siarad?
Wel, does dim *rhaid* i chi… ond dylsa chi gwneud. Mae pawb sy’n dod eisiau gwrando ar drafodaethau a ballu. Maen nhw *eisiau* clywed gynoch chi. Does neb yn mynd i waeddi, codi cywilydd na gwneud hwyl ohonoch. Maen nhw eisiau clywed gan bobl wybodus gydag angerdd at y pwnc dan sylw. Does dim angen creu Powerpoint, does dim angen wbath technegol, does dim rhaid paratoi dim. Yn llythrennol, dim ond angen i chi arwyddo lan am slot, a siarad. Mae’r holl beth amdanoch chi’n rhannu eich angerdd a’ch gwybodaeth.
Gallwch drafod rhywbeth sy’n eich diddori chi, dangos prosiect da chi’n gweithio arno, neu gynnal trafodaeth ar bwnc llosg. Jest angen i chi ddewis enw, amser a bant a ni!
Eisiau syniadau? Cymrwch olwg ar y tudalen ‘ma oddi ar Lanyrd.com, mae ‘na restr o bron i 1000 o sesiynau mewn cannoedd o barcamps dros y byd gan gynnwys “Fancy a Pint?” yn Barcamp Llundain (un o rhai fi! Ddaru mi gyfarfod y cyd-gyflwynydd y bore ‘na, ac erbyn y pnawn mi ddaru ni gyflwyno’r sesiwn trafod gydag ystafell lawn o bobl… dim PowerPoint na dim), neu “How to Podcast for Free” o Barcamp Lerpwl (dim un o rhai fi…). Fel ddaru mi ddweud, *unrhyw beth*.
Os eich bod chi ddim yn siŵr am wneud sesiwn, fe allwch chi gysylltu gyda fi cyn dydd Sadwrn nesaf (bryn.salisbury@gmail.com, neu @bryns ar twitter), neu ofyn i mi ar y diwrnod. Dwi wedi cael profiadau gwych yn gwneud sesiynau mewn barcamps, a dylsa chi gael hefyd. Mae’n siawns da cael ymarfer siarad yn gyhoeddus o flaen cynulleidfa sydd eisiau clywed gynoch chi, ac eisiau eich cefnogi.
Heblaw am y sesiynau, fe gewch chi gyfle i wylio Sioned (@llef), Iestyn (@iestynx) a finnau yn recordio’r Haclediad o flaen cynulleidfa fyw. Fydd y peth yn wych. Mae’r flwyddyn ‘ma yn siapio lan yn arbennig o dda, a hwn fydd y flwyddyn fwyaf erioed, a dwi wedi gwirioni. Os eich bod chi heb fod o’r blaen, mae ‘na deimlad gwych o ymgasglu gyda grŵp mawr o bobl sydd gydag angerdd dros bwnc. Fydda chi’n gadael ac eisiau dechrau tomen o brosiectau newydd yn syth bin… a chofiwch, fydd ‘ny yn rhoi digon i chi drafod yn Hacio’r Iaith 2013!
Gwnai weld chi yno bois!
So, in little under a week in Aberystwyth will host
Hacio’r Iaith 2012 (28th January 2012). This will be third annual event, and is one of the largest ‘barcamp’ style conference in Wales.
I’ve been asked to explain exactly what a barcamp is… so here goes…
A barcamp is known as an ‘unconference’, it has no set schedule, speakers or events planned… all that is set up on the day.
Yes, sounds crazy, but it works. The conference schedule is decided on the day, by those that turn up. People who come are encouraged to sign up and give talks about whatever topic they like. Whilst the broad theme of the event is technology, this can be interpreted loosely to cover pretty much any topic, and discussions can range from the effect of Government policy on Web usage, through to the history of Internet memes…
I’ve been to quite a few barcamps and they really are that broad… during the 2011 London Barcamp, several hundred people descended to listen and give talks. In one room, a woman gave a talk about Chocolate (she’d set up a website where she reviews chocolate… as her day job… – she’d brought samples…), whilst in the next, a Whisky blogger ran a session “Absinthe for beginners”, whilst in another room a talk was detailing how to build a game for the iPhone. All of this, at one conference, in the space of an hour…
So, at the start of the day, attendees will be asked to gather at the grid to sign up to give talks. As I said, the talks can be on virtually anything (like I said… chocolate and absinthe…). So the next question is, do you *have* to give a talk…
Well, you don’t have to… but you should. The attendees at a barcamp have come to listen to talks. They *want* to hear from you. Noone is there to shout you down, boo you or make fun of you. They’ve come to hear from people who have a passion for a given topic. You really don’t need a fancy Powerpoint, it doesn’t need to be technical, and you don’t have to prepare anything. You can just literally sign up for a slot and talk. It’s about sharing your passion and your knowledge.
You could do a talk about something that interests you, show off a project you’ve been working on, or host a discussion about a burning issue. Just name your session, pick a time slot and that’s it.
Want some ideas on talks? Have a look at this Lanyrd.com search page, it has a list of almost a 1000 talks delivered at hundreds of barcamps all over the world on topics, including “Fancy a Pint?” at Barcamp London (One of mine – my co-host was a woman I got chatting to at the start of the day, and by the afternoon we were discussing how great beer is with a room full of people… no slides, no anything), through to “How to Podcast for Free” at Barcamp Liverpool (not one of mine…). Like I said, *anything*.
If you’re unsure about giving a talk, you can get in touch with me before next saturday (bryn.salisbury@gmail.com, or @bryns on twitter), or come grab me on the day. I’ve had wonderful experiences giving talks at Barcamps, and you should too. It’s a great place to practice public speaking in front of a group who really want to hear from you, and want to support you.
Other than the talks, you’ll also get to see Sioned (@llef), Iestyn (@iestynx) and me do a live recording of our podcast (The Haclediad) there. It’ll be an absolute blast. This year is shaping up to have the most attendees ever, and I’m REALLY excited. If you’ve never been, there’s a tremendous buzz from gathering together with so many people enthused around a topic or area, you’ll want to rush off and start a dozen projects right away… and that, if anything, will give you plenty to talk about when you come along to the one in 2013!
See you in Aberystwyth guys…
B