From MashupCamp

Important Note Regarding the Re-scheduling of Mashup Camp and Mashup University (Ireland) from David Berlind

August 23, 2007

Hello Campers and other interested parties:

Mashup University and Mashup Camp Ireland were originally scheduled to take place from September 10 to September 13, 2007 at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Unfortunately, with so many Europeans on Summer holiday for the month of August, we've had a tough time getting the word out. With less than three weeks to go before University and Camp were originally scheduled to start (as of today, August 23rd), Doug and I felt that in order for the event to be as productive, exciting, and enjoyable as the first four Camps in the US were, that the best thing to do was to push it off a bit. In the spirit of transparency, the letter that we sent on August 23rd to existing registrants is attached at the bottom of this page.

The good news is that we're moving forward with Mashup University and Mashup Camp in Dublin, Ireland and we're now targeting the month of November for the event. The exact dates will largely be a function of venue availability and some recommendations we're soliciting from members of the developer and business communities in Ireland, the UK, the rest of Europe and Mashup Camp's sponsors.

Even though we haven't identified the exact location and dates, we encourage you to reserve your spot at Mashup University and/or Mashup Camp since both events will be on a first come first served basis and it's likely we'll have limited space.

I'm in the process of updating the registration pages to reflect the scheduling change but they should be ready shortly. Links to those pages can be found in the left hand navigation of this page under "Mashup Camp 5" and "Mashup U 5" and should you want to get your name in before those pages are ready, feel free to send a note to "register AT masseventslabs DOT com" and well get back to you right away. For those who register early for one or both events (U/Camp), you'll be notified as soon as we've identified the date and location.

Based on some feedback we've received, there may be some confusion about the nominal fee that we charge for entry. There are indeed multiple tiers of payment. But the majority of attendees will only be asked to pay 25 Euros. If that represents a hardship to you, let me or Doug know and we'll be happy to waive that fee altogether. The fee is not an important source of revenue to us. It's used to help control no-shows. The only people who are asked to pay more are members of the venture community and evangelists for technology companies that aren't sponsors of Mashup Camp. But if you're attending as a developer, the fee is only 25 Euros and if you're an employee of one Camp's sponsors or as a member of the press or analyst community, there is no fee.

You'll be asked to pay this fee through PayPal at the time of registration. Fees are 100 percent refundable so long as we're notified of your cancellation 11 business days or more prior to the first day of Mashup University. In other words, if you register for University and/or Camp before we select a location/date and that eventual location/date don't work for you, your fee is completely refundable so long as you give us the notice we require. Again, if the fee represents a hardship, all it takes is an e-mail to me or Doug and we'll waive it (all we'll ask is that you to promise not to no-show).

Changing the time and location of an event is never and easy decision to make. But Doug and I feel as though it was the right decision given the amount of traction we were getting here in the middle of everyone's Summer vacation. If you have any question, feel free to contact us (there's a Contact Us link on the left side of the page).

David

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Here's a copy of the letter we mailed to current registrants:

Hello Campers:

If you're receiving this note, then it means you've registered for Mashup Camp in Ireland this September and we wanted to reach out to you personally to thank you for your support and give you an update on Mashup Camp as well as Mashup University.

Mashup Camp Ireland represents the first time we're bringing our flagship event to Europe. In so doing, we have taken the precisely the same approach to organizing this first European event as we took when organizing the four Camps that preceded it. In the spirit of the improvisational nature of camps and unconferences, we announced Mashup Camp Europe using the same timing as we used with the others --- relatively close to its targeted launch date. Where the viral nature of the developer community resulted in overbooking of the first four Camps, we assumed the same dynamic would come into play with this, our fifth Camp, in Ireland.

With less than three weeks to go before Mashup University is due to start on Sept 10 (and Camp on the 12th), we don't have nearly the number of registrants that both events need in order for them to be productive events for you and the other registrants. In trying to understand why we're not seeing the same sort of traction that we had at this juncture with our other events, we're pretty certain we made a few critical missteps. One of those, as we've come to learn from some newly found advisors in Ireland (as well as other parts of Europe), is that we relied on the viral nature of the European developer community at precisely the same time that much of that community was on summer vacation.

Additionally, had we consulted with influential members of the Irish and neighboring developer communities, not only might we have avoided the scheduling of a badly timed event, I'm certain we would have reached a wider audience with our message, in the course of bridging some other unanticipated cultural differences. In short, we made a bunch of build-it-and-they-will-come assumptions that we shouldn't have made.

As a result, we're going to move Mashup University and Mashup Camp to dates that not only give us more time to get the word out, but that should also assure you of having a great experience should you decide to stick with us and come to the rescheduled events. Right now, depending on venue availability (which we're aggressively investigating as I write this note), our target is early to mid-November.

We will, of course, be in touch with you as soon as we pin down the particulars. In the mean time, for those of you who have already paid a fee to attend, we're fully prepared to issue a 100 percent refund should you want one now. Alternatively, if you'd rather we hold your fee so that it can be applied to the rescheduled event(s), we can do that as well. Please notify me of your wishes via e-mail at david@masseventslabs.com.

In closing, Doug and I feel very strongly about transparency which is why I'm writing to you with this level of detail and frankness. While we hope this news doesn't cause too much inconvenience or disruption to your schedule, we know that it will for some and for that, we hope you will accept our sincerest apologies. We are of course open to your feedback and suggestions regarding everything about our events up to and including how we're handling this situation and we look forward to meeting you at Mashup University and Mashup Camp.