Musings of a First-Time Camper
Reflections on Offline Camp Oregon 2017
Finding out about Offline Camp
I stumbled upon Offline Camp Oregon 2017 when a retweet caught my attention just days before the event. I want to share my impressions of Offline Camp for those of you who might be considering attending for the first time.
Offline Camp is not your typical conference. Its “unconference” approach provides an alternative setup to the usual tech conference. A small group of people meets in a remote location for a couple of days, with near to no internet access, and the intention of discussing a wide array of topics related to Offline First initiatives while having fun and bonding with other campers.
An application process helps guarantee a diversity of perspectives and opinions. Offline Camp organizers have a conversation with you on how you might fit in. This allows for the organizers to cater to your individual needs. The application process simply involves filling out a form and having a friendly one-on-one conversation with one or two Offline Camp organizers.
The camper experience
Every day after breakfast we had a standup meeting. This gave campers the opportunity to express expectations and discuss whatever we had learned the previous day or wanted to pursue in the coming day. Afterwards, people posted their session ideas on a board and voted on them. The winning ideas became our unconference sessions. You could choose one session to attend per period, allowing for three sessions the first day, and two the second day for the Offline Camp that I attended.
The wide-ranging topics were a surprise to me. Most were new to me. I had expected a narrower focus, yet the topics that I understood the least I enjoyed the most. I learned so much. Beyond learning about offline technologies for web development, there was much discussion about cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, as well as mesh networks.
Right after the sessions we all met together for recaps. This gave everyone the tidbits of every discussion, even if they didn’t get a chance to attend a particular session. Even folks who didn’t attend were able to catch up on some of our discussions through stories shared here in the Offline Camp Medium publication.
After this, there was time for passion talks. Any participant could come up with any subject they liked and present it to the group for five minutes. These talks were motivating and enlightening.
After dinner everything became a bit more informal. There was time for conversations, campfires, games, and even a yoga session.
The food side of things was fantastic. Our breakfast hero, Steven, made sure that everyone was well taken care of. The catered meals included were excellent, too. The accommodations were taken care of with lots of consideration for everybody’s needs.
Everyone had to sign up for duties to help out with the upkeep.
The last day we all worked together to straighten up the property to get the deposit on it back to the organization. Getting it back meant contributing to the continued support for scholarships for people that might not be able to attend otherwise.
Here is a brief overview video for you to get a feel of Offline Camp:
On a personal level
Heading to Offline Camp had an immense impact on me. 2017 was by far one of the hardest year of my life. I didn’t feel myself and it was hard getting out there. Attending Offline Camp was revelatory. I am still inspired by the people I met during those days.
Thank you to everyone that participated and to the incredible organizing team. I am beyond thankful for our conversations, and for how thoughtful everyone in the group was to one another. There was so much passion and encouragement all around.
I came back home filed with hope, and a renewed sense of what I want to accomplish, as well as ways to give back. There are also a lot of unanswered questions that I am now excited to pursue that I didn’t even know existed.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to comment or send the Offline Camp team an email.
You can also reach out to me via Twitter or Mastodon.
Thanks for reading!
Editor’s Note: The next Offline Camp has been scheduled for August 2–5, 2019 in Grants Pass, Oregon. Learn more in our announcement post or head straight to the website to apply.
