(cross posted anywhere & everywhere I could find!)
My passion for Product Camps is no secret. Since attending my first one in November 2009, I have gone on the road to enjoy additional events as well as organized a few, bringing me to the grand total of being an attendee at 12 Product Camps. (That is, until the 2012 year where I hope to go to some more!) Each one was fantastic and I loved learning from, teaching and networking with all of the product professionals I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past few years.
Now it’s my turn to pay it forward.
As many of you know, for the past several years I have done some “side projects”, aka consulting work. Sometimes this was my primary income; sometimes it supplemented a salary from a company. While doing this work I have operated under the business name HarborLight Partners. It is through this business I am starting a new program – a Product Camp Scholarship.
A scholarship to attend a product camp? Yes. The scholarship is being offered to help new, first-time attendees with travel expenses when their companies do not so that the individual does not have to bear the whole expense out of pocket. (I’ve done that 8 times, and it can add up.) The scholarship is not enough for airfare or to stay at a 4-star hotel; but, if you need help with a tank or two of gas, or one night at a reasonable business hotel, and that will make the difference in your attending, then this program is for you.
I am not looking to have the major product vendors contribute large dollar amounts so that more people can attend. The vendors do a great job of sponsoring the events, and when you add it up they spend quite a lot of money on our community. Rather, this is a micro-scholarship program designed by the product professional community FOR the product professional community. Why? Simple. All too often we have no one to turn to for support in our companies, being an isolated team of one (or a few); but, product camps offer us a support network where we can turn for continued learning. That is what this program is designed to support.
When you do attend remember to do so with a purpose. If you want to propose a session, read this short blog post about presenting at a Product Camp.
Money will be awarded as it is available. There are no guarantees of amounts or the duration of the program. I have seeded the fund with a beginning balance. But, to keep offering the scholarship, more money will be needed. I am committed to adding to it as I am able; but if you have been to a product camp, see value and want to support the program and pay it forward, there is a link here where you can add your micro-donation to the cause. (This is not an official non-profit scholarship fund. There is no tax deduction available.) Even those $10 donations can add up fast and make a difference when the product community comes together.
Now’s the time to start applying! I hope that past attendees of a Product Camp see value, come together as a community and join the cause. I also ask the product community to help promote this program. It’s not about me – it’s about us. Come join the fun! I’ll see you soon at a product camp. (And, thank you.)
This is a short post. And I’m not going to get a soapbox and rant, nor will I try to educate or share my views. This is a short post.
It’s fall, and Product Camp season began last month starting in Atlanta, New York and Salt Lake City. But, the real camping season picks up speed starting this weekend with upcoming events in So. California (Orange County,) San Francisco, Seattle, Rocky Mountain, Chicago, Minneapolis and welcoming Nashville. (Apologies if I forgot any.) Make plans to attend a PCamp near you by visiting the “master” schedule list at: http://www.productcamp.org/schedule/
If you are planning to attend – and there really is no reason you should not attend at least one - or present or simply don’t understand the concept and why you should engage, please visit some of my past posts on product camps on this site:
Looking in from the outside, it’s time for product professionals – both management marketing types – to take control of their own careers and growth. Product Camps are OUR venues to do both
(and women, ping me to discuss the “Rainbow Chuck Initiative!”)
In the next few weeks, there are several opportunities to attend a ProductCamp. Maybe this is your first? If so, there are several primer-type articles out here and here.
Whether this is your first, third or tenth camping trip, you should ask yourself the same question – how do you prepare for a ProductCamp? Should you volunteer? Should you create a presentation? Will any of my colleagues be there?
A guest post by Barry Doctor, product marketing manager at Katun, Inc., and lifelong observer of cool gadgets and tech toys, who is green with jealousy of those who obtain these toys in their early stages.
While it is the goal of some product managers to simply obtain enough time off to properly enjoy the holidays – rest, relax and recharge. Others wish for more QA resources and a CEO that shares a change in company direction more than 6 weeks before launch of that major new product. Others were hoping for a job or an acquisition. Since fulfillment of these abstract items is particularly difficult, we’ve chosen some unique, obscure products that solve a market problem or cause a product manager to exclaim “that’s cool” out loud. (more…)
Some days I don’t get it. Nope – not at all, not even a little. I’ve tried, but it just isn’t working for me.
Why do we ask our “customers” what improvements we should make in our products and/or marketing? They saw enough value in what we do to already have made a purchase. They opened their wallets. Unless we never want to grow, we obviously need to find the next victim, I mean prospect to approach. This is not our customer, it is our market. (more…)
