Social Advertising: Barcamp Phnom Penh

Tech enthusiasts to host innovative BarCamp gathering

PHNOM PENH – Bloggers and technology enthusiasts will hold the first annual BarCamp Phnom Penh on September 20, a conference many have termed in reverse an "unconference." Over 150 technology aficionados from the region will attend.

BarCamp, an innovative "impromptu" gathering that began in 2005 in Palo Alto, California, helps "open source" enthusiasts share information about technology in an informal setting. The idea quickly spread from California to the rest of the world, arriving in Bangkok in January 2008 and now in Phnom Penh.

"We hope to foster more innovative ways of thinking in Cambodia," said Tharum Bun, this year's BarCamp organizer. "It's all about breaking down the barriers we have in traditional conferences, where people show up and just listen to presentations. We want to think outside of the box."

Anyone can show up to BarCamp and present a topic, Bun said. Past topics in other countries have ranged from blogging techniques to "How to Date a Japanese Girl."

"After all the hardship our country has experienced, we're trying to bring Cambodia into a new age of innovation and technology," he said.

Representatives from Microsoft and Yahoo! are expected to attend, attracting an unprecedented level of attention into Cambodia for its growing technological revolution.

In August 2007, the Cloggers team (short for "Cambodian bloggers") hosted the Cloggers Summit, a gathering of over 200 individuals who listened and presented on issues of communication and technology in the once war-torn country.

BarCamp's organizers consider the conference to be follow-up to the Cloggers Summit.

EVENT INFORMATION

Where: Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center (CJCC)

Institute of Foreign Languages, Royal University of Phnom Penh
Russian Confederation Blvd., Khan Toul Kork, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

When: September 20, 2008, 9:00am - 5:00pm

For more information, visit http://www.barcampphnompenh.org/

What studying tourism means in Vietnam

I learned that maybe some of the curriculums in some universities are a bit outdated and some teachers lack of international experience. That's what a friend told me from her tourism class:

Teacher: There is a guy coming in to a five star hotel in europe, appereantly dressed in jeans, sandals, cheap t-shirt and asking for a room. What would you do?

Student: I would welcome him and look if there are rooms available.

Teacher: Wrong. He is not dressed properly, so just ignore him and call security to take him out.

Thats how the story was told, but not exactly word by word.

One more conversation:

A guest wants to check in, but dont have a ID or passport. What can he do?

Answer Student: Maybe giving some money under the table?


Actually ist seems student don't really know that money does not solve problems like that in countries in Europe, Australia or the US.

BarCamp Saigon in November

Who ever made the decision, the BarCamp Saigon seems to be on November 15th. Location to be announced. There is a Barcamp-Wiki-Page available with latest informations as well as a facebook group named BarCamp Saigon. If you interested, just join us..

Fight against piracy in Cambodia :-)

I just read this:

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodia would begin raids on shops suspected of selling pirated movie DVDs and music CDs, a senior official warned Monday.

The South-East Asian nation has become well-known among travellers for its thousands of shops offering dirt-cheap pirated copies of the latest international movies and music, which often hit the stalls before they are in general release overseas.

"The ministry will implement measures imminently to stop the sale of pirated CDs and DVDs to protect the intellectual property of their writers and producers," said Tauch Sarou, undersecretary of state for the Culture Ministry.

I am very sorry, but if they are serious with this issue, they must raid EVERY shop. There is NO place were you can buy original movies and music.
Again the government is trying to calm down international demand and the showing some action. Its like with prostitution: Every few months they arrest a foreigner and show how the a fighting against prostitution. And then the same politicians and police officers gome back to the karaoke bars.

PM Samaks trick

PM Samaks dirty tricks
He was not able to solve the problem in Thailand, the army rejected to help just because of the protests of the PAD. Even the King seemed to be concerned. But as long as the protests were non-violent, the government couldn't use to much force either. That's when Samak sent his own troups, the pro-government protesters of the DAAD. They had only one mission: To clash with the PAD, to use violence and to force the situation to a point, where Samak can declare the state of emergency. It's an old, dirty but working political trick he used.

about video podcasting

Imaginate 60: Is Video Podcasting For You?

Anyone with Drupal experience

Need a IT company with drupal or other open source CMS experience for a intranet project.
A client (200 employees with several branches) needs a intranet solution, security is one issue, scalability another.

If you are interested please mail me at thomaswanhoff@me.com