Jonnet M

The best idea, stupid

Social RFID Hacker Camp 2009, Day 1

9.30am and Hackerscamp 2009 gets underway as 20 or so hackercampers new and old congregate at the Mediamatic HQ. Some have cycled leisurely from home, others, like the three jetlagged MIT guys, are fresh off long haul flights. Their nationalities and skills are as varied as their favourite languages and technologies. From philosophers to 3D artists, and only one self confessed RFID expert, exciting stuff is just waiting to happen.

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Willem conducts proceedings - At Hacker Camp '09 Jonnet M

With: Willem Velthoven

Proceedings kick off rather aptly for people who aren't scared of failure with a discussion of last year's flops. What better way to learn how to steer clear of dysfunctional meltdown this year? The best failure of 2008 notched up a spectacular 25 failure points, (and to make the failure complete, no success points either!). One of the hackers behind this project, the flightless vBird, assesses where things went wrong and with these lessons learnt we move on to hear of the 2008 success stories.

The projects which enjoy the most resounding success with PICNIC visitors are invariably the most stupid. Simple and pointless ideas thrive in delegate chill out time. Fun is essential, but is meaning optional?