I’ve blogged before about my dream to have a citizen journalism unconference. Noel Hildalgo even came up with a name for it — "copy camp" — and registered copycamp.us. Makes for a perfect catchphrase: "Copy camp with us."
Before an unconference, however, comes the meetup. A great way for like-minded people from online communities to meet and engage each other.
I’m happy to say that Rachel Sterne from Ground Report (an up-and-coming citizen journaism organization) has helped to create a New York citizen journalism meetup.
They gather once a month, and next Wednesday is their June meeting. I wanted to spread the word and see if we all couldn’t….get along.
When: Next Wednesday the 20th at 7pm
Where: Swift Bar on East 4th and bowery
Why: To discuss things: This month’s meetup will be focused on the monetization side of things — advertising alongside open/user-generated content. Next month will probably be looking at the role of citizen journalism in politics, especially with the upcoming elections. But either way — it’s a good excuse to get the team together for drinks.
Details here
Rachel has informed me that there is plenty of room for all — but I’ll let you all know if anything changes.
Great idea. The meetups could conceivable expand so they’re held in multiple places, maybe even at the same time.
FYI: There’s also a copyright-focused event — part un-conference, part conference — called CopyCamp that happens in Canada.