Post-Asia Source 3 Blogging

Asia Source 3 is over but the spirit of the camp will still be alive. :) This is one thing that I could see from the Facebook and Twitter updates of everyone. There are people who miss camp already and there are those who are now asking more things about free and open source software. For me, that is something encouraging and heart-warming.

As a first time facilitator and participant, Asia Source 3 was a learning experience. It was not the typical workshop or conference as it was 6 day camp for us. There were focused discussions, activities and parties practically every single day. During the day, we’ were quite busy with the various discussions and activities that deal with open source communities and tools that we need for managing information, migration, broadcasting information and growing a community. The diverse backgrounds of the participants also make it even cooler because of the way that everyone will interact and perspectives and experiences are shared.

One of the things I learned from camp is that even introverts can be a little bit more social once they have an environment where they can somehow be themselves. Introducing myself to people at camp wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do but my geeky shirts were a starting point in some cases. Or my interest in localization led me to interesting people who shared what they do in Cambodia and Bangladesh. This for me is a precious lesson on interacting with others in the community. This is face to face interaction, not online. And it is better than just knowing someone via email. You could see the faces of the people behind the project/s and that takes the whole community-bonding experience to a different level. For me, you could not be as impersonal about a project anymore when you encounter such awesome people from different projects who are very passionate about open source.

For those who were just new to Linux and the entire open source philosophy, they looked even more excited after camp because they have so many things to share with others. It makes them want to experience the same environment at the source camp in their own country too. People who make things happen are simply that awesome!

For those who want to see the Asia Source 3 Wiki, it’s now online.