WHYcast transcript episode 23

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Transcript 23

Nancy: Hi, and welcome to the WHYcast episode 23. Nancy: I'm Nancy. Ad: I'm Ad. Nancy: And we are the hosts of the only podcast about a hacker camp in the universe. This volunteer-run event will take place this year in the Netherlands, approximately 42 kilometers north of Amsterdam from August 8th to 12th, 2025.

Nancy: So, Ad, what are we talking about today? Ad: Well, first of all, I have to talk about the almost mishap in that paragraph. It's north of Amsterdam and not above Amsterdam, according to Koen. And Koen will be on later. But first, we'll talk about the news and the where-to hacks. And we have cool interviews, both with Thomas and with Koen. And then we have the vacancy of the week and some listener questions. But first, the news.

Nancy: The news. Nancy: Oh, my goodness. So, this is the last day that you can get your ticket, if you are listening to this when it comes out, that you can get the tickets for the Nerd Prize. Tomorrow, the prize goes up by 20 euros. So, if you want to have some extra food and beer money on the event, I highly suggest you getting your ticket today. We have seen a major bump in the ticket sales in the last couple of days. So, great work to Team:Info, Team Promo for promoting it on the socials. And we will be talking about that a little bit later in the show as well. But, yeah, I mean, we are nearing two-thirds of the tickets sold. So, yeah, it's like, wow. Very, very awesome.

Ad: Just a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about when will we reach the halfway mark. Nancy: And now we're steaming ahead towards the... Ad: To third mark. It's wild. Nancy: It's very cool.

Nancy: And what I would also like to mention is last Saturday, we had a lovely in-person meet again at Hack42 in Arnhem. I think approximately, let's say, 50 to 60 people were there. A lot of cool things happening again. Loads of tiaras, purple cake, especially for our... My lovely co-chair of IFCAT and also project lead team member, Boekenwuurm. The thing is, she doesn't have her birthday this year because she was born on the 29th of February. So, basically, this is sort of her birthday or tomorrow, but not quite. She only exists every four years. Ad: Right.

Nancy: So, I already knew she was very special, but this is an extra feature that she has. If people know her, she loves... Purple, everything purple. So, a lot of nice people showed up with purple birthday cakes and purple presents, and it was really lovely to see. So, yet again, in the WHYcast, happy birthday to you, Boekenwuurm. And I'm looking forward to creating this amazing event with you as well.

Nancy: Also, two things that worry me a little bit. Not that much, but it does. First off, we really need more people to turn in their call for papers because, well, we want to have 200 to 300 speakers, workshops, and lectures. And up till now, I think it's around 55, 56 proposals sent in right now. The people reviewing this, our volunteers, are limited in their time because they have day jobs and families and whatnot, and a life. So, please, please, please, if you have an idea for a cool proposal, send it in ASAP. Ad: Even if it's not completely finished, please do send in your draft. You can always change, adjust, and refine later.

Nancy: Yeah, and at Mastodon, I saw someone sending in, let me check, something about knitting. Knitting the internet... Nancy: Knitting the internet? What was it again? Oh, I should have better prepared this. Ad: It sounds cool, but did you know that we have several categories? Nancy: Knitting our internets. So, I'm really looking, that's Tommy, I'm really looking forward to that one, if it will be selected. But, yeah, knitting our internets, it sounds interesting, to say the least. Ad: Yes, definitely. There are several categories for which you can send. You can send in stuff for the CFP, and there is an extra square hole track where everything goes. So, any niche hobby or interest you have that you want to share, it fits in the square hole. Nancy: Absolutely. Ad: Because everything fits in the square hole. Nancy: An organizing event like this costs a lot of money, and we want to keep the ticket prices as low as possible.

Nancy: And we need sponsors. But sponsoring, why, is also a bit of a square hole thing. Because a lot of bigger companies think that they can have a stand with recruiters and stuff like that. Nancy: Oh, we don't want that. The participants, sort of, attendees or the volunteers of the event are more important than the sponsors. Ad: So, that's a bit hard to sell.

Ad: It's a bit of a balance. Yeah. But I would really advise the big companies to look at your employees. Who are passionate about this event, and take them with you in talking about what you're going to do there, and how you're going to present yourself. Because, obviously, you can present yourself. I mean, you can have some flyers, you can have some stickers, but it's not a commercial venue. It's a hacker camp. It's where people come together to enjoy and create and have fun with stuff. And if you add to that… Ad: Please do. Ad: And if, with that, you promote yourself a little bit, sure.

Nancy: And I was also thinking, it's more like investing in knowledge sharing. It's investing in the community, investing in future talents. And it's also more of… Yeah, so it's investing, and you're more a donor than a sponsor, maybe. Ad: Yeah. Nancy: So, maybe for a next event, you should rename Team:Sponsors to team donors. I'm not quite sure yet. It just popped my mind. But expect something different than sponsoring other events. But we will hear Thomas talking about that later in the show. Ad: Yeah, it's not a tie event with managers. The managers that are here have hoodies. So, yeah.

Nancy: So, I also see a Team:Info bullet there. Can you tell us something about that? Ad: Yes.

Ad: For the people who are already in some teams… I'm volunteering a little call-out for action. Please send your information to Team:Info about what your team is doing, where you are in the process, something you want to share with the world about what you've been doing the past months behind the scenes. Show your work, and we'll put it in a blog post. It would be great if you… Ad: You have a blog post all done and written. Ad: But if you need help, feel free to contact us, and we'll help you make it into a blog post. And maybe if you have something special, we'll do a social post to go with it. There are many, many options, but you have to come to us, and then together we'll make it work. Nancy: Cool.

Nancy: And I see also the frequently asked questions on the wiki is growing. Ad: Yes. There are different… Teams, different team members from different teams who are working on the FAQ. Nancy: It's part of Team:Info, Ad: but there's also other people jumping in and saying, okay, I got this. Nancy: I like to make this. Ad: Also, there are teams who have their own bits in the FAQ. Nancy: And if you are one of those teams, Ad: or you should be one of those teams, go check out the wiki. It's a wiki. So… You can edit it yourself. Please add your stuff. And also, the listener questions have helped, because some of the questions ended up on the wiki, on the FAQ. And with that, we get more and more and more answers.

Nancy: And if you want to meet some more WHY-minded people, we might want to take a look on Where the Hack. Each week, we will share where you can find WHY-minded people. Where the hack? I was just sharing about our birthday girl. Ad. Where can we find her? Ad: Well, if you go to Berlin on March 15th and 16th, you'll find her there at the Hack-a-day Europe conference. Yeah, it's at Motion Lab in Berlin. And they will have a lot of very cool speakers there. Ad: I saw stuff about a very cool badge with the shitty add-on connector. Ad: You might want to bleep that out again. Nancy: Oh, no! Nancy: Don't do this to me again. Ad: Yes, go for it. Ad: They had a contest last fall who could make the coolest add-ons, and those will fit the Hack-a-day badge. So that's really cool. We'll put a link in the show notes to see which speakers are already signed and are coming there. So that would be pretty cool. Nancy: Yeah, and I know a lot of people from Eindhoven are coming. I know Bas from Team:Waste is also going, from my recollection. And, well, Bukurum will be there on stage telling about the history of Hackercamp. So if you haven't been able to see that presentation yet, you can watch it there and ask her anything, everything about what's going on. Yeah. So there are more places to hack soonish, but we will share that in future episodes, because I think also an open day is coming up for hackerspaces in the Netherlands. So that's also a nice thing to watch out for. Unknown: Yes.

Nancy: Let's listen to Tomas, I think, who will explain some more in-depth about what sponsoring, why, and how. We can bring you as a company. So here with me today is Tomas. We are still at the live Orga Meet in Arnhem. And you are responsible for, or at least a part of, Team Sponsor. And I would love to hear a little bit about you, what you're doing for why, and maybe, yeah, tell us a little bit about sponsoring.

Tomas: Yeah, definitely. Team:Sponsors, we take care of bringing in companies that want to collaborate with why, that are aware of what why is about, how it is different to many other events out there, how is the community, and how they want to represent it and help it, and especially to lower the price of the tickets. That's why mostly we need the sponsorship for, because everything is self-organized, financed by tickets, but without the sponsors, because of inflation and how everything has been increasing in price, it would be really, really expensive otherwise, and many people wouldn't be able to come. So that's why help from companies is really welcome to make it happen.

Tomas: And there's also a lot of good things for the companies, because even though we don't, like, it's not a commercial event, everyone that comes here is in a holiday mood, like, open. Nancy: It's like laid back. Nancy: Exactly. Tomas: Yeah, they know that they are not here to sell them things. They are here to connect. So it's a really good chance to make real connections that will be long-lasting, and that your company will be in the back of their mind of the people that are here, because they have been talking with someone on a personal level, not on a commercial level. And that really makes a big difference, and it's really hard to get in other kinds of events.

Tomas: Plus, as a sponsor, you get, of course, tickets for people from your company, and they can be engineers, most likely. Not so many recruiters, to be honest, mostly engineers. So they are also welcome to present, to submit talks, demos. This is totally independent from the sponsorship. Sorry if you are a sponsor, it's not like you have a special treatment for a talk. But if they are here, they are very welcome to present, show something, and then they can also learn from everything else that is presented. So it's good for the company, but also good for all the employees of the company. Nancy: And growing the community, so we have more knowledge sharing and things like that as well, right? Tomas: Exactly, yeah.

Nancy: And Tomas, without naming any of the sponsors right now, we will probably name them somewhere, but why do companies make the choice to sponsor? Because I know there are some sponsors already. Tomas: Yeah, yeah. Nancy: Also old ones, like they sponsored a lot of events back in the day as well. Why do companies make the choice to sponsor an event like ours?

Tomas: Yeah, so they see it's more authentic than other events. Your regular congress with suit and tie people. Tomas: Yeah, exactly. It's authentic, that is what you were saying. There are things happening here that wouldn't happen in any other kind of event. Things that are shared that wouldn't be shared anywhere else. So it's very unique. And also it's only every four years. Tomas: Yeah. So now is your chance, right? You don't get this chance until four years later. Nancy: So that is what companies are saying as well, right? Tomas: Exactly. Tomas: And also, yeah, it says something about your company when you sponsor why. It gives you, like you are going a bit against the grain when you are sponsoring why compared to other events. And engineers appreciate this. Nancy: It's like they see your company get it. Tomas: Yeah. It's not a regular corporate thing. It's more like you support the actual grassroots community of hackers, of technology at a more authentic level. So for companies that get that, it's like a perfect fit. And most of the sponsors that we have now, they have been sponsored from previous events. Events as well. So it's like if you sponsor once, you see what's there for you and you will be coming back. You will probably do it again, yes.

Nancy : And if they want to reach the sponsor team, what's the best way to contact you? Tomas: Well, sponsors@why2025.org. So send them an email. You can reach us. And we have our email. We have our wiki page. There is also the FAQs there. So you can see the different sponsorship packages as well. Just shortly we have the platinum, diamond, silver, gold, and different pairs. You can have a bigger and bigger tent. So you can also have more space for your own stuff. But yeah, reach out and we will be happy to connect and explain how everything works and how it's going to work best for you. Tomas: And it just helps us to create an amazing event. Nancy: So please, please, please. Also if you listen to this and you maybe think my employer or a friend or company of ours could be able to make this event even more awesome by helping out financially, that would be highly appreciated. Nancy: So Tomas, thank you so much for being on the WHYcast. Tomas: Thank you Nancy. Nancy: And hopefully have a lot of sponsors soon.

Tomas: Yeah, I'm sure. Thanks. I mean it's already going well. But of course every sponsor that gets what WHY is about is very, very welcome. Nancy: We love you all. Tomas: Thanks. Nancy: Thanks.

Nancy: So those of you who know Koen. Koen is Zink from Team:Waste this time. Last time he was at MCH he was a part of Team:Volunteers. He has a very bubbly personality. He's always all over the place. He's even more bouncy than I am, I think. And he was like, Nancy, Nancy, Nancy, I want to tell stories about history, about school camps, things I did, crazy stuff and, well, all kinds of cool things. So I interviewed him for a little while last Saturday at an in-person meet. And I will have a hard time editing that thing. But, yeah. We will listen to a story of Koen in the history lesson of this week.

Nancy: Hello. Nancy: Hello. I'm Koen. Koen: And SynQ also. Koen: Which is the same. Nancy: And you have stories from the old days. Koen: Of course. Because I'm old. Nancy: Yes. Nancy: So can you tell us also a little bit about what you are doing for WHY? Koen: Yes. Oh, first. Nancy: And a little bit about Shelf. Koen: I'm Team:Waste. You're Team:Waste. Together with Emma, who's there, but who's not on the camera. And with Bas, of course. And with Thijs. And who else? We're five people. Cool. But it's going really great. And we're going to WHY Waste. WHY Waste. WHY Waste.

Unknown: So you're taking care of Waste, but you also, which events have you been to? Koen: Oh, the Rik. The Rik is also there. The Rik is also there. Koen: Which events have I been to? The first event I went to was HIP 97. It's that one. And the second event I went to was HAL 2001. Yeah. And then Family happened. Yeah. Which is very good. And then I went to Steelhacking anyway, which is in... And we went with a boat. We went with a boat. Koen: Ooh. Koen: And then, of course, MCH, where I did volunteering together with Bas, which was really nice. Also with Bas. And then, of course, a lot of other people. But the main planning and preparation was with Bas, which is really nice.

Nancy: Very cool. And you told me... We're here today at Hack42, and you told us, me and the Adfluencer, I want to tell some old fart stories. Koen: Yeah, because there need to be more old fart stories. Old fart stories. Nancy: So what is your most fond memory from one of the camps that you went to?

Koen: So at HIP 97... Uh-huh. My hair was blonde. Uh-huh. And there was only hair, like, here in the middle. From the nose to the neck, so to speak. Koen: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then I was working at a company that ran Windows 95, where my job was to install Windows 95. Sorry, man. And that was a really nice job. Mm-hmm. And very frustrating. Mm-hmm. Which is part of what drove me to open-source software. But, yeah. And what I did was I brought a pile of Windows 95 CDs. Yes. It was about 50 centimeters high. Yeah. So almost 100 Windows 95 CDs. Mm-hmm. And there was a gravestone for Bill Gates. Yes. And Microsoft. Nancy: Uh-huh. I remember that one. Koen: And near the gravestone, there was a small cross for Apple, which was also doomed to die. Nancy: Mm-hmm. But that sort of engulfed me with rage. Koen: And it happened to be that I brought also a four-hammer. Nancy: Uh-huh. Koen: So like a meter-long stick with a long piece of metal on the top. Nancy: Yep, yep, yep. Nancy: Which was labeled, the last saving, the best solution. Koen: Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Koen: So the last savior, the best solution. Yep, yep, yep, yep.

Koen: So there was this event where Microsoft was being carried to the grave. Mm-hmm. And then as sort of an homage to this project. Uh-huh. They laid down the pile of Windows 95 CDs, and I smashed them. Nancy: It was like a sledgehammer moment. Koen: It was like a five-minute long complete rage against the machine kind of action where I was just. Unknown: Office space, killing the printer. Koen: Oh, and the people were cheering me on, and it was really nice. And it seems that there are video images of that. Oh. But I don't know where they are. Oh. So if somebody has them, please send them to us. Because we want to see them. Nancy: They're probably in the 640 by 480. Nancy: Or 8 millimeters. Form format or something really small. Koen: Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that was really nice. Koen: Awesome. So that was one of the things. It's my fondest memory of HIP 97. Koen: So where is the video footage of Boom slashing Windows 95, right? Nancy: Yeah, let us know. Koen: Windows 95 CDs. Koen: Yeah. Koen: Awesome. Koen: So of course it was not really environmentally proof because afterwards there were all pieces of CD there. And I spent hundreds of dollars. I spent half an hour picking up all the pieces of CD. We've learned since then. We've learned. Koen: We also picked it up then. Koen: So that.

Nancy: So that was the start of your career in waste. Koen: Oh, probably. Koen: Yeah. Koen: Oh, nice. Koen: Nice bridge. Koen: Yeah, yeah. Koen: Cool. Koen: So the other things about HIP 97 we had of course. Nancy: Let's keep them for our next episode.

Nancy: So that was our dear friend Sink who listened to all the podcasts. Nancy: And then. Ad: And waited till episode 22 or 21 to tell us it's above Amsterdam. No, it's north of Amsterdam. Nancy: But we still love you, Koen. Ad: So Koen actually was fairly late to join the team. He heard that Team:Waste was looking for a team lead and he said, you know what? I'll do it. Ad: And that brings us to the vacancy of the week, I think.

Ad: Because why did Koen know about the vacancy? Probably because some promo somewhere or the WHYcast or... Nancy: Yeah. Nancy: Something like that.

Nancy: The thing is, so just to explain a little bit. We have Team:Info and Team:Info takes care of all the information for visitors and things like that. And they have a sub team called Sub Team Promo, which is basically the WHYcast. All the thing socials. So that's LinkedIn, Blue Sky, Mastodon. We quit X. Yay for that. We received a big applause last Saturday. But all the other things we are visible in the Fediverse.

Nancy: The thing is, there are not too many people creating all the content and information. I have a lot of crazy ideas for cool content. But not always. I'm not always able to find the time to actually write a piece of text. So we are looking for text wizards and preferably not the AI wizards, because we find that a tidbit boring, those texts.

Nancy: So if you like a little bit of storytelling and if you like making cool text shorts, short reads, longer reads and things like that. We are looking for you. Because, for instance, next week will be International Women's Day. So we would like to have some cool promotion on having underrepresented groups on stage. So we don't have a lack of ideas. We do have a lack of creating story power. So we are looking for a copywriter. Plural is also fine. So if there are more people. People who like to write cool text for all the platforms that we use, please reach out to us. That can be via Team:Info or just send an email to the WHYcast or reach out to me or us. And we will get you on the copywriting train of WHY2025.

Ad: And who did send in an email? Nancy: Well, several ways. Ad: I got questions about, okay, when is the event? Ad: Yeah, it's 8 to 12. We said so in the intro. But visitors are welcome a day earlier from around noon-ish or 1-3-3-7 if you so desire to build up your tent, your village. If you have a really large village or large tent to set up, you might want to be able to get on the terrain earlier. There are possibilities, but there are safety regulations to keep in mind. On the FAQ, there is a separate section on camping. So if you have any questions surrounding when can I come? How can I get my village up and running? Unknown: Go there. Ad: Go to the FAQ. Read that. And if there are more questions, there's also for the different bits of the build up and the safety who you can contact. So all the information is on there. Please take a look at that. The official event starts on Friday at 5 p.m. And on Tuesday at 4 p.m. I think is the closing talk. Nancy: So that's the official event. Ad: But yeah, build up takes time. Nancy: And there is. Ad: For regular villages. One day. Nancy: Build up time.

Nancy: I've heard a lot of questions as well reaching out to me or odds like. Yeah, I would love to tell. Tell some stories in the WHYcast. Meaning by that that I have to interview them. Nancy: Please feel free to just record your story and send it in and we will edit it in. Nancy: So. Nancy: Phones. Ad: It's a breeze. Nancy: You can just record yourself. Send it in and we can edit it in the WHYcast. Plus one for that. We would really love that. So if by hearing the stories from cool, but also the stories from. Simple in one of the future. Future episodes. Please feel free to send in your stories because we would love to hear them. Ad: Definitely. Ad: And with that, I think we have had every point on our list. So if you have any comments or feedback, leave it down below on, on the YouTube or send us an email. At WHYcast at white 2025. Don't forget to do the like subscribe and share stuff and all the tickets today and get your tickets today. Because. Yeah. 1st of March prices do go up a little bit. Thank you all so very much for watching. And listening and hope to see you next Friday. Nancy: WHYday.