If you haven't heard, there is a Gov 2.0 Camp LA coming up. Now that I have a better idea of what it stands for from the main website and a recent blog post from the organizer, I thought I would comment on it for the benefit of the community. My opinion can be briefly summarized as the following: I think it's thrown together. I think it's careless. I think it's Mickey Mouse. I cannot figure out what the objective is beyond getting a bunch of hyped up people together in one place to drink kool-aid, despite seeming to promise the opposite. I see blanket statements and marketing slogans, but very little original thought. I see remarkably little tie-in with the mainstream conversation about what Government 2.0 means philosophically, experimentally, and practically. I don't believe the word "policy" is even mentioned in the blog post above that describes the event - how can you describe a Gov 2.0 event and not mention policy? When what the conference stands for is dissected, it is difficult to determine how anything will be advanced by it, or how it will truly differ from numerous other mundane events sprouting up around this hot topic.

Further, regarding the blog post mentioned above: (1) I do not like the implication that the Gov 2.0 Camp that I co-hosted in DC in March 2009 was not inclusive. People traveled from as far away as England to be there. (2) I do not like the implication that the Gov 2.0 Camp in DC was only about the Federal government. That was absolutely not the case. (3) I do not like the implication that Gov 2.0 Camp is something unique to DC and now LA. Numerous other cities and even countries started planning their own camps immediately after the original. (4) I do not like the implication that “we” (whomever that is) know “who’s who in the space” – there are many undiscovered talents working on Gov 2.0 right now. I certainly wouldn't claim to know them all, and I don't think anyone would come close. (5) I do not like the implication that Gov 2.0 Camp LA will “start the conversation across levels of the government” – sorry, that has been going on for quite some time. Perhaps someone didn’t notice that, for example, all the winners of the Gov 2.0 Expo Showcase lived outside the Beltway, and four of them worked on non-Federal issues? Or perhaps someone didn't notice that social networking site GovLoop.com has swelled to over 20,000 members, many of whom are from outside DC and/or outside the Federal government? (6) I do not like the implication that Gov 2.0 Camp LA will be “unlike any conference you have ever attended” merely because it is a hybrid between a barcamp and a traditional conference. I attended one of those last week. (7) I do not like the implication that “This will be the first time we [again, whomever that is] have gone out of our way to practice what we preach and see real world applications in actual use” at all. Was that statement dreamed up out of thin air? I can feel the Hollywood influence already - in a bad way.

And last but not least, the theme of Gov 2.0 Camp LA: "This year we Talked. Next year we Act." Sounds compelling and important if you don't think about it, but honestly, can anyone tell me what it means? People were acting not only last year but before that. And next year some people new to these ideas will still be talking, and perhaps rightly so. So basically everyone gets insulted here. I'm not sure who "we" is, but I hope I'm not part of it.

At this time, I see no compelling reason to attend Gov 2.0 Camp LA, and my pessimist's nose smells numerous reasons not to. Maybe I'll be proven wrong. I truly feel somewhat bad writing a critique like this, and awkward, but at the same time I feel a responsibility to share my thoughts with a community that has at times come to look to me for thought leadership - and I take that seriously. So, now that I've said my part, I probably won't comment again until after the event - but you should check it out with a critical eye and decide for yourselves if Gov 2.0 Camp LA is worth attending from its description thusfar. Meanwhile, I do know of other events in the space that do seem to be distinguishing themselves and are worth attending, and I recommend attending those if possible. They include the so-called Government 2.0 Fail conference, and the Gov 2.0 Expo. And I don't just say that because I'm involved with planning them - I got involved with planning them because the preliminary thought leadership, intellectual vibe, and general feeling of inclusiveness and innovation behind these events will truly create great experiences for their attendees. Just like the original Gov 2.0 Camp in DC did for the people still talking about how great it was.