So this went quite well - we were in a much quieter area than usual (because we registered late), but that was actually beneficial as it meant we could have proper chats with interested parties.
We had a bit of a nightmare as we had to re-paper the map, and it turns out there are a LOT MORE spaces since the last time it was deployed. Photos of the absurd number of flags in the map to come.
Results:
- One new space told us they exist (Portsmouth - https://www.facebook.com/groups/portsmouthmakerspace/)
- We were told about two spaces shutting down (
) - Several people are planning on starting spaces
- Two people from a Scottish village discovered they both wanted to start a hackspace after filling in our form separately
- We need to come up with a new thing to take to events for outreach
Other things:
- It turns out that hackspaces are really bad at telling people what they are - we had many people get excited when they spoke to us, but were totally unaware that the Newcastle Makerspace stand was anything to do with a physical space - everybody focusses on the objects being exhibited and misses the space aspect. For me this really reinforced the need for outreach about hackspaces themselves.
- We need more flyers.
- We need flyers for all the other hackspaces. Especially the nearby ones.
- While the map is lovely, it’s a massive pain to actually pin all the spaces on and set up. We really need to come up with something that can be easily transported & deployed for outreach at other events.
- Pointing people at their nearest space is great, but it gets exhausting when you have to repeatedly explain what a space is so they know what they’re being pointed at. This time I attached a sign explaining what a space was and why the map was there, but we really need photos & video of spaces as a separate display (or an attached display) so we can show people what we’re talking about.
tl;dr: It went well, but we need a new exhibit for the next event we intend to do outreach at.