DanThornton

Tech, Geekery, Pop Culture, Miscellaneous

From Co-founder To Director At DPiP CiC In Just 15 Years

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I’m pleased to share that after a vote at the recent AGM, I’m now officially a Director at Digital People in Peterborough CiC (Community Interest Company) just 15 years after I originally suggested some internet nerds might want to meet up and hang out.

Things have changed a lot since then. Back in October 2010 it was an informal meeting in the pub. Now it’s a CiC with three existing Directors organising Peterborough STEM Festival and multiple related events throughout the year, along with our monthly DPiP meetups. Other local groups have come and gone, funding has become more challenging, and there’s been disruption due to a pandemic amongst other things.

From Co-founder to Director at DPiP CiC in just 15 years
From Co-founder to Director at DPiP CiC in just 15 years

In that time I’ve also moved from Peterborough and back again, watched my son grow from a small STEM Festival attendee to an enthusiastic volunteer, and watched some of the great things being done by the DPiP team of directors and volunteers both in my absence, and during my trips back to volunteer at every festival.

And since coming back to Peterborough I’ve been involved from the sidelines, partly due to other priorities, and also because my partner Liz has been chairperson for a while now, and I didn’t want to undermine her relentless hard work in any way. But I think we’ve found a way for it to work in a good way, and I have some ideas to help ensure it’s a positive step in the future both for DPiP, and for us.

So expect more updates about DPiP, Peterborough STEM Festival, and running a CiC in the future as I dive back into everything.

Returning to public speaking with a presentation at DPiP

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I was never a regular on the SEO/Marketing circuit, but I’ve been lucky enough to give a few presentations at various events over the years. Some were unconferences and small meetups, including Digital People in Peterborough (DPiP). Others were in front of fairly substantial audiences at larger venues.

That all came to a halt in 2020, for obvious reasons. And since then, my family has stayed cautious about large social events, due to the ongoing risks to both the healthier among us, and those who are immuno-suppressed and higher risk. But having gone along to a few smaller gatherings, including DPiP, I decided to volunteer to step in when speakers had to change dates at short notice and a gap in the schedule appeared.

Returning to public speaking with a presentation at DPiP
Returning to public speaking with a presentation at DPiP

Despite the relatively short notice, I still had a decent amount of time to prepare around my existing work commitments and deadlines. So obviously, I then decided to spend four days being ill, which meant cramming everything into the time left when I’d recovered enough to sit at a computer. Fortunately I managed to finish all my work and have a few hours to put together a presentation lasting 20-40 minutes on ‘the biggest SEO myths: fact or fiction’ (I still need to check it for correct image attribution etc before sharing it online).

That only added to the nerves about speaking in front of people for the first time in more than five years, and also the first time I’d tried presenting in a mask to minimise the risk of airborne infection (we also take a portable HEPA filter with us to lower the risk when eating or drinking, but it has a fairly small range and does make a low noise which might have been picked up by the PA system).

But despite all of that, the talk seemed to go pretty well – I was talking for more than an hour without any issues, had a load of great questions to answer, and I think my teenage son now understands what I do for the first time.

I’ve been reminded why speaking can be great fun as well as a useful way to introduce yourself to people. And also that DPiP is an amazing network and opportunity to try speaking and presenting if you’ve never done it before, get nervous in front of people, or just want to try something out in front of a really welcoming and supportive bunch.

If you’re in Peterborough or the surrounding area, and fancy speaking or just attending the next DPiP meetup on the first Thursday of each month, you can find all the details, here.

Supporting the First Peterborough STEM Festival

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Peterborough holds a few special memories for me. As a cathedral city, it’s not known as a particularly exciting or glamorous location, but it’s a site of rich historical value. It’s also where I moved to become a full time journalist for a publication I’d always dreamed about working for.

Having gone on to start a family in East Anglia, it’s also the place where I first began working for myself. And after a short period of solitude, it’s where I suggested one or two freelancers I knew came down the pub to chat about work and technology. And that became DPiP, a monthly meetup which has become hugely successful despite my early involvement.

Peterborough STEM Festival

So I’m hugely excited to be traveling up to Peterborough at the end of the month to be a volunteer at the first Peterborough STEM Festival, which is a day of family-friendly events to celebrate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, inspired by Ada Lovelace Day.

When it came to DPiP, my biggest success was getting out of the way once I’d persuaded talented designer and organiser Tia to get involved. Besides securing the best cupcakes in the county to encourage people to come along, she also transformed something a bit ramshackle into a well-oiled machine.

So I confess to chuckling when I got an email explaining that she’d had an idea for a STEM Festival and was worried that it might not all come together. Because I knew it would – and lo and behold, it looks like it’ll be an amazing day.

There are a full day of workshops, doing stuff with Raspberry Pis, MakeyMakey boards, Cambridge Science Centre and Microsoft.

And a similarly impressive range of speakers – including spacecraft engineers, scientists, mathematicians and programmers covering space, robotics, and game theory.

Plus a load of exhibitors running Minecraft competitions, explaining genetics and demonstrating humanoid robotic companions.

Basically the DPiP team of Tia, Jonathan and Andy have recruited a great team, sorted out a load of fantastic speakers and events, and put it all together in an area which has been increasingly embracing technology over the last few years.

And did I mention it’s all free?

I’ve been to a lot of events over the years, and it’s probably safe to say that all this entertainment could have come with a price tag. But instead, it’s all available for free to encourage more children, and particularly girls, to consider STEM subjects.

Some of the workshops etc will require booking online in advance, so check out the website and see what might take your fancy (or be the best to inspire your kids).

And hopefully I’ll see you there!