Are you worried about the recent economic downturn? I guess many are, including myself. Fortunately, I didn’t buy any of those “mini-bonds” or invest (gamble?) in the stock market at all. There are two reasons I never invest in stocks: First, they are not interesting to me. I realize that if I’m not genuinely interested in something, I would never be good at it. Second, I am convinced that the best investment for me is to invest in my own business. Not only would the return be higher, it is also less risky - I guess I would be the first one to know if my business is having any trouble (touch wood)!

Flash back to last year (2007), when virtually every one investing in stocks were making money, I did my math when I was almost tempted to jump in. Based on how much money and time a friend of similar knowledge/experience put into such trading, I found that the “per hour” gain wasn’t that attractive to me, which already assumed that I bought the right stocks when the marketing was going up. I don’t know what would have happened if I did jump in, but one thing for sure: my business would be affected. I am glad that I didn’t.

Over the last few years, I noticed that friends who are keen in trading stocks share some common traits:

• They are working for others instead of running a business.
• They are “keeping an eye” on the stock market even during office hours.
• They are keen in exchanging “tips” with others, and would not hesitate in giving me advice.
• They are not passionate about their jobs and plan to quit once they make “enough” money from trading.

There’s nothing right or wrong in these, it’s just a matter of choice, as every one has different goals and definition of success/happiness. No matter what you choose, there will be costs and risks. That’s why I never advocate those who like to “get rich” to start a business, the likelihood of failing that goal is even higher than losing money in the stock market now.

To survive such financial turmoil, I think the best thing to do is to stick with what one does best, and do it exceptionally well. I believe the best investment is always investing in oneself: Work smarter, not longer. Use the saved time to learn something new, something that could help with your job, your life or just make you happier.

As one of the organizers of this year’s BarCamp Hong Kong, I’m absolutely amazed by the turnout: 220 attendees, a number very close to that signed up on Facebook and Wiki, and many of them arrived early. This is so different from the iPhone Party crowds, so I can’t help but think that “geeks” are more punctual and better in keeping to their words.

My team at BeansBox is responsible for designing the logo, website, standup banner, T-shirt and email template, which are all loved by the attendees. Big thanks to our designer Dennis!

I’d like to thank specially my fellow organizers:

• Napoleon Biggs - the “Mastermind” of BarCamp HK from the very start. Never short of ideas, connections and British humour.
• Ben Crox - the “Man of Action”, speedy and generous efforts throughout the event, excellent M.C. in Chinese.
• Aaron Farr - another ruthlessly efficient and intelligent gentleman who could manage everything you can (and cannot) think of around-the-clock.
• Conrad Benham - Mr. Agile who put together meeting notes, timetable and tasks lists from the start to get the ball rolling. Kudos to the excellent write-up and T-shirt throwing.

It’s such a pleasure to work with all these smart, efficient folks and received widespread acclaim for our efforts:

• laihui@nicesoda
• jacky@seezone
• daisy@DigitalAnthology
• paul@edublogs
• sammy@sammy dot hk
• wanszezit@案內人隨筆
• infilmity
• caphun@yelotofu
• nicholas@currystar
• sarah@roosemoore

.. more on BarCamp Wiki.

Out of the sessions I attended, these were my favourites:

• “Online Marketing for Consumer Acquisition” by Sarah Moore
• “Creative Commons Hong Kong” by Ben Cheng
• “Twitter Visualizing Conversations” by Napoelon Biggs

Unfortunately I couldn’t attend everything at the same time, but Siu Ying is very kind to have captured many sessions by QIK. Check them out and very soon MobileRadio.hk would upload all the video to their site, thanks Jonathan!

As for the “Startup Lightning Talks” at the end, I think it’s a very good idea but we may have to make it even shorter (say 2 instead of 4 min) next time. It’s tough to present before such a huge crowd in a foreign language for some non-English speakers, but I believe with more preparation they could do a much better job. Congratulations to the “dude” who pitched the idea “WhereIsMyBusNowDude.com” and won the XBOX 360!

A very successful and memorable BarCamp all in all. 15 Dec 2007, 6 Sept 2008 … when do you want the next BarCamp Hong Kong?

The first BarCamp last year was a great success, finally we’re having the second one this Saturday, 6 September 2008!

Food, drinks and free wifi will be provided. Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join.

Come, speak and learn at BarCamp Hong Kong!