Hello, Nishit.  I'm not sure what kind of response you were looking for.  I volunteered to be on the program planning committee for the upcoming Code4Lib meeting, so part of me wants to respond from a program planning perspective.  I'm also a member of the anarchistic Code4Lib community, so I want to respond from that one-person/one-vote perspective as well.  So here is a reply with the two perspectives rolled into one.

From the first perspective, this probably isn't the ideal mailing list to bring up the question of scheduling this into the meeting.  The meeting planning is happening on the code4libcon Google Group (http://groups.google.com/group/code4libcon).  Hopefully you have been in touch with the Code4Lib meeting hosts to see if they have any concerns or objections to what you are proposing.  If not, I'd do so pronto!

From the second perspective, I see a couple of problems.  First, the proposed schedule has the prototype built during the meeting itself.  Others may voice otherwise, but I go to the meeting to absorb the content from presentations and to network with attendees.  So I, for one, wouldn't be interested in using the time during the week on heads-down coding.  (Others may feel otherwise, obviously.)  (Also note that Code4Lib typically hasn't had a heads-down coding challenge during the meeting like what I've seen at the Open Repositories meeting.  Not that it couldn't be tried, but you'd be swimming against a strong tide of tradition at this late date.)  Second, all of the selections are being done by Elsevier, which is out-of-character for a highly participatory group like Code4Lib.  You might want to revisit that part to see if you can get community engagement at the selection stages as well.

Thanks for sponsoring the meeting last year and this year.  I hope this constructive criticism is helpful.


Peter

On Dec 29, 2011, at 2:20 PM, Bhuva, Nishit (ELS-NYC) wrote:
> Hello Everyone,
> 
> My name is Nishit Bhuva and I am the Partner Development Manager in the
> Developer Network team at Elsevier. I am sure many of the Code4Lib
> members must be aware of SciVerse Applications
> <http://www.applications.sciverse.com/action/userhome>  that are
> developed on the Elsevier platform. For the members who are new to this
> platform, the apps on SciVerse basically assist researchers in
> accelerating their scientific study by saving time and effort and
> presenting targeted information, rather than having them go through the
> vast amount of scientific data available.
> 
> We are very excited about the Code4Lib conference. Elsevier was one of
> the sponsors for Code4Lib 2011 and we are also on the sponsors list for
> Code4Lib 2012. Since SciVerse apps are excellent tools that bring
> precise scientific information at the fingertips of researchers, we are
> interested in engaging with all members of Code4Lib to use their
> expertise and assist the scientific community in accelerating their
> research. To facilitate the engagement with Code4Lib members, we are
> interested in organizing an App Challenge prior to and during the 2012
> conference. This challenge will give Code4Lib members an opportunity to
> showcase their talents on a global platform. Below is a draft outline
> for the challenge we are interested in organizing (this draft is open
> for discussion).
> 
> Stage 1: Submit your concepts/ideas for an app.
> 
> *         Concept/Idea submission begins on January 9, 2012.
> 
> *         Deadline for submission will be January 31, 2012.
> 
> *         Submissions should include a detailed concept/idea description
> and poster/slides showing functionality of the app.
> 
> *         Top 10-15 concepts/ideas will be selected by Elsevier.
> 
> *         Entries could be as individuals/teams.
> 
> 
> 
> Stage 2: Build an app based on selected concepts.
> 
> *         The poster/slides of selected entries will be displayed on all
> days of the conference.
> 
> *         Members of the winning teams will build apps during the 4 days
> of the conference (February 6 - 9, 2012).
> 
> *         End deliverable will be a working prototype of the app.
> 
> *         Three winners will be selected by Elsevier 
> 
> *         Winners receive cash rewards after the conference.
> 
> *         Entries could be as individuals/teams.
> 
> 
> 
> Some of you might be wondering that what happens to concept/ideas and
> prototype apps that are not selected. The good news is, these go to the
> SciVerse Labs Applications gallery where:
> 
> *         The concepts can be used by any developer to build apps and,
> 
> *         Original developers of app prototypes will have an opportunity
> to continue their work.
> 
> I would be glad to hear from all members about their thoughts on this
> challenge and also discuss other possibilities to engage during the
> conference.
> 
> Happy Holidays to all !
> 
> 
> Best,
> 
> Nishit

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Peter Murray
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