[FOSS4G2017] Next steps

[Jeff McKenna]

Sorry the correct link for the archiving of files is: 
https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/foss4g/2017/

-jeff



On 2016-09-02 9:05 PM, Jeff McKenna wrote:
> Hello 2017 local committee,
>
> (please add me to your private mailing list, for now I will send to public)
>
> As 2016 comes to its end, the spotlight is now moving to the Boston
> team.  This morning I reviewed the 2017 proposal, and I made a list of
> important next steps, as now the time is critical for the success of
> 2017.  Note that as 2017 timeline is now shorter than ever (a very early
> date of August 14th) things cannot afford to wait a month, so here are
> some notes to get things moving:
>
> Communication
> -------------
>
> - regular communication on the public 'foss4g2017' mailing list is great
> to build excitement (the Bonn team did an amazing job on this).  The
> Bonn team set a new standard of having all communication in the open on
> this public list (read: no private discussions).   Committees were
> formed, meetings were planned, all in the open, this really built
> excitement, and made it easy to offer help and ask questions.
>
> - regular meetings should begin now, likely at first once every 2 weeks
> and then change to once every week as the event approaches.  The
> recommended way is to use the existing IRC channel "foss4g" for the
> local committee meetings, so that others can easily join and no account
> or special software is needed (example steps: in your browser goto
> http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=foss4g and pick a nickname to use
> and then click 'connect').  Although video or audio (hangouts etc) is
> nice, using IRC allows those working or unable to speak to contribute to
> meetings.  Another benefit is that the channel is automatically logged,
> so members missing the meeting can follow the missed discussion (logs:
> http://irclogs.geoapt.com/foss4g/).  The Bonn team really leveraged the
> IRC channel well.
>
> - recommendation: the formation of a Boston OSGeo Local Chapter was
> mentioned in the proposal.  A great way to get this moving, is to start
> having a monthly face-to-face of the local committee, but with the
> wrapper "OSGeo Chapter meetup", in a pub after the work day ends.
> Instantly you have a chapter, and over the year more and more people in
> the local area will come to the meetups, and they can get involved in
> the 2017 planning (such as in the Volunteer team etc.).  You build a
> local chapter AS you put in the effort to plan the great 2017 event,
> without even realizing you're building a chapter, AND you're marketing
> the event at the same time.
>
> - use other existing mailing lists for FOSS4G:
>     - workshop mailing list
> (https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/conference-workshops).  This
> is made up 183 former workshop presenters at past FOSS4G events.  This
> mailing list should be used to communicate instructions for workshop
> presenters.
>
>     - foss4g-academic list
> (https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/admin/foss4g-academic).  This
> under-used list contains several former Academic Chairs of past FOSS4G
> events.  This is a good place to start discussing the Academic track.
>
> Leveraging OSGeo Wiki
> ---------------------
>
> - using the wiki is a great tool for recording committee details etc,
> and it is easily accessible for future local committees.  You can see
> your 2017 pages are increasing at:
> https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Category:FOSS4G2017 (always be sure to copy
> the bottom 'category' text in new pages, so that they magically will
> appear on that list)
>
> - start getting in the habit of updating the Lessons Learned page for
> 2017 now (https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_2017_Lessons_Learned).  You
> actually already have lots to record (what you learned regarding the
> venue contract/negotiations, RFP steps, even what you noticed at the
> Bonn event that could be useful to write down).  And every local
> committee member should be writing their lessons learned all through the
> build-up to the event.
>
> - the wiki requires an OSGeo user ID (create one, or reset password etc
> at http://www.osgeo.org/osgeo_userid)
>
> Archiving Files through SVN
> ---------------------------
>
> I've been trying to push the archiving of FOSS4G documents, since 2004,
> at https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/foss4g/  It has become a great resource
> for logos, past sponsor documents, program templates; but some years are
> empty (chairs did not agree with my insistence I guess ha).  Please,
> whether you are on the website committee, program committee, volunteer
> committee, code sprint committee, marketing any committee, please get in
> the habit of committing your raw files into
> https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/foss4g/2016/  (use the same OSGeo ID as
> mentioned above, and let me know if your user needs write access, I can
> approve that fast).
>
> If you get in the habit now of using that, then I won't have to bother
> you later to do that :)
>
> Marketing
> ---------
>
> - today I added the 2017 logo to the top of http://foss4g.org/ which
> will of course attract many visitors, that are wondering of the next event.
>
> - a very important part of marketing is having a "spread the word" page
> of logos and html so you can start attracting hits and views to the
> site.  The gold standard was the FOSS4G 2010's wiki page for this:
> https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_2010_Marketing  Notice that you don't
> need to wait until the official webpage is made, you can quickly make a
> wiki page of your logos.  The Bonn team also had a good page linked on
> their main site: http://2016.foss4g.org/about-foss4g.html#spread-the-word
>
> Highlighting OSGeo
> ------------------
>
> - a big part of the 2017 Boston proposal was that OSGeo would be
> prominently displayed on all sites, banners, and marketing materials.
> This of course needs to be implemented right away - notice that the
> existing page/site (http://2017.foss4g.org) has zero mention of "Hosted
> by OSGeo" (and I don't mean a tiny logo at the very bottom of the page).
>  A "Hosted by OSGeo" with the OSGeo logo should be prominently at the
> top of the main page.  (for OSGeo logos see
> https://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/marketing/logo/)
>
> Transfer of @foss4g Twitter Account
> -----------------------------------
>
> Usually each year we wait until videos and other news items are
> announced by the recent FOSS4G local committee, but the 2016 team has
> been very fast to share.  I would say after next week, at the end of
> next week the Twitter account should be handed over to the 2017 team.
> (if this seems too soon we can discuss this) I had the master password,
> but likely Till should just let @guidos know privately the account info.
>
> Code Sprint Importance
> ----------------------
>
> The code sprint wasn't mentioned really in the proposal, but as we saw
> at FOSS4G Bonn, giving a space where project teams can meet is a
> critical part of a successful FOSS4G event.  I've seen past local
> committees leave this part until the very last, and not even mentioning
> this on their main site; this must not be the case for 2017.  A special
> code sprint committee should be formed now, and planning should start asap.
>
> Formation of Committees
> -----------------------
>
> - I did see some mention of a few committees in the proposal, but I
> suggest that you draft the names of the committees on a wiki page and
> share that with the public 'foss4g2017' list asap.  For example, one
> committee that is sometimes forgotten is the Volunteer Committee.  A
> champion is needed to manage all of the volunteers throughout the
> week-long event.
>
> Transportation
> --------------
>
> - at recent FOSS4G events a strong partnership with their local tourism
> branch was made, and some events even included transportation passes for
> the week (Seoul team included a subway/metro card with a few dollars
> credit on it, for example).  As this Boston event will have some
> transportation challenges (workshops at Tufts/Harvard) this could be
> important.
>
> Kids Map Gallery
> ----------------
>
> Discussing with Heather Hillers, whose 8 year old son surprised her with
> a special FOSS4G Bonn painting
> (https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/File:FelixHillers-FOSS4G2016-painting.jpg),
> we think it's time for a "Kids Map Gallery" at a FOSS4G event.  This is
> a tribute to Venka's daughter's initial drawing, done at FOSS4G 2004 in
> Thailand (http://gisws.media.osaka-cu.ac.jp/grass04/slogan.html).  It
> could be something similar to a poster session, and a great way for kids
> to become interested in "maps and sharing" :)  I told Heather that I may
> ask her to champion this ha.  I think it is a wonderful idea.
>
> Social Events
> -------------
>
> - I shouldn't need to say how important these are for a successful
> event.  It is important to arrange a place each night for attendees to
> meet at.  And I mean every night - this DEFINITELY includes the Monday
> and Tuesday nights of the workshop days.  This is often a mistake by
> local committees (they are scared of committing to planning a social
> event those nights); well, you don't need to reserve a pub, but you do
> need to have a recommended pub for those nights.  Bonn team did an
> amazing job of this, naming "official" pubs for the event, and hardcore
> FOSS4G attendees still rave about the 2007 pub "Sticky Wicket", which
> was just a place to go meet attendees each and every night.  You want
> your event to be raved about - think of each night.
>
> Academic Track
> --------------
>
> This is often poorly handled at FOSS4G events.  Researchers and students
> need a large and prominent poster session, to display their work, and
> give talks throughout the tracks, to assist in getting funding to the
> event, and for many other reasons (getting published in journals etc). A
> champion is needed to focus on this.  (Academia is one of the important
> life-lines for Open Source, they often drive innovation and provide
> funding, and train future leaders)
>
> Important Items Usually Forgotten in Final Program
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> - the OSGeo AGM is a one hour meeting that must be at the end of a day,
> in no conflict with other talks.
>
> - the closing plenary should allow time for the Sol Katz Award (and
> recently, students awards and a developer award).
>
>
> Those are my thoughts for now, to get everyone moving.  Let's make 2017
> the best FOSS4G event ever!
>
> #boatdrinks
>
> -jeff
>
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