[FOSS4G2017] Next steps

[Newcomb, Doug]

The Kids Map Gallery might also be a way to bring in the local news media.

Doug

On Fri, Sep 2, 2016 at 8:05 PM, Jeff McKenna <jmckenna at gatewaygeomatics.com>
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/mailm
> an/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/mailm
> an/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/F
> ile: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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> FOSS4G2017 mailing list
> FOSS4G2017 at lists.osgeo.org
> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/foss4g2017
>



-- 
Doug Newcomb
USFWS
Raleigh, NC
919-856-4520 ext. 14 doug_newcomb at fws.gov
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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