Hosting a KDE event

Promoting the event

There are several channels that can be used for promoting a KDE event:

Social networking

Identi.ca/Twitter - Leverage existing KDE related Identi.ca and Twitter groups.Here are some known groups:

• !KDE (Identi.ca)
• !Linux
• !GNU
• !Ubuntu
• !Debian

LinkedIn - This networking service for working professionals has several linux-related groups. These have very substantial numbers of members in many cases. You start "discussions" once you've joined a group. These discussions get aggregated and sent out in an email notification to all the members. Here are some existing KDE related groups you can join:

• KDE
• KDE User
• KDE Community Forums
• Kubuntu Users
• QT Labs Americas
• Ubuntu Users

Facebook - Another great social networking tool for spreading awareness. Like LinkedIn there are KDE related groups out there. You can also send "invites" to events, utilize the status updates to pass along news, etc.

IRC

There are many KDE related IRC channels out there. Another method for raising awareness about an event is to log in to these channels and get a discussion going about it. KDE IRC channels can be found at http://userbase.kde.org/IRC_Channels.

If possible try and get some other people helping with promotion to join in prior to mentioning it so there are at least a few people to help carry the discussion.

Blogging

It goes without saying that the more people that blog about an event the more you can raise awareness for it. In particular, look to high visibility community members who are attending to help in promoting the event. Shoot for a mix of blogs that are syndicated are the Planet along with blogs that our outside the internal KDE community to reach a wider range of potential attendees.

Direct emailing

Another great way to build interest in a KDE event is by building a list of relevant contacts and inviting them personally. This could be specific individuals (i.e. press contacts, etc) or other linux groups. Contacting Linux User Groups (LUGs) or distribution specific user groups is a good way to reach a big group of potential attendees as well. Some good starting points are:

• http://www.linux.org/groups/ - list of LUGs by location
• https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeams - Ubuntu local community groups by location

Preparing for the event

Things to consider-

• Logistics
  • Hotel Accomodations
  • Airfare
  • Local transportation issues
• Building a time line and sticking to it
• Sponsorships
  • Merchandaising
  • Corporate donations
  • Attendee reimbursements
  • Panels from sponsors
• Local support
  • LoCo teams
  • Public Administrations
  • Local companies and other organizations
• Organizing the local team
  • Website
  • Parallel activities
    • Social activities
    • Touristic visit
  • Registration/info desk
  • Contents
  • Budget and local expenses
  • Emergency contact
  • Taping talks
• Tools to coordinate the activities
  • KDE tools (wiki+IRC+etc)
  • Non public tools for organization purposes only
• Press
  • KDE channels
  • Local media
  • Other media
• Adminitrative issues
  • Invitation letters for foreign attendees
  • Insurance of the place hosting the event
  • Local bank account
• Other relevant information needed
  • Current/voltage/plugs sed in that country
  • Health and emergency information
  • Local cultural activities during the event.

Evaluating the success of the event

Consider putting together a survey for attendees to fill out. Provide it to them on the first day as other commitments may prevent some attendees from staying the duration of the conference. Questions could focus on various topics:

• how they heard about the meeting
• what convinced them to come to the meeting
• what they enjoyed at the meeting
• what they thought could've been better