Unfortunately WalterCon 2007 was canceled. And I’m hoping to give suggestions so that WalterCon 2008 does not suffer the same fate and hopefully becomes a Huge success. Just my insights.
WalterCon 2008 is probably going to be the One where it’ll make a difference, big impact because Haiku should be Alpha or Beta by then. This event has to be done right because it can skyrocket Haiku awareness.
Ok here goes,
Announce the date & location 3 months before the event is to take place.
Start planning at least 3 to 4 months before the event
Next, I think the event should actually be held in Germany or England ( or maybe elsewhere in Europe ). Why so? Because look at country of origin for the visitors coming to the Haiku site:
You’ll notice that Germany accounts for almost 22% of all visitors to Haiku site. If you check out the top 10 countries you’ll notice most visitors come from Europe ( or close to it ). Seems that the majority of Haiku interested people are mostly in Europe.
Also, I think it’d be cool to check out Europe and I’m sure some other North Americans feel the same. And hasn’t North America hosted enough of the WalterCons? And it’s getting harder to get in the USA with tighter restrictions on travelers.
Have the event in late September. Why? It is likely Haiku will get more students to work on it next year during the Summer. So, should be close to or have either Alpha or Beta release and something to show ( & give out ).
Also, the somewhat cooler weather will be nice too.
One negative is that students will be back in school and not able to get away ( leave their country ) to attend the event. Well those living in Europe might make the trip anyways.
Set the date to coincide with another event/function ( either some social event or another conference, etc ) so people can enjoy themselves. For Example, If held in Germany then do it the same week as OktoberFest. I think it’d be a blast.
Offer Registration without Hotel cost ( & with Hotel Cost ); 2 choices. Some people attending might live in the same city as the event so won’t want to pay for the Hotel and may not want to attend because of having only 1 choice.
Conference should be held in the Hotel Conference/Meeting Room because of more relaxed atmosphere. And, hotels have bars and/or restaurants either inside or near them to relax before or afterwards.
Then that’ll just leave doing a professional presentation with slideshow and a demonstration ( videotaped for the rest of the World to see ).
This is just a rough outline to get started with. Any other people want to comment?
Have 3 ( or 4 ) people plan WalterCon ( 1 person shouldn’t try to do it by himself ). And get input from Haiku community through the mailing list and forums for some of the big decisions.
#1) I was planning for 6 months notice. #2) Got you beat on that one, too – not that I’m trying to compete or anything. #3) Not an option by itself, but I’m looking into seeing if we might be able to do BeGeistert the same weekend #4) Also not an option. Orlando was in October and turnout was terrible, but having something to give out is also in the plans. evil grin #5) Doesn’t sound like a bad idea. #6) Registration will not include hotel so people have choice for accommodations. Locals could just drive in and save a ton of $$. #7) That has always been the intent, and only this year was different because for every hotel I contacted, it was either booked, too small, or nonexistent. That won’t happen next year.
#8) It’s really not as much work as it might look from the outside.
If you asked me, I’d say that presentations shouldn’t have to be done just at WalterCon, either.
I think Frankfurt or Munich would be perfect, it’s reachable within 6-8 hours by train/car for a lot Europeans and both have mayor international airports. Apart from that food and beverages are very affordable in Germany and lodging shouldn’t be a problem.
Yes, it looks like planning for 2008 should be easier. I realize the hardest part would have been finding lower cost hotels ( less than $100 per night ).
If you don’t worry about setting up the accommodations then it is easier to put the function together ( all you need is conference room, refreshments, laptop & projector & any handouts/marketing material; simple enough to do ).
I agree that presentations should also be done outside of WalterCon but I’m hoping you guys make one that Rocks for WalterCon 2008.
Thanks for your reply DarkWyrm.
Hey 0033, I’m glad that you agree with me on that. I also think that Haiku may have a stronger European following. So doing it in Germany would be good ( pretty central location in Europe & lots of Germans check out Haiku site ). Especially since Zeta was in Germany & lots of people who bought it may be looking at Haiku now. And BeOS seems to be pretty strong in Germany ( many sites ).
Another idea is 2 WalterCons that are 2 to 4 weeks apart ( or maybe on the same weekend ). WalterCon America & WalterCon Europe?
I only hope they reach Beta by the time of their 2008 event because that’ll make things more exciting.
