[kwlug-disc] Linux Conference

Digimer lists at alteeve.ca
Fri Jun 5 13:52:51 EDT 2015


Speaking as an interested company, yes, I would want a booth to setup. I
know this is OSS, and everything we do, we give away for free, but we
need to keep the lights on. I can guarantee other potential sponsors
will approach this the same way.

An event organizer in the OSS space has a special requirement that other
shows don't; There is a cultural and philosophical balancing act that
needs to be maintained. If it comes across as too corporate, people
won't come. On the other hand, if there are too few opportunities for
companies to get their word out, you won't get many vendors.

Find the right balance, and you can have a very popular show on your
hands after a few years. :)

On 05/06/15 01:32 PM, CrankyOldBugger wrote:
> Be sure to have an area where vendors can set up booths to do the meet
> and greet part and display their wares.  People will come for the swag,
> if nothing else!
> 
> 
> On Fri, 5 Jun 2015 at 13:24 Digimer <lists at alteeve.ca
> <mailto:lists at alteeve.ca>> wrote:
> 
>     I have, unfortunately, zero time to contribute to this effort. What I do
>     have though is a small open source tech company in the KW area. If you
>     start getting this together, we might be able to be a sponsor and, time
>     permitting, give a talk as well.
> 
>     cheers
> 
>     On 05/06/15 01:15 PM, Paul Nijjar wrote:
>     >
>     >
>     > In addition to the below advice: find some other people who are as
>     > committed (and will work as hard) as you. Organizing events is not a
>     > one-person job.
>     >
>     > I think it would be excellent for you to organize something. As hinted
>     > at below, there are some other events that have been running for a
>     > while, so joining forces with one of them may be an option.
>     >
>     > - Paul
>     >
>     > On Thu, Jun 04, 2015 at 02:58:50PM -0400, Khalid Baheyeldin wrote:
>     >> I did not organize an event myself, but was interacting closely
>     with those
>     >> who do, be that in Linux events, or Drupal events.
>     >>
>     >> The following recurring themes may help:
>     >>
>     >> - Try to fix the venue and the date(s) as early as possible, so
>     people have
>     >> time to plan.
>     >>
>     >> - The venue will be the biggest expense, unless it is provided
>     for free.
>     >>
>     >> - Have projectors ready for people to present.
>     >>
>     >> - Ask for sessions as soon as have the venue and dates available.
>     >>
>     >> - If the event is sponsored, then try to line up sponsors in 3 or
>     so tiers,
>     >> based on your expected costs (venue, lunch, audio/visual, ...etc,
>     not all
>     >> that will apply for all events).
>     >>
>     >> - If the event is paid for by the attendees, make it as simple as
>     possible
>     >> to pay (e.g. Paypal).
>     >>
>     >> - Have a marketing plan ready, including social media and
>     local/regional
>     >> media (e.g. newspaper, computer clubs, Communitech, user groups,
>     ...etc.)
>     >>
>     >> - Try to balance the needs of advanced and beginners needs
>     depending on the
>     >> audience you expect. Split them in different (possibly parallel)
>     tracks if
>     >> you do have many sessions and more than one room.
>     >>
>     >> And finally, organizing an event is always hard work and time
>     consuming for
>     >> the organizers.
>     >>
>     >> Hope that helps.
>     >>
>     >> On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 2:17 PM, Colin Mills
>     <colin.j.mills96 at gmail.com <mailto:colin.j.mills96 at gmail.com>>
>     >> wrote:
>     >>
>     >>> Thanks for the input everyone!
>     >>>
>     >>>
>     >>>
>     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >>> Colin J. Mills (cjm)
>     >>> FOSS
>     <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software> Advocate
>     >>>
>     >>> Software Engineering Technology
>     >>> Second Year
>     >>> Conestoga College
>     >>> Canada
>     >>>
>     >>> "makepkg, not war"
>     >>>
>     >>>
>     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >>>
>     >>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 1:11 PM, <john at vanostrand.com
>     <mailto:john at vanostrand.com>> wrote:
>     >>>
>     >>>> ‎I was one of the organizers of the ontario Linux fest. I'm a
>     little
>     >>>> surprised the onlinux.ca <http://onlinux.ca> domain is still
>     active.
>     >>>>
>     >>>>
>     >>>> Sent from my BlackBerry 12 neural implant.
>     >>>>   Original Message
>     >>>> From: B. S.
>     >>>> Sent: Thursday, June 4, 2015 12:00 PM
>     >>>> To: KWLUG discussion
>     >>>> Reply To: KWLUG discussion
>     >>>> Subject: Re: [kwlug-disc] Linux Conference
>     >>>>
>     >>>> There are also UoW people on this list whom will have seen your
>     message.
>     >>>>
>     >>>>
>     >>>> No doubt there is both academic and non-academic community
>     interest,
>     >>>> likely just a matter of people showing the interest and putting
>     in the time
>     >>>> to organize and execute. Whether there is sufficient community
>     interest is
>     >>>> probably hard to gauge. Paul / Software Freedom Day would also
>     bring some
>     >>>> expertise in these senses to your party. Same with those doing
>     Ubuntu hour
>     >>>> / release parties, Drupal group, and so on and so forth.
>     There's a Waterloo
>     >>>> events calendar (Lori?) around somewhere. Seeing how well, or
>     not, such
>     >>>> events are attended may be helpful to you.
>     >>>>
>     >>>> I don't know how in/formal your day would have to be to be
>     successful,
>     >>>> let alone the definition of success. These groups and the OnLinux
>     >>>> organizations may be helpful in those respects. Time of year
>     will also
>     >>>> matter. AFAIK kwlug is less attended in summer, and except for
>     co-op,
>     >>>> students not in town for classes aren't present to attend anything.
>     >>>>
>     >>>> One of the things that have been problematic is the apparent
>     divergent
>     >>>> interests of the academics vs the wider user community. e.g.
>     Sufficient
>     >>>> interest in Languages / kernel vs application use such as gimp
>     or Libre
>     >>>> Office. Presumably manageable by collecting 'common' topics in
>     time blocks.
>     >>>> Presumably 'running your small business on Linux' (be it accounting
>     >>>> software, VoIP, or marketing / web) will always have some low
>     level of
>     >>>> interest in the area.
>     >>>>
>     >>>> GL&HF
>     >>>>
>     >>>>> ________________________________
>     >>>>> From: Colin Mills <colin.j.mills96 at gmail.com
>     <mailto:colin.j.mills96 at gmail.com>>
>     >>>>> To: KWLUG discussion <kwlug-disc at kwlug.org
>     <mailto:kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>>
>     >>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 4, 2015 12:43 PM
>     >>>>> Subject: Re: [kwlug-disc] Linux Conference
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>> * Ok thank you, hopefully we can get something going! I am
>     going to
>     >>>> BSDCan in Ottawa in the next couple of weeks and it just
>     inspired a couple
>     >>>> of ideas.
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>
>     >>>>>
>     -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 12:41 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin
>     <kb at 2bits.com <mailto:kb at 2bits.com>> wrote:
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>>
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>> On Thu, Jun 4, 2015 at 12:34 PM, Colin Mills
>     <colin.j.mills96 at gmail.com <mailto:colin.j.mills96 at gmail.com>>
>     >>>> wrote:
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>> Hi All,
>     >>>>>>>
>     >>>>>>> I am looking at organizing a conference in the KW region
>     centered
>     >>>> around Linux in general. I feel like the area would have the
>     biggest draw
>     >>>> for technical users and casual users alike.
>     >>>>>>>
>     >>>>>>> * I found this : http://www.onlinux.ca/ does anyone know if
>     its still
>     >>>> active?
>     >>>>>>>
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>> This is Ontario Linux Fest, which was modelled after the Ohio
>     Linux
>     >>>> Fest. It ran for server years in a row.
>     >>>>>> I know two of the organizers (who happened to be from the
>     >>>> Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge area, but organized the event in
>     Toronto for a
>     >>>> wider audience).
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>> I bcc'd them on this email.
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>>
>     >>>>>> * Anyway I would love to get some ideas and thoughts around
>     the idea
>     >>>> and see if its even viable. Have a good one everybody. Ill be
>     at the
>     >>>> meeting on July 6th :).
>     >>>>>>>
>     >>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>     >>>>>>> kwlug-disc mailing list
>     >>>>>>> kwlug-disc at kwlug.org <mailto:kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>
>     >>>>>>> http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>     >>>>>>>
>     >>>>
>     >>>>
>     >>>> _______________________________________________
>     >>>> kwlug-disc mailing list
>     >>>> kwlug-disc at kwlug.org <mailto:kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>
>     >>>> http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>     >>>>
>     >>>>
>     >>>> _______________________________________________
>     >>>> kwlug-disc mailing list
>     >>>> kwlug-disc at kwlug.org <mailto:kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>
>     >>>> http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>     >>>>
>     >>>
>     >>>
>     >>> _______________________________________________
>     >>> kwlug-disc mailing list
>     >>> kwlug-disc at kwlug.org <mailto:kwlug-disc at kwlug.org>
>     >>> http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>     >>>
>     >>>
>     >>
>     >>
>     >> --
>     >> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
>     >> 2bits.com <http://2bits.com>, Inc.
>     >> Fast Reliable Drupal
>     >> Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
>     >> Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
>     >> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
>     >> For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear,
>     simple, and
>     >> wrong." -- H.L. Mencken
>     >
>     >> _______________________________________________
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>     >> http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>     >
>     >
> 
> 
>     --
>     Digimer
>     Papers and Projects: https://alteeve.ca/w/
>     What if the cure for cancer is trapped in the mind of a person without
>     access to education?
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
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> 


-- 
Digimer
Papers and Projects: https://alteeve.ca/w/
What if the cure for cancer is trapped in the mind of a person without
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