you want to host an event to get people together for a purpose.
what event is it?
how do you do it?
how much planning do you do?
what kind of events do you have?
what size groups have you planned for?
at this moment i'm considering doing a small series of events with the tech and engineering friends, maybe aiming at 5-10 people. i'm intending it to be more discussion based, with perhaps some show and tell action.
but -- this thread is for generating ideas about entertaining, anything goes!
what event is it?
how do you do it?
how much planning do you do?
what kind of events do you have?
what size groups have you planned for?
at this moment i'm considering doing a small series of events with the tech and engineering friends, maybe aiming at 5-10 people. i'm intending it to be more discussion based, with perhaps some show and tell action.
but -- this thread is for generating ideas about entertaining, anything goes!
I love doing this ... I will update later.
i want to attend, dp!
i'll see what i can do!
haha
I got some experience with this...
> what event is it?
I hosted the first Make:NYC's many moons ago.
Then I hosted events at NYC Resistor.
Then I hosted a hardware hacking room at Notacon in Cleveland.
> how do you do it?
Organization of these events is usually pretty simple. Get a core group of people to divide up the tasks. Make sure your core group is pulling its weight. Usually with 3 people you can host an event for 100. For 20 2 people. 1 person 10 people. It's almost a logarithmic thing.
Biggest issue in NYC was large space. for hardware hacking stuff it's tool / noise friendly space. Schools and industries RELEVANT to the meeting are generally very agreeable to helping you. As your events gain success new options tend to open from the people you meet at those events.
For Make:NYC the first events were hosted in the Make offices in NYC. Later we hosted out of NYC Resistor and then still later bug labs.
> how much planning do you do?
Enough to get people where they need to be and have the supplies you need. Expect to need to be flexible and adaptable. I've noticed that a reservation system can be + or - 20% on it's value even for free events. What's amazing is a good 50% of the people on the list might actually show. Along with a bunch not on the list.
> what kind of events do you have?
I've really only organized college parties, lan parties, and hacking events / classes.
> what size groups have you planned for?
10 to around 100. The 100 one was a freak happenstance and caused us considerable issues. We learned a lot from it.
We've also probably had 100 people show up to fund raiser events at NYCR. But usually we'd have 20 capable people show up to help out before and after so impact was minimal.
As with any great undertaking... divide and conquer is the key. And of course everything in moderation.
Beyond that... stay cool and try to roll with the punches once the event starts. It's important to let the crowd drive the direction of the event to a certain point.
> what event is it?
I hosted the first Make:NYC's many moons ago.
Then I hosted events at NYC Resistor.
Then I hosted a hardware hacking room at Notacon in Cleveland.
> how do you do it?
Organization of these events is usually pretty simple. Get a core group of people to divide up the tasks. Make sure your core group is pulling its weight. Usually with 3 people you can host an event for 100. For 20 2 people. 1 person 10 people. It's almost a logarithmic thing.
Biggest issue in NYC was large space. for hardware hacking stuff it's tool / noise friendly space. Schools and industries RELEVANT to the meeting are generally very agreeable to helping you. As your events gain success new options tend to open from the people you meet at those events.
For Make:NYC the first events were hosted in the Make offices in NYC. Later we hosted out of NYC Resistor and then still later bug labs.
> how much planning do you do?
Enough to get people where they need to be and have the supplies you need. Expect to need to be flexible and adaptable. I've noticed that a reservation system can be + or - 20% on it's value even for free events. What's amazing is a good 50% of the people on the list might actually show. Along with a bunch not on the list.
> what kind of events do you have?
I've really only organized college parties, lan parties, and hacking events / classes.
> what size groups have you planned for?
10 to around 100. The 100 one was a freak happenstance and caused us considerable issues. We learned a lot from it.
We've also probably had 100 people show up to fund raiser events at NYCR. But usually we'd have 20 capable people show up to help out before and after so impact was minimal.
As with any great undertaking... divide and conquer is the key. And of course everything in moderation.
Beyond that... stay cool and try to roll with the punches once the event starts. It's important to let the crowd drive the direction of the event to a certain point.
btw dp i forget where in the world you are... i know someone here is in san jose.
I thought it might be you... I could be completely off.
If you need space near mountain view I have membership at hacker dojo and should be able to register for event space for hack friendly events. They have pretty nice digs too.
lemme know.
I thought it might be you... I could be completely off.
If you need space near mountain view I have membership at hacker dojo and should be able to register for event space for hack friendly events. They have pretty nice digs too.
lemme know.
yeah i'm in san jose, i still need to figure out a pickup for some scifi books.
didn't i email you about hacker dojo? oh, haha:
i may have to take you up on the event space!
didn't i email you about hacker dojo? oh, haha:
to: nny@pubheroes.com
subject: Hacker Dojo?
date: Feb 17, 2011
body:
Not sure if you're interested, but it seemed like you were involved in stuff like NYC resistor.
http://www.hackerdojo.com
-dannyp
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From: Daniel Peterson <projectdp@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:53:33 -0800
Message-ID: <AANLkTima--ngAJ4m6peDK+5uLmkp40+TrF5HqPSLxjF=@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Hacker Dojo?
To: nny@pubheroes.com
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i may have to take you up on the event space!
matt@nycresistor.com works
If you ever have need to plan an event with 100+ people, I have some serious experience/knowledge to drop on your face. :D
ok go!
?
I'm also interested in some serious experience/knowledge being dropped on my face.
Well I ran my first event. The turnout was modest at 7 participants. Most of the engineers reneged on the event because of the previous night's 2011 Cricket World Cup (India local time) so most of them ended up being asleep during the time of my event. Oh well India won!
As for the event, the speech was pretty entertaining for people it seemed. I had brought my HD webcam to do a live video stream of the event but when people weren't showing up I kinda got thrown off from that plan.
The discussions afterward were interesting and fresh. Overall it was worthwhile and accomplished the goals I had for the event.
From the topics survey conducted at the event the next event will be regarding mobile application development. We'll be getting development environments up on as many computers as are present, and start collaborating on some application ideas.
Anyway, more to come.
As for the event, the speech was pretty entertaining for people it seemed. I had brought my HD webcam to do a live video stream of the event but when people weren't showing up I kinda got thrown off from that plan.
The discussions afterward were interesting and fresh. Overall it was worthwhile and accomplished the goals I had for the event.
From the topics survey conducted at the event the next event will be regarding mobile application development. We'll be getting development environments up on as many computers as are present, and start collaborating on some application ideas.
Anyway, more to come.
cool, sounds good. bummer about the lower attendance.
Dp I didn't drop any knowledge because my experience only pertains to pretty large numbers of people dining/doing speeches/being organized into break-out groups. And all of this is usually at a large hotel or conference center...not sure how useful it would be for you?
I think this thing you're starting up is so great. Keep it up!
I think this thing you're starting up is so great. Keep it up!
lr: now that i look back i was fairly spot on with my estimation of attendance from the beginning (first post). the event reservation led me to believe it would be higher though.
stranger: so you come tease with info and when multiple people ask it's off limits!? and anyway i might actually be planning a 100+ event!
the second event is coming up this week, looking forward to seeing new people!
stranger: so you come tease with info and when multiple people ask it's off limits!? and anyway i might actually be planning a 100+ event!
the second event is coming up this week, looking forward to seeing new people!
drafting response—