event-notes

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Notes on how to run a successful IndieWebCamp.

Schedule Outline

15-30 minutes - for registration and free-form meet & greet. Organizers set up the unconference board.
15 minutes - Intro to IndieWebCamp, brief overview of the schedule for the event, thanks to sponsors (led by event host)
60-90 minutes - selfdogfood demos. These are demos by participants of what they have running on their own personal website. Product pitches/demos are not acceptable, unless the presenter's personal website runs the software. Introduce yourself by your name and domain name
15 minutes - Personal introductions from people who did not demo on day 1. Introduce yourself by your name and domain name.
5 minutes - group photo before everyone leaves the room! This is likely the only time during the day that everyone will actually be in the same room
15 minutes - unconference scheduling, everybody gathers by the grid and proposes sessions, barcamp style.
1 hour sessions - as many as will fit before lunch, usually one or two sessions
Lunch break - 1 hour is usually enough - day 1 is fine to send everyone off-site for food on their own
1 hour sessions - as many as will fit until the close of the day
Group dinner - optional, preferably sponsored

15 minutes - Intro to day 2, there may be some new people, but mostly introduce the "hack day" format and thank the sponsors
15 minutes - Personal introductions from new people who did not attend day 1. Introduce yourself by your name and domain name.
1 long hack session
Lunch break - 1 hour - if possible, sponsored catered lunch is best since people are busy hacking and usually don't want to leave
1 long hack session
90 minutes - Demos - usually from 4 - 5:30pm
Group photo - immediately after conclusion of demos, since this will be the only time everyone is in the same room
15-30 minutes - Community cleanup, everyone pitch in to help clean up the space
Group dinner or afterparty - optional, preferably sponsored

This is a place to collect thoughts on what worked well and what did not work well during past IndieWebCamp events.

Opening demos are a great way to introduce everyone to each other with lots of context
Catered lunch for day 2 is ideal, so as not to break the flow of people who are building things. We have found that catered lunch for day 1 is not really needed. Agreed: day 1 is social and day 2 is work, so this makes perfect sense.
Having a session on improving how new people can become part of IndieWeb was a fantastic start, as it served two purposes: 1. It educated those new to the more advanced concepts. 2. It set a roadmap for what people would try to accomplish and learn over the 2 day conference. Many people decided to implement WebMentions because of this session, as it was the next step on the chain.

Forgetting to take a group photo when everyone is in the same room. It's almost impossible to gather everyone again except for the morning intros and closing demos. Solution: take a photo both days right after introductions and before going to the un-conference grid.
On hack day, it's hard to get people to leave for lunch at a specific time since people are often in the middle of building something.