[OOTB-hive] Introducing BeeCon

[Heiko Robert]

Hi Rich,

excellent input - totally agree.
Especially:
* Beecon
* formal organization & money handling
* Mission
Comment: We also should address to invite all the community users and 
admins having the real need and passion to _use Alfresco and allow them 
to discuss needs and use cases with us. Many people say there are no 
community business users but at least in the german speaking area I 
would bet they are the majority and not seen so far. Only Alfresco has a 
real overview by using the tracking pixel. We should discuss how to find 
and address these power users.
There is a big chance that the bees can workout something which Alfresco 
will never be able to do: build teams to specify specialist 
applications, create and maintain public available models, processes, 
best practices

Location:
* I would suggest to find an university to host the Beecon. They have 
the perfect infrastructure for such an event and don't have commercial 
interests.
* We should take a look on cities which ar easy to travel to and have 
enough budget accommodatons. Berlin and Barcelona were excellent for 
that. Brussels and Stockholm may be not as affordable for every bee but 
it's maybe a question of organization?

BeeCon rocks!

Heiko

Am 06.05.2015 um 06:38 schrieb Richard Esplin:
> I love the idea of a community led conference, and I would like to help as
> much as possible. I think the most useful way I can help at the moment is to
> offer unsolicited advice and proposals.
>
> * Rather than making this an "Alfresco developer conference", or an "open
> source community conference", I think this is the "Order of the Bee
> Conference. It's an opportunity to promote our brand, and the conference is to
> advance our mission. Let's call it BeeCon.
>
> * Mission: BeeCon is the community-led conference for Alfresco enthusiasts.
> Expect deep technical insight, comradery, and an opportunity to contribute
> back. We encourage any topic related to Alfresco Community Edition, and we
> welcome developers, administrators, and users of any Alfresco related product.
>
> * I have participated in the planning of a number of conferences. They all
> require time and money. I think the Order of the Bee has the enthusiasm
> necessary to pull it off, but we still aren't organized in a way that allows us
> to receive and spend money. Maybe we need to do that.
>
> * There is value in charging a reasonable entry fee. It helps with the
> planning, increases the level of commitment, and provides resources for
> essentials like Internet access. I would suggest charging €75 at the door,
> with discounts for registering early, being a member of the Order of the Bee,
> or being a student. It should be easy for people who care about the topic to
> figure out how to get in for less than €40 (register early with an Order of the
> Bee code). But there should also be an option "I want to support the mission
> of the conference by paying full price".
>
> * I love informal community conferences. Many of my favorite conferences have
> been held at a University, school, or museum, and required participants to buy
> their own food. We should focus on providing power, network, and a place to
> have great conversations.
>
> * We should set up a web site for submitting proposals, and then allow people
> who have pre-registered for the conference to vote to select the speakers.
>
> * The Order of the Bee has about 110 members, so our first conference is
> unlikely to attract more than 100. Selling out isn't a bad thing.
>
> * Based on that estimate, our venue should have two rooms that hold 50. I
> would plan 7 sessions a day and a keynote. Over two days with two rooms,
> that's 28 presentations and 2 keynotes. But maybe we just do 1.5 days so that
> we have a half day dedicated to a hack-a-thon and people only need one night's
> hotel room. We could combine the two rooms for the keynotes and and have a
> sponsor area in the hall.
>
> * Two people could manage to record and post 28 sessions. I'm pretty sure I
> can get the Alfresco recording devices (VGA only).
>
> * Unfortunately, there is a lot of work involved with setting up the
> infrastructure: web site, registration process, legal requirements. But after
> the  first conference, it should be easier to make this a yearly event.
>
> * I expect that the key question of when to hold the conference will revolve
> around the question of "how long will it take to organize this stuff?"
>
> I'm very excited about BeeCon! (Is the name sticking yet?)
>
> Bzzzz,
>
> Richard