Organizing Conferences and Unconferences
Jonathan Follett wrote ‘Understanding the Unconference‘ in 2006, and it still remains a useful way to make my friends understand them just by way of the written word.
Crystal Williams has noted 10 Steps to Organizing a BarCamp, and a collection of tips that apply to every type of unconference (and conference). Give it a read if you’re involved in, or planning to get involved in organizing something similar.
That said, does the ‘fun’ aspect of organizing a conference (or un-) slowly fizzle out after a while? It is project management, whether you do it haphazardly or last-moment-run type, or a documented, planned manner (that’s the freed.in 2008 Project Management Plan). For those new to conference management, the lets-make-it-happen phase hints at fun, and lets-go-by-the-plan hints at disciplined effort, and it’s important to keep adding fresh brains into the process for every type of conference.
For the old-timers in a particular conference, it is question of micromanagement v/s delegation. You could either step in every time to handhold the new generation of organizers, or you could just help out with the Action Plan (again, freed.in 2008 example), and then step back.
