As part of organizing Podcamp Singapore v2.0, we thought it would be best to seek advice from the expert to guide us along our way! We called Mitch Joel of 6 Pixels of Separation fame to talk about the 6 best practices of organizing a podcamp, and were fortunate to be able to receive his kind advice. Mitch himself is a podcamp veteran, having attended the inaugural Podcamp Singapore as well as the recent Podcamp Montreal.
Here are the main pointers that we took away from his counsel:
1. Get the right sponsors: to have a great experience, the right sponsors should be approached. These sponsors should have a genuine desire to help the community, and not be merely concerned about their advertising benefits.
2. Have a great venue: great audiovisual equipment such as projectors and microphones would greatly enhance the presentations. The university should have the right facilities such as a good strong WiFi, which would be useful in the streaming of videos. Organizers have to be on hand to facilitate the sessions, so they should not be the people in charge of audiovisuals.
3. Learn from others: visit podcamp.org and check out the likes and dislikes of people. Create a checklist to help us along. Follow the checklist that others have laid out for us; embrace and follow the rules of what makes a great podcamp!
4. Use social media tools to engage the groundswell: do up a blog and wiki, and be as open as possible about everything and anything from the presentations to the finances. Transparency is key.
5. Smooth flow of presentations: use an open wiki! Disperse similar topics over the course of the day, so that people would not find the talks repetitive or monotonous. The opening keynote presentation should get people going and there should be a crescendo of content. Allow a networking break for people to consolidate their takeaways.
6. Plan great events outside the actual event: ensure that there are things people can do at night or at lunch outside the event. A podcamp is like a social gathering; people should get together and bond. Things like recommendations on good food around the venue would be appreciated.
His guidance was very useful and we will be looking to incorporate these pointers within the next few weeks! Here’s the audio clip if you would like to listen to the podcast Mitch made. Enjoy!
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