How To Build An IT Community. Your 2020 Meetup Planner

2020 has been officially announced as a year of Community Creators. Being a member of a social media group is just not enough anymore. Beautiful minds long for physical interaction. Exchanging the stream of thoughts relocates from internet to reality. I dedicate this article to all the planning necessary to organize a Technology Meetup.

It appears that event planning is a challenge not any different from organising a wedding. You need to make sure guests are welcome and they have an agenda filled with activities they enjoy. Food for thought ought to be accompanied by tasty treats to satisfy the stomachs and throats, too.

How to avoid pitfalls awaiting at almost every corner? Start from writing down a high-level agenda. List all the most important tasks to be ticked once they are sorted. I gathered subjective DIY notes below. They will guide you through the planning process.

The next task to do in advance is to arrange a photographer who will capture the scenes and provide a great catalogue of high-quality photos. Boost your inventory by recording videos and brief interviews during the event. All such artefacts will serve as your marketing collateral for the next occasions when they come. Make sure you record the presentations — they are the essence of the day after all and a proof that it was worth it.

Another task is arranging the event space itself with a sufficient number of seats and tables. Print the furniture map in a bunch of copies. Sketch and consider various configurations. Make sure you put the navigating marks around to make sure everyone finds their way to the tasty refreshments and the restroom. While we are on a topic of food and drink — every innovative mind needs some fuel. When it’s good, it fills up stomachs triggering positive emotions and only the best ideas.

One last thing — arrange a space for some team-building activities like contests or games. The prize could be a customized t-shirt or any funny yet pragmatic object like ping-pong balls or funny stickers.

We all like to be greeted well and feel like long-expected guest upon arrival. Follow this simple rule to avoid disappointments. If you are organising the meetup in a workplace, make sure the attendees can only access public space. The rest of the area should remain secure and confidential.

A skilled event host can make wonders. They are like true magicians. They should be able to entertain, amaze and guide the audience through the ceremony agenda.

Finally, it is worth to foresee the plan for the aftermath. Cool event takeaways are just the bright side of this story. The darker side is the state of the venue after everyone leaves. Yes, the place will definitely need a good clean up service and this is where a good planner has an opportunity to show off. You may hire a professional service, rely on a current provider or gather your pals to save funds in your pocket.

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