Episode 34: Organizing Conferences and Events with Kevin Lewis
Enjoy the Vue - En podcast af The Enjoy the Vue Team
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Key Points From This Episode
- What brought Kevin to the Vue ecosystem, after struggling with the “magic” of React.
- What Kevin’s day-to-day is like at Vonage when it comes to organizing events.
- Shifting to virtual conferences and events, and how Kevin’s team has gone on to help others.
- Some of the software Kevin has used for virtual conferences, like Remo and StreamYard.
- Women of React was the first remote conference Kevin organized, and he learned a lot!
- Event organizing versus remote conferencing – how Kevin started his career and what he thinks is lost when an event goes virtual.
- Typical things Kevin sees conference organizers get wrong, from access points and WiFi to food, networking, and plants in the audience.
- Scheduling – planning breaks, based on content of the conference, facilities, and buffer time.
- It’s your responsibility as an event organizer to make sure that speakers feel respected.
- When it comes to Q&A sessions, Kevin has some tips fro making sure it’s moderated well.
- Kevin asks the panel what makes an event good for them as attendees – Ari says the hallway track or time between talks is vital.
- Ben says he appreciates guidance for newer attendees on after parties and dinners, etc.
- Tessa’s feedback includes structured activities for attendees to mingle, like bowling.
- A firm structure for events and locations seems like a low barrier to entry, but it’s crucial.
- Over-communicating is critical! Your audience needs to know if things in the program change.
- Single-track versus multi-track conferences – it depends what you’re trying to achieve.
- Selecting speakers – Kevin reacts to Ben’s story of a conference with a blind CFP survey.
- Kevin talks about BarCamp London and the simple concept of an unconference.
- The CFP or talk selection process, and Kevin’s take on it for an event like You Got This.
- Keynote spots are a way to course-correct if your lineup isn’t diverse or goes off the rails.
- The value of a mentorship program for first-time speakers to encourage and support them.
Picks of the week:
- Tessa
- Emma (Comic)
- 킹덤 (Kingdom) (Kdrama)
- Ari
- Stateless (Netflix)
- Kevin
- YouGotThis (Conference)
- EventHandler (Newsletter)
- Ben
Resources mentioned:
- Vonage API Developer Platform
- Women of React
- VueConf US 2020
- Adulting.Dev
- DevConf
- BarCamp London
- humansconf
- Remo
- StreamYard
- Kingdom of the Gods by Kim Eunhee & Yang Kyungil
- Distant Sky by Yoon Inwan & Kim Sunhee
Special Guest: Kevin Lewis.