So I’ve been thinking about this for some time, a list of to do’s and not to do do pitfalls. It’s by no means a final list, just some things I’ve come across from organising some things in the past, Skynet Talks, Skycon and most lately IOTC. This doesn’t make me an expert it makes me someone who can highlight some mistakes not to make, avoid pitfalls and last minute freak attacks.
I like organising, that’s me. I’m a tad bit obsessive about some things, I’ll have my list done up, and saved somewhere online that I can check against to make sure things are being done, when they are done, they are moved elsewhere in the list to Completed, or Further attention needed. I know it sounds anal, I know! But you know what, it works, well at least it does for me. I can stand up and say, yes I am a list person!
So some simple check lists, they may seem very simple and common sense, but eh don’t take simple things and common sense for granted when organising events!
Again there is no obvious statements. Don’t do it all on your own, even when you think at times, nobody can do it better than you can! So committee or gathering of folks who are to organise said event. Meet regularly! Email is not enough. You cant rant enough over email (Flame wars are not the same thing!) Face to face meet ups are the only way, as you bounce ideas off one and another and come up with better ideas/solutions to problems.
If you do email people concerning the event, CC someone else on the committee so that if you get a date/time/venue or some detail off, there is hope that someone else will spot it and can be rectified, otherwise you could be organising something for September when the event locations thinks it’s August!
Double check venue is suitable, there is no point in word of mouth suggestion if you don’t check it out. What’s fine for some other event may not be great for yours, go down have a look and see what will work. There is no point in having a venue that will hold 100’s if you are only going to get 30-40 people. That makes the speaker nervous and makes the event look crap. Alternative suggestions I recommend is if you can talk to colleges, tutorial rooms are a great size, and usually are in a good location. Small meeting rooms with business areas, or enterprise centers.
Advertise the event in as many locations as you can. Again depending on the event, but I would say hit colleges first, as many lectures, students may be interested, bonus if your conference is also located on the grounds, you can get college/staff mailing lists. If you don’t advertise and tell people why they should attend, well why would they! You need to tell them what they will be missing out. I’ve found IRC channels are a great way to promote events, but again that’s me, do what ever works for you, but if you’re noticing not a good uptake, re-look and re-jig it!
Make sure your speakers are on board for what ever is going on at the conference, do not surprise them by telling them on the day there is going to be a live debate between them and a known opposition. Do not try and “Shit Stir” It’s not nice, it’s poor practice, and only makes people think little of you. This is all well and good if you’ve talked to both sides prior to the event and have arranged it. Putting people on the spot only leads to “silence” and leads to awkwardness. Don’t do it!
Final run up to the event, go through your check list, which should consist of a large Done/Completed list and there really should be no “To Do’s ” left anywhere on it 
Have this done a week before hand to allow for things just cropping up!
Sit back and enjoy the event. As I said, this is not a complete list, it’s some thoughts and what’s worked in the past for me, or I’ve learnt from the past events.
