How to plan a Dojo: The CFP
TL;DR
- Decide what your theme/message/story is, and tell speakers what you're looking for
- Will also need to go ask, individually, for some of the talks you want
- Leave yourself lots of time to collect content, but know that most will come in at the last minute
The details
The Call for Presentations (CFP) should be opened as early as possible, since finding the right content for your event can be one of the most challenging parts of event planning. We recommend providing at least three months to promote your selected schedule, and at least three months before that for the CFP process. (This is ideal. Of course, you don't always have that much time.)
For a Dojo, you typically don't need more than 15-20 talks, and so you don't need an elaborate CFP process. A simple Google Form is usually sufficient. We recommend a form requesting:
- Speaker name(s) (Required)
- Speaker Twitter handles (optional) to help with promotion
- Talk title (Required)
- Talk abstract (Required)
- Notes, speaker needs, comments (Optional)
Depending on the venue, you may have a particular content focus, and this will often require in-person requests for content. Find local universities, research organizations, and businesses who you believe to be using CentOS in their work, and request specific talks from them.
"We would like to hear about the work you're doing (using CentOS) in your research computing center, and some of the problems you're working on there."
Note that CentOS, itself, is boring by design - what's interesting is the work that people are doing on top of CentOS. Focus on that - the applications, the research, the ways that they're improving the world - not so much on the OS or the code.
If you know your theme, or desired message, well in advance, this can help craft your CFP and draw in the talks that you really want.