[location-iwg] On events

[Andrew Ross <andrew.ross@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Everyone,

A few items had to be slipped from today's meeting agenda to make time 
for the great discussions.

I'd like to talk about events. As background, the Eclipse Foundation 
organizes two big annual conferences each year - EclipseCon and 
EclipseCon Europe. Organizing these events are one of the many services 
the Foundation provides to the community. These events provide outreach, 
education, foster camaraderie, networking, marketing, code sprints, 
cross-pollination between projects, and so much more.

There is a natural interest to provide similar services as part of 
LocationTech. The obvious options are:
1) Do a LocationTech sub-conference of EclipseCon/EclipseCon Europe
2) Do stand-alone conferences for LocationTech
3) Get involved with other established events, such as FOSS4G as a 
notable example.

These options are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

I'd like to inquire what people think about this?

I anticipate that LocationTech presence at other events is an important 
part of our outreach & marketing strategy. I believe LocationTech's 
collective influence can help bring additional value to members & 
participants. The basic premise is that in exchange for securing a 
minimum level of participation we would receive a discount on 
registration and sponsorship.

As a hypothetical example, say LocationTech guaranteed at least the 
value of a Platinum and a Gold sponsorship position and at least 20 
attendees at an event, then our members & committers would receive an X% 
"bulk" discount. The sponsorship packages nor registrations would not 
change... they merely cost less. The idea is that we can strengthen 
other events, bring more value to our participants, and grow our ecosystem.

There may be some potential to build on the "Friends of Eclipse" program 
and offer a LocationTech annual subscription. For example, $49 a year 
gives you a discount at many events, a discount with many vendors, 
access to conference videos sooner, downloads from faster servers, etc.

I greatly value your thoughts on this. Thank you,

Andrew