Jams

An Ubuntu Jam is a local event, where people meet to do something with Ubuntu. The point is to have fun, meet great people, learn something new and make Ubuntu better in a way that you like and enjoy.

Organisation

The Venue

The first step is to get a venue and date arranged. In terms of a date, pick a few options in which the primary tutors and organisers can attend - if you pick a range of options, this makes it easy when deciding on a final date with the venue - you can propose a range of dates to the venue and they have some flexibility if some of the dates are unavailable.

It is recommended that you try to avoid public holidays, bank holidays, and also try to avoid times when people are likely to be busy - Easter and other religious holidays are good examples. It is also recommended that you host your Bug Jam on a weekend or evening - most people work midweek, so a weekend or an evening is a better option.

The venue for the Bug Jam can be anywhere where you can fit a bunch of geeks, allow them to plug in laptops and preferably get an internet connection. This could be a house, a university room, a pub, a library, a LUG nearby or anywhere else. In terms of sourcing a venue, speak to your local LoCo team to determine who might be able to help. The majority of venues that people tend to run jams in are typically available for free (someone works somewhere that can offer a space). If it's just a few people, you can always have the jam at your (or somebody else's home).

Make sure to ask if the following is available:

  • Power - enough power sockets for everybody.
  • Network - triaging means using Launchpad to triage bugs, so network connectivity is a requirement.
  • Projector (optional) - you want to demonstrate how triaging works, make sure there's a projector and be at the venue early to test if your machine works with it. After your LoCo has run a few Bug Jams and people are familiar with it, you might not need to spend so much time presenting how to triage and instead cluster around in small groups with laptops to tackle bugs.

  • (some place nearby where you can acquire snacks)

Promoting The Jam

It is also recommend you promote the event using the following methods:

  • Blog about it! This is particularly important if your blog is on Planet Ubuntu or other planets.
  • Micro-blog about it, invite your Facebook / Twitter / G+ / Diaspora friends
  • If your LoCo team has a forum or a news site, let them know too

  • Tell your local LUG and LoCo team about the event - encourage them to attend!

  • Post to the loco-contacts mailing list about the event.

  • Put posters up in your local town in computer shops, book shops,
  • Post to the Ubuntu Forums about the event.

  • Add it to the Fridge calendar
  • Get in Touch with your local media outlets to do stories on the event also.

Spread the word as much as you can - it helps your event and it helps Ubuntu! Smile :)

Running The Jam

Prerequisites

  • Start out getting everyone set up, introductions, etc.
  • Check the infrastructure (projector, network connectivity, etc.)
  • Ensure everyone who wants to participate has a Launchpad account.
  • Make sure everyone has access to the Ubuntu Etherpad. Etherpad is a great way to communicate at a Jam and sharing notes without any trouble

Let people know

  • Blog/Twitter about the good work you're doing.
  • Take pictures / videos of the event and blog about it.

After the Jam

  • Be sure to blog about it on Planet Ubuntuwith pictures, experiences and so on.

  • Ask participants for feedback. If it needs to be documented on this page, then feel free to add it.
  • Compile a quick report of the event with statistics (Number of people attended, number of bugs touched, etc.) and send it to the TeamReports that your LoCo should be doing once a month.

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Jams (last edited 2014-08-26 12:49:50 by popey)