Initial Guide on running an online event

docs/organise/online/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+Due to COVID-19, most hackathons are online only.
+
+This changes the format for the event quite a bit, so to run a good online
+hackathon you need to make quite a few changes.
+
+Main thing to keep in mind is that you need to reduce the amount of friction to
+get involved with your event.
+
+## Structure
+
+You'll want to run your event for longer than just a single weekend. If you do
+decided to run it over a weekend, make it 36 hours long, starting on the Friday
+to give people a chance to sleep and catch up.
+
+Two potential ways of running these:
+
+* Run workshops throughout the event.
+* Run your workshops leading up to the event, then have your period of hacking.
+
+The first approach is how a lot of events (including Hack Quarantine) do it
+while the second approach is similar to how a lot of open source conferences
+handle it.
+
+Second approach lets you promote the event with workshops leading up to, and
+also gives hackers a chance to feel prepared for the hackathon if it's their
+first time hacking.
+
+Have a clear schedule and make sure you communicate to hackers when you have to
+delay or move something!
+
+## Workshops
+
+Workshops tend to be a more significant part of your event when it is digital
+as compared to in person events.
+
+### Speakers
+
+Hackathons are a good way of giving people the opportunity to present for the
+first time!
+
+First time speakers do need guidance on how to run a good workshop, so do work
+with them!
+
+#### Testing
+
+It is essential you get your speakers to test beforehand! Preferable a day or
+more in advance.
+
+#### Presenting
+
+* Give hackers "goodie bags" of code / tools, like jupyter notebooks, so they
+can quickly get started and experiment.
+
+* Audience engagement! Be mindful of the medium, people tune into live streams
+because of the ability to interact with the streamer!
+
+* Audio quality is really important! People can take a slightly blurly / slow
+video, but constant clipping in the audio will make people stop watching.
+
+* Make sure they record it locally, that way if they cut out you still have a
+copy that can be uploaded to youtube.
+
+### Streaming
+
+Worth noting twitch does not transcode unless you are a partner, so your input
+stream is sent directly to hackers. Streaming in 1080p 60fps might exclude
+hackers with weaker internet connections.
+
+### Misc
+
+#### Be careful with copyrighted content
+
+Make sure your speakers are mindful not to include copyrighted content.
+
+If there is a need for background music, there are multiple open libraries that
+just require attribution to use.
+
+## Community
+
+For the community, you need to choose a platform that hackers are familiar with
+and doesn't require making a whole brand new account to get involved with.
+
+If it's not convenient for them, once they close the page they'll never check
+it again.
+
+Ideally, Discord is probably one of the best choices for platforms, as it has
+very little friction to join in and most hackers already have it. It also has
+a powerful role system which is useful for moderation.
+
+We'd advise against doing everything via things like a zoom / webex call, as it
+can be quite anxiety inducing to join a call with people you do not know. Not
+everyone is comfortable showing their face or speaking, so keep it primarily
+text based with all the voice aspects optional.
+
+The one area were voice is useful is doing a progress check-in to get feedback,
+discuss problems with their project, etc.
+
+Little community things like playing a game together really do help engagement!
+
+## Sponsorship
+
+You generally need less sponsorship for these. Main cost is prizes /
+potentially some server hosting costs.
+
+Worth trying to get sponsors that give your hackers something like API credits,
+as that directly contributes to the value of the hackathon.
+
+## Submissions
+
+## Judging
+
+You have more time to judge, so use it!

mkdocs.yml

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ nav:
       - Intro to Git: 'attend/workshops/introtogit.md'
     - Visas: 'attend/visas.md'
   - Organise:
+    - Online Events: 'organise/online/index.md'
     - Before The Event:
       - Getting Started: 'organise/before/gettingstarted.md'
       - Sponsorship: 'organise/before/sponsorship.md'