We have few months’ cadence with Los Angeles WordPress Meetup and good attendance of livestreams we’ve done on a few different platforms. As we spin LAWP back up, people who used to meet live monthly are re-syncing and getting back in the swing. People beyond LA join in when there’s a topic of interest to them. Speaker options are worldwide.
Live Events are a slower-burn. This has been true for live movies and music events, for in-store events, and for Meetups across topics. A few common nudges still work well, but production value expectations are higher and it’s more concerted efforts for organizers all-around.
Our chapter met on campus @USC — great spot with built-in attendees and presenters from faculty and students, amenable classrooms, labs and lounges for gathering, presenting, discussing, and spots for pre- and post-Meetup coffee. I’m also motivated to get out of the office and have more smart conversations in person again.
Livestreams raise the bar as they’re high Return for Lower investment for attendees, organizers, and presenters. Live Event programming has to be interesting enough to show up in person.
Meetups In Real Life feature the Livestream in the venue so remote and IRL hybrids work together. This also keeps the spigot open for speakers and attendees worldwide.
These move Attendees IRL
- Swag give-aways
- Speakers doing a tight :15
- Better audio quality and overall UX
Signups, attendance and conversation before, during and between
Table Stakes
- Date, venue, topic, and interests align
- Venue is accessble
- Available parking
- [bonus] Within walking and train distance
