SMOFCon 28 will hold a “Boot Camp” seminar from 10 AM to 1 PM on Friday, December 3 on the topic of Managing Bidded Conventions. (Bidded conventions are those like Worldcon and Westercon, held in different places and hosted by different groups each year, as opposed to conventions held annually by the same group in the same place.) Helen Montgomery is the Boot Captain. See the Boot Camp description for more details of the planned topics.

Although we do not expect to run out of space for the Boot Camp, we are asking people to sign up in advance so that we can prepare for the level of expressed interest.

SMOFCon 28 Programming Manager Tom Whitmore mentioned in the Program discussions that “…we’re considering doing a “boot camp” similar to the one that was done last year on budgeting.” A “SMOFCon Boot Camp” is an intensive seminar-like event (as opposed to a relatively short discussion panel) that would be held on the Friday afternoon of SMOFCon, with limited attendance and advance sign-up. Last year’s SMOFCon in Austin held a four-hour Budget Boot Camp that was well-received and praised by the participants. As Tom said, in the spirit of Open Space programming, we are soliciting ideas for what you might want to see in such a focused function and how you’d like to see us “help folks boot up.” Post any suggestions or thoughts here or on the Program Page.

One of the key parts of any SMOFCon is the convention programming. This year, SMOFCon is going to take an innovative member-driven approach to developing the convention programming using the ideas of Open Space Technology. The convention’s program for Saturday and Sunday will be developed by the members themselves during the Friday Night Social. For a more detailed description of how this will work, see our newly-updated Program Page.