Developing and shipping Apache CloudStack is just part of the the community's mission. We also want to ensure that people are using Apache CloudStack, and a big part of that is getting the word out by attending – and even holding – events to help inform and educate people about Apache CloudStack.

It takes a fair amount of planning to run a good meetup or event, and we should reduce the amount of duplication as much as possible. This page is for collecting reusable resources for planning events:

Presentation Templates

We're currently in the process of getting a few more attractive blank templates created for CloudStack presentations. In the meantime, we've uploaded one blank presentation in PowerPoint format that can be used for new presentations.

There is also a draft of a blank presentation template in progress.

Blank CloudStack Presentation Template (Version 2) - IN DRAFT MODE

This is a second draft of a blank template in Open Office format (.odp) and PowerPoint (.POTx) (with sample text to show the layout of the template). This presentation uses the Arial font family, which should already be available on your computer.

Blank CloudStack Presentation Template - IN DRAFT MODE

This is a draft of a blank template in a "freedom-friendly" format (currently LibreOffice; can also be converted to OO if people like it.)

One item to note is that this presentation uses the Roboto font family, a free (Apache License 2.0) font available for usage. It bears a close resemblance to the font used in the Apache CloudStack logo. Directions are provided within the presentation template itself, but will also be provided on the wiki if people like it.

Please provide comments on the marketing mailing list as the draft turns into a completed thing.

Intro to Apache CloudStack

For an audience that doesn't know much about cloud concepts. A presentation that can cover the basics of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, and then discuss the concepts of IaaS in more detail, then the features/offerings from Apache CloudStack. Usually geared to an audience that has at least a familiarity with basic networking, server OSes, etc.

One example:

Crash Course to Open Source Cloud Computing by Mark Hinkle.

Intermediate Apache CloudStack presentation

For the audience that doesn't know much about Apache CloudStack, but understands cloud concepts and doesn't need to have the difference between (say) IaaS and PaaS explained. Should have some interest in standing up an IaaS cloud, experience with Xen, KVM, and/or VMware ESXi, etc.

One example:

Getting to Know Apache CloudStack

Finished and Reusable Presentations

The CloudStack community has developed many, many presentations. See:

Press and Social Media Materials

Contacts

If you need to contact someone urgently about a press-related matter (e.g., a journalist on a tight deadline), please contact press@apache.org and marketing@cloudstack.apache.org. Any member of the PMC should be able to help with a story, or help find the right person to answer questions.

Many CloudStack PMC members and committers can be found in #cloudstack-dev on Freenode.

Logos

We have several CloudStack logos for use in promoting Apache CloudStack. Be sure to review the trademark guidelines before using any CloudStack marks to ensure that you're within the guidelines.

Event Runbook

Whether you're attending an event that someone else is organizing, or putting together an event from scratch, it helps to have a "Runbook" to make sure that you're all set for managing our presence at the event.

Preparation is the key to a successful event. Please let us know if we've omitted anything from this guide!

Pre-Event Checklist

  • CloudStack Gear - do you and other organizers/participants have a CloudStack t-shirt, polo shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, or other item that will make it obvious that you're representing Apache CloudStack at the event? If you don't have any of this, please send a note to marketing@cloudstack.apache.org well in advance of the event. It may take some time to find and ship a shirt and other items.
  • Publicity - we should start promoting an event as soon as is reasonable. It's not always necessary to know all of the details before starting the media machine. For instance, if offered a talk at an event taking place in six months, it's not necessary to promote the time of the talk or room number until much closer to the event - but we should strive to start promoting the event immediately.
  • Put the event on Lanyrd under the Apache CloudStack topic, or be sure to tag the event with the topic if it's already present on Lanyrd. (Be sure to search first!)
  • Add the event to next issue of the Weekly News in the Events section. This only needs to be done once, afterwards it will be carried forward until the event has happened.
  • Ask on marketing@cloudstack.apache.org that the event be promoted via social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn).
  • Send an announcement to users@cloudstack.apache.org about the event. If the event is far enough in the future, reminders are acceptable. (No more than one per month until the month of the event, no more than one per week after.)
  • If you have a blog, write about your event. If you don't have one, why not?
  • Booth - If it's an event with an exhibit hall, etc., you may want to look into having a booth or demo setup. Often times CloudStack will have a presence at events thanks to sponsorship by companies that are using it, sometimes not. Ask on marketing@cloudstack.apache.org if you're interested in helping to organize a booth.
  • Booth Staff - Make a call for volunteers for any events with a booth. Ideally an event will have at least three people who can switch off booth duty, spot for breaks, handle a rush of attendees, and so on.
  • Talking Points/Ready for Questions - have you looked at the talking points for the project and latest release? Can you field reasonable questions about CloudStack to the audience you're going to represent CloudStack to? (e.g. "What are some of the new features in the next release of CloudStack?" or "Does CloudStack support secondary storage mounted on NFS?" are reasonable questions you should probably know the answers to.)

Speaking at an Event

Running a Booth

Sponsorship

Getting Space

Staffing Considerations

Swag and Handouts

Templates for Event Reports

If you do attend or hold an event, it's helpful to send an event report to the mailing list(s) to talk about your experience. When you're attending an event for CloudStack, you're in a position to report useful feedback to the rest of the community that's not able to attend.

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