Small Web September: Retrospective & Feedback!

[enchantedsleeper]

As I mentioned in the Wrap-Up Post for Small Web September, now that the event is all done and dusted, I'd love to know if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions to share! (It's totally okay if you don't, of course!)

This is the first time that the event has been run, and I'd be excited to run it again next year if there's interest. But I'd also love to know if there's anything that people would like to change, add, or do differently. Freeform thoughts are incredibly welcome, but I've also come up with some prompts/questions if you're not sure what aspects of the event to feed back on:

• What did you think of the event format? (Regular 'check-in' posts with engagement/replies in the comments)
• What did you think of the check-in frequency? (Weekly check-ins for a total of 5 during the month). Too many/too few/about right?
• What did you think of the themes (goal-setting, troubleshooting, recs, etc.) - are there any others you'd like to see?
• What did you think of the timing and duration? (I like the name "Small Web September", but I'd still be open to feedback about how September works for everyone, timing-wise! And who knows, maybe there'll be ideas for events at other times of the year... 🗓️)
• Do you have any other thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance for anything you'd like to offer! 😊

Comments

[pebbleinalake]

- What did you think of the event format? (Regular 'check-in' posts with engagement/replies in the comments)
I thought it worked great, honestly. Whenever an event has it where participants have to check in by making their own update posts, I tend to forget or procrastinate it forever. Being able to check in on the community posts and have discussions with other participants was great.

- What did you think of the check-in frequency? (Weekly check-ins for a total of 5 during the month). Too many/too few/about right?
It was perfect. Long enough gaps in between to actually get some progress done, but not too far apart to forget about the event altogether.

- What did you think of the timing and duration? (I like the name "Small Web September", but I'd still be open to feedback about how September works for everyone, timing-wise! And who knows, maybe there'll be ideas for events at other times of the year... 🗓️)
I think it worked fine. Since October and November are such busy/chaotic months for the writing community, I definitely wouldn't be opposed to moving it to an earlier month in the year, but I also don't have a problem with just keeping it in September.

- Do you have any other thoughts or suggestions?
It was a very fun event! I appreciate how much I managed to check off my to-do list. Definitely looking forward to doing it again in the future. Thank you for running the event!!

[enchantedsleeper]

Thank you so much for the thoughtful feedback - and I'm really glad you had a great time with SWS! Thank you for being part of it! :D <3

I've never taken part in an event where the update posts were self-directed, but oof, no, I wouldn't think that would work particularly well. In my mind, the event organisers are the ones who should provide the 'infrastructure' for people to congregate and to make things as easy as possible. Besides, if you get a lot of participants, that would lead to a bit of an overload in update posts 🤔