Last Thursday, a group of engaged Philadelphians and Technical.ly readers gathered at the sleek offices of PerPay and Lamps.com to discuss Philly Tech Week 2016 and brainstorm new and exciting ideas for events, promotion and more.
Attendees split into groups based on the week’s six tracks (Creative, Dev, Civic, Access, Business and Media) to discuss #PTW16, which runs from April 29 to May 7.
After two rounds of structured brainstorming, some great suggestions were offered up.

Here are some of the top ideas shared:

Creative (where art and technology collide)

• Resurrection of the hitchBOT — maybe even a hackathon to help keep it alive (i.e. teach it self defense)
• A wearable-tech dance party
• Greater focus on virtual reality, 3D printing, drones, etc.
• Incorporate music into the week — get local artists involved (or maybe even Diplo)
• Public art displays — Liberty Bell or Rocky statue made out of tech junk, public arts displays like the Red Bull Art of Can campaign, more live demos of games, maker spaces, etc.
• There was a lot of talk about costumes (we’re looking at you, Hive76!)

Dev (where programmers, designers, developers and project managers come together)

• Designate events based on level of experience (beginner vs. advanced). Multiple tracks happening simultaneously make events more applicable to a wider range of programmers and designers
• Visibility — train new speakers on best practices for public speaking, share who is planning on attending different events, scholarships for those that can’t afford pricier tickets
• An event focused around the history of design and how that relates to your own company’s branding efforts
• Greater use of Raspberry Pi — giveaways at events, hackathons, creative initiatives, etc.
• Workshop focused around “How to Ship Code” teaching all the steps that need to be taken to create and deploy code, sharing the process of coding not just the language of coding

Civic (the impact of technology on governing)

• Event focused around transportation — what’s happened since the Indego bike share launch? What tech is SEPTA using to transfer from tokens to smart cards?
• Art installations across the city that visualize open data initiatives
• Pitch competition focused on social entrepreneurs

Access (discussing diversity and education issues that affect everyday citizens)

• Market the week to senior citizens with focused events that get them involved in the community
• Greater focus on events geared toward women of color, young entrepreneurs, youth, senior citizens and those without access to technology
• Discounted Amtrak tickets and local hotel packages to encourage out-of-towners to come in for various events

Business (the startups and business community conversation)

• All-inclusive program to discuss the various ways to fund your business and the pros and cons of each
• Using a tools like Dropbox, Slack or Trello to share files, presentations and lessons learned and continue the conversation after the week is over
• Mentorship/matchmaking events — focused B2B networking

Media (the strategy around technology coverage & promotion)

• Share the week through apps like Snapchat, Periscope, paid streaming for specific events, etc.
• Promote the week with ads on public transportation, light installations like the PECO building, etc.
• Offer talking points on various events — what are the takeaways and opportunities available? Helpful when justifying a day off of work or a sponsored ticket from your company

Couldn’t make it out to the event?
Join us on Monday, Jan. 11 from 2-4 p.m. for our #PTW16 Twitter chat. Follow us at @PhillyTechWeek and use the hashtag #PTW16 to join the conversation. We’ll be sharing some insider tips and tricks for organizing an event and getting involved.