As part of the development of our WordPress Event Bridge plugin, which improves the integration between the WordPress ActivityPub plugin and several popular event plugins, we have started the first round of evaluation with a number of event organizers. This first phase has mainly involved face-to-face meetings with smaller organizers, while not installing anything on their websites yet.
So far, we have gathered insights from 11 small to medium-sized event organizers: their concerns, content management preferences and expectations of our work. Efforts to engage larger organizations have been somewhat unsuccessful – some have not responded and others prefer to see the plugin live before committing to trying it and being available for feedback.
0. About the Organizers
- 5 already have a Mastodon/Mobilizon account, where 2 are quite active.
- 6 have never heard about the Fediverse (some more recognized the name Mastodon)
- Most of them (8-9) usually have more than one event a week, except holiday times.
- 10 organizers are based in Austria, one in Poland.
- Main categories:
- Music/Concerts (2-4)
- Community (4-5)
- Workshops (4-5)
- Politics/Activism (3-4)
- Art (2-4)
1. Common Concerns and Fears
- Website Breakage & Complexity: Concerns about the risk of adding another plugin that might break their site or cause complications are shared by several organizers (3). Worries about configuration complexity and the need for ongoing maintenance are also mentioned (3-4).
- Performance and Compatibility: Concerns about performance impacts or compatibility with their existing systems and theme (3).
- Autonomy and Control: Some smaller associations (2) worry about the responsibility that comes with autonomy, particularly regarding data loss or ensuring plugin updates. They also fear being stuck with a plugin that might not suit their future needs (2).
- Future Costs: Potential financial costs are a concern for some organizers who worry about future expenses related to plugin upgrades or development (1-2).
2. Content Types
- Events and Posts: Managing events is central for most organizers (6-7), with posts and other content only being relevant for some.
- Different Needs for Different Roles: Several organizers rely on category-based content organization with different users managing specific sections (2-3). Ensuring that certain roles have permission to create and manage events is important for these teams.
3. Event Management Needs
- RSVP and Event Visibility: Interest in RSVP/attendee management varies across organizers. Some are keen on facilitating communication with event attendees (3), while others find RSVP irrelevant to their needs (5-6). Event visibility, especially when distinguishing between public and private events, is important to a couple of organizers (2).
- Recurring Events: Few organizers are interested in managing recurring events, they think that managing them is complex anyway and therefore do not see it as a current requirement (3). Most don’t need recurring event features at all.
4. Synced Updates and Communication
- Synced Event Data: Keeping event data synchronized and up-to-date is one of the most important points to most organizers. Only one thought that propagating updates automatically is not a important feature.
- Multi-Actor Support: Many organizers find that a single actor is sufficient for their needs (7-8), they would only utilize the “Blog-Actor” from the ActivityPub plugin. However, medium-sized organizers who manage multiple groups or venues see the see a huge benefit of having ActivityPub profiles (actors) for certain categories or venues (3). Two have configured their site to only allow certain users to post within specific main site categories.
5. Technical and Configuration Details
- Custom Plugins and Migration: Some organizers use custom-built plugins or setups for managing their events (3). They are open to exploring alternatives if they can streamline processes or improve their current systems. Others, using incompatible plug-ins, are already not entirely satisfied with their current setup and are willing to migrate to more suitable solutions (2).
- API and Compatibility: A couple of organizers are cautious about adding the ActivityPub API to their website, due to the increased attack surface (3). The WordPress ActivityPub plugin being developed by Automattic, the company that drives WordPress, helps to ease their concerns. Most could not give ad-hoc information about their current caching strategy (via plugins or the webserver).
- Setup and Overview: Having a simple setup process with little configuration duties in conjunction with a status page was stated to be of importance for almost all.
6. Need for Event Plugin Recommendations
Several event organizers (4) are not satisfied with their current event publishing plugin and are looking for recommendations for event plugins that are community-driven, reliable and easy to use.
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