Information

How to make a report

A report is an eyewitness account of current events. The main task of a report is to take the reader to the scene and to tell about the most important and brightest aspects of what was going on.

Happened to be at a significant industry event? Tell us!

Preparations

Ideally you'll need a camera, a recorder, and a notebook or a smartphone where you can take notes. Even if you have a good memory don't expect to remember everything — take short notes about what's caught your attention right there on the spot. It'll make your experience livelier.

But in general any modern smartphone will meet your needs. The quality of photos and videos will be lower than from a DSLR-camera but still quite acceptable. The recorder in the phone is not so sensitive and reliable, but it will also fit — the main thing is to turn on the air mode on long recordings. Digital notes, unlike paper notes, are synchronized with the cloud and will not get lost.

How to write

Write only about the most important things. How everyone was going, what color were the curtains, who got up first, what was the opening speech — usually it's all uninteresting rubbish. Unless Linus Torvalds was the first to get up, and Tim Cook made the opening statement.

Unlike a news story, there is a room for a personal opinion in a report. So you can write not only about facts, but also about what you think about it, how you felt.

There are heroes in a good report. It doesn't have to be the ones who perform on stage or some big fish. You can take a mini-interview with a few visitors and ask what they remember most.

Although you talk about the most important things, do not forget about the details that you remember. If Wi-Fi or cell network wasn't working at the event held by mobile operator that's definitely an interesting detail. But don't overdo it, otherwise the reader will stuck in a quagmire of details.

What to write about

Start of Boston Dynamic robots sales, Google or Apple conference, giant humanoid robot developers meet-up, scientific conference, security experts meeting, opening of a museum, rocket launch — underline as necessary.

How much to write

Don't count characters. Write as long as it takes to immerse the reader in the event. Leave what's important, cut off what's secondary.

Illustrations

Being at the event think about the picture you want to put first. Take a picture that invites the reader to see what's next. And don't scrimp on memory in your device — take lots and lots of pictures so you can then illustrate something that's difficult to describe in words.