1. Join the Gish Map
2. Make sure everyone is on the same page as far as competitive level. Are you in it to win it? get in the GHOF? Just have fun?
3. Be clear with expectations. Do you expect people to take time off work? Complete a certain number of items? Do you have specific team "rules and requirements"?
4. Agree on ways of communication. My team uses Facebook as our only means of communications, but people use everything from Skype to Zoom to Google Hangouts to texting, and I'm sure lots of other methods as well.
5. Don't upload all your pictures to the same imgur account. You'll crash the site and potentially lose everything you uploaded (i am speaking from experience).
6. If you're looking to be competitive, make sure you have your basis covered - someone who's a social media whiz, someone with a radio/tv connections, someone who can play an instrument, someone who can program a computer, someone with a storm troop costume, etc.
7. A few weeks before the hunt, stock up on all your craft supplies and don't get rid of your recyclables. Useful craft supplies include posterboard, markers, chalk, and glue. Also kale.
8. Stock up on tape. Scotch tape. Masking tape. Duct tape. Guerilla tape. Painter's tape. Every year I go through $15-20 worth of tape, and I'm just 1 person
9. Practice video editing and making picture collages if that's not a skill that someone on your team already has. Also practice with your camera to make sure you're comfortable with it and now how to capture the shot you want.
10. Start warning your friends, family, and co-workers ahead of time. Yes, they'll think you're nuts, but they'll also help you. If they know what's coming, they're more likely to step up and be in your video, offer you use of their dog, or go on a road trip with you
11. Read through previous years lists to get an idea of what to do
12. Follow the official gishwhes account on Twitter. Sometimes new tasks and/or important announcements are made there
13. Befriend your team. This is supposed to be fun. Play online cards against humanity with them ahead of time (this is our team's fav activity). Play get to know you games. Share memes and videos. If you're friendly now, it'll go a lot smoother during the hunt.
14. If you're team captain, be ready to follow up with people who disappear or need help. You'll be tired and perhaps frustrated but being nice is the most important thing. If someone can't do an item, needs to drop out, or disappears entirely, it's your job to hear them out, encourage them, and loop them back in in the nicest way possible.
15. Keep track of which items are completed, and who is working on what. Most people use google spreadsheets.
16. Have an uploading plan! Will 1 person upload everything to the gishwhes site? Or is everyone responsible for their own items? If everyone is responsible for their own items, do they have to get their items approved by the rest of the team? If so, what does that process look like? Can some team members request changes to an item that's been completed? (This will depend on your competitive-level)
17. sleep well the night before
18. Keep a lot of snack and easy to make food on hand. Gishwhes gets crazy. Food and hydration are important.
19. Have an item claiming plan! Is there a limit to how many you can claim the first few hours? Is there a limit after that? Can you claim items you’re not 100% sure you’ll complete? Do you allow more than 1 person to claim the same item? If you do, how do you choose which one gets uploaded? Do people just write their name in on your doc/spreadsheet, or do they send the items they want to one person who does all the assigning of items?
20. I don't have a #20, but stopping at 19 seemed anti-climatic... Oh! uh, if you don’t have a team yet, join mine?
stormborns
blakekathryn
ellievsbear
theartofmadeline
baratheonpilled