First, go read Bil Simser’s post about planning an AltNetConf in your area, and then go read Martin Fowler’s post about his take on Alt.Net.

Ok.  if  you came back, read on:

Everyone can be a community leader.  You don’t need permission.  There is no one who is going to tell you “no”.  You just have to decide for yourself that you are going to do something great in your own area.

I’ll close with a direct quote from Bil Simser:

On the heels of the first one in Austin there are a few good ideas that you could use when you’re building your own AltNetConf:

• Keep the size manageable. I think the 100 person limit was great for the Austin one. This also helps you locate a place for it.
• Self-organizing
  agenda. Rather than pre-canned agenda of topics, the first day/night of
  the conference is the time to collaborate and drill out what people are
  passionate about. What bugs people, what do they want to talk about.
  This is an agenda driven by both speaker and speakee (as I would
  consider everyone a speaker for each session, with someone keeping the
  conversation on topic rather than coffee-talk, much like a Scrum Master
  does during the daily standups)
• Nothing but .NET. This isn’t
  Alt.JAVA so the conversations follow building on Microsoft platforms
  using the most appropriate tool, technology, and technique that makes
  sense for the problem at hand.
• Don’t turn it into a vendor
  fest. While it may be Microsoft related, I think the last thing an
  AltNetConf needs is “Brought to you by [insert .NET vendor product
  here]”. True, it should be free and things cost these days, but there
  are too many ideas that spiral out of control and become product
  showcases rather than guys and girls talking about software development.
• Follow the OpenSpace approach to organization and flow. Just resonates on the ideas above.