1. @cattsmall@cattsmall
Bootstrapping Communities
AIGA Design Conference 2016 – Catt Small

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Why the act of building communities
is necessary, the communities I built,
and advice for creating your own.
Today we’ll discuss:

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Why should we
build communities?

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Individuals want to connect.

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Attract people

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Build engagement

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Catalyze evolvement

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Without communities, your
product, company, and
industry will not survive.

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Communities can facilitate
diversity and inclusion.

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Diversity and inclusion
positively affect your
industry, business, & product.

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Why do I build
communities?

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© Girls Who Code
They make me happy

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Today’s examples

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Tech Under Thirty
Active from 2013 to 2015

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Code Liberation
© Code Liberation Foundation

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Salt Mines NYC
Active in 2015 Super Smash Bros © Nintendo

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Good for PoC
https://twitter.com/SamWritesCode/status/781726915144974336

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These are just a few
communities I’ve organized.

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Others include
http://technical.ly/brooklyn/2014/06/24/super-lo
ve-game-jam-sex-human/
Brooklyn Gamery
Active in 2015
Code + X
Facebook Messenger, Slack, and
Google Hangouts
Chat-based groups

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Lessons learned

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Phases of community
Starting Sustaining

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Lesson 1:
Find your niche

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Smart community leaders
What’s a need that hasn’t
been filled? Can I fill it?

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Tech Under Thirty Good for PoCVS
Young
people in
tech?
Learn &
connect to
others in
tech?
Target Needs
People of
color in
tech
Find good
places to
work
Target Needs

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Lesson 2:
Don’t do it alone

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Who can and wants to help?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Salt Mines NYCVS
1 leader
2 helpers
None
People Sponsors
Multiple
leaders &
helpers
Local
venue &
livestream
group
People Sponsors

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Lesson 3:
Define your culture

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What are my community’s
core values?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Good for PoCVS
??????????
?????????
Core values
Serve &
support
people, not
companies
Always
provide a
safe space
for people
of color
Core values

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Lesson 4:
Set goals

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What tasks will we
accomplish?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Code LiberationVS
Connect
people in
tech
Educate
people
about tech
careers
Goal 1 Goal 2
Teach
multiweek
C# class
Share
game dev
lessons
online
Goal 1 Goal 2

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Lesson 5:
Make rules

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How will we deal with
problems in our community?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Salt Mines NYCVS
Methods to deal with problems
Social
conduct
policies
Weapons,
drug, &
alcohol
policies
Methods to deal with problems
??????????
?????????

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Lesson 6:
Share ownership

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Who can step up?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Salt Mines NYCVS
Doing all
the things
Helping
every now
and then
Leader Helpers
3 web developers
2 event page editors
1 tournament organizer
3 bracket managers
Many volunteers
People

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Lesson 7:
Pay and be paid

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What can I afford to pay
people for their work?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Good for PoCVS
No one.
People getting paid
Speakers
People getting paid
Leaders
Helpers

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Lesson 8:
Be consistent

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How often will we assemble?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Code LiberationVS
Meeting times Meeting times
Whenever
we want to
Summer
classes
Game
jams
Game
nights

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Lesson 9:
Accept feedback

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What can we do better?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Good for PoCVS
Feedback method
Google
Forms
with
statistics
Feedback method
Printed
feedback
form

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Lesson 10:
Branch into clusters

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Can we cultivate small,
supportive groups?
Smart community leaders

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Tech Under Thirty Code LiberationVS
In person
Meetup.com
NYC
Ways to connect Chapters
In person
Facebook
Slack
NYC
London
ChaptersWays to connect

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Wrap up

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◇ Communities support people as
well as bring interest to your
products and businesses.
◇ Failure is natural and necessary to
find success.
In summary:

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◇ Define your target group, goals, and
overarching culture.
◇ Ask for help so you’re not in it alone.
◇ Identify rules and boundaries.
Advice for starting

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◇ Share ownership as you grow and
value your collaborators’ time.
◇ Keep a regular cadence.
◇ Get feedback from your members.
◇ Be aware of the effect of scale.
Advice for sustaining

56. @cattsmall@cattsmall
Thank you.
Questions?
Tweet @cattsmall
Email catt@cattsmall.com