Growing your Technology User Group (SCALE 13x 2015)
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Growing your Technology User Group (SCALE 13x 2015)
Feb. 22, 2015•0 likes•956 views
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Technology
"Growing your Technology User Group", given at SCALE 13x in 2015 in LA.
Kara SowlesFollow
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Growing your Technology User Group (SCALE 13x 2015)
- GrowingYour Technology User Group SCALE13x 2015
- Hi, I’m Kara Sowles Community Initiatives Manager Puppet Labs Portland, OR Twitter: @feynudibranch Email: kara@puppetlabs.com
- I made a user group!
- Awesome first meeting!
- ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD And then... - from The Lion King copyright walt disney pictures -
- “The internet is littered with ghost towns where communities used to be.The people still exist - but the structure fell apart.” - I couldn’t find a quote about this so I made one up
- Where are we headed? Hall of User Group Creation The No-Members Mountains TheVenue-lessValley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection
- Hall of User Group Creation
- THE BASICS Date / Starting Time Venue Speaker Way to communicate with members Let the world know it exists Maybe food?
- RECONNAISSANCE When do similar groups meet? Is there already a group about X? What works well for other local groups?
- Choose an online home for your group
- SET EXPECTATIONS Find a cadence and stick to it. We’ll come back to this later... setting expectations is key.
- PURPOSE
- Hall of User Group Creation The No-Members Mountains TheVenue-lessValley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection Our Journey Begins...
- Local Community Sites
- Local Conferences
- Joint Meetings Find a similar user group, and team up for a talk aimed at both audiences!
- The No-Members Mountains TheVenue-lessValley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection The No-Members Mountains Hall of User Group Creation
- Members! TheVenue-lessValley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection Friends! At last! Hall of User Group Creation
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! TheVenue-lessValley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection TheVenue-lessValley
- MAKE A LIST Brief description of group’s purpose Average # of members at each meeting Date / Time of meetings A/V requirements Any other space requirements / needs
- THINK ABOUT PERKS “The hosting company is invited to announce any open jobs at the beginning of each meeting.” “The hosting company is listed as a sponsor on our meetup page, and at our yearly event.” “The hosting library has interesting events to advertise and bring in more people.”
- Ask your company
- Ask your friend’s company
- When thanking those that said ‘no’, ask them for recommendations.
- Are there any local companies that cater to your attendees’ demographic?
- Ask your user group
- Local University or Local Library
- Check where other user groups are hosted
- Get flexible
- STILL NO HOST :’(
- Temporary or alternate locations
- BE A GOOD GUEST Leave the space clean Turn off the projector Don’t act entitled to the space Check back in every month Thank the host regularly SET EXPECTATIONS - no surprises!
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! TheVenue-lessValley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection TheVenue-lessValley
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection Yes! Shelter!
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection The Speaker-less Swamps
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection Yes, it’s tough.
- “What topics would you like to hear about next month?”
- “Does anyone have experience with [X topic]?”
- Post the list of suggested topics to the group online, and ask again.
- Ask individual members what they’re doing.
- Cultivate those who don’t give talks (yet)
- At your company: Look for managers that want to foster speaking opportunities for their teams
- To companies: “Would you send someone to give a talk on [X topic]?”
- Still no speakers? Hold a... Discussion Session Hack Night
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection The Speaker-less Swamps
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection Speakers! Yay!
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection The Food-less Flats
- Finding $ponsors
- The company that’s hosting you
- Your Company
- Other Companies
- SWAG
- Your Company as a Support Structure
- Think Like Other Departments Leverage Sales team Leverage Professional Services team Leverage Education team Leverage Marketing team Leverage Engineering team Leverage Community team
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! The Food-less Flats The Rains of Rejection The Food-less Flats
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of Rejection FOOD!
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of Rejection The Rains of Rejection
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of Rejection The Storm of Sad :’(
- Making your group inviting: Setting Expectations
- Anatomy of a Meeting Socialize Introduction Presentation Next Meeting topic & talk sourcing Socialize Just an example....
- Clear familiarity level Are the talks this month for intermediate users? Is this session accessible for absolute beginners?
- ACCESSIBILITY Is it easy to find the venue? Is there parking nearby? Bike parking? Bus access? Is the venue wheelchair accessible? Who can people email with special accessibility requests or questions?
- Have a Code of Conduct
- ― Bell Hooks, Teaching Community: A P “To build community requires vigilant awareness of the work we must continually do to undermine all the socialization that leads us to behave in ways that perpetuate domination.” ― bell hooks Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of Rejection The Rains of Rejection
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of Rejection :)
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of Rejection
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of Rejection
- Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of Rejection YOU
- Kara Sowles - Puppet Labs Your advice? Twitter: @feynudibranch Email: kara@puppetlabs.com
- Kara Sowles Community Initiatives Manager Puppet Labs Portland, OR Twitter: @feynudibranch Email: kara@puppetlabs.com Thanks for listening!