The Journey to a Successful Technology User Group

Given at SeaGL and SCALE 2015; OpenWest 2014

Transcript

1. The Journey to a Successful Technology User Group SeaGL 2015
2. Hi, I’m Kara Sowles Senior Community Manager Puppet Labs Portland, OR Twitter: @feynudibranch Email: kara@puppetlabs.com
3. So What?
4. I made a user group!
5. Awesome first meeting!
6. ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD And then... - from The Lion King copyright walt disney pictures -
7. “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
8. Where are we headed? Hall of User Group Creation The No-Members 
 Mountains The Venue-less Valley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection
9. Hall of User Group Creation
10. THE BASICS Date / Starting Time Venue Speaker Way to communicate with members Let the world know it exists Maybe food?
11. RECONNAISSANCE When do similar groups meet? Is there already a group about X? What works well for other local groups?
12. Choose an online home for your group
13. SET EXPECTATIONS Find a cadence and stick to it. We’ll come back to this later...
14. What’s your PURPOSE?
15. Hall of User Group Creation The No-Members 
 Mountains The Venue-less Valley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection Our Journey Begins...
16. Where to post? Seattle: SEAFOSS.org
17. Local Conferences
18. Joint Meetings Find a similar user group, and team up for a talk aimed at both audiences!
19. The No-Members 
 Mountains The Venue-less Valley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection The No-Members Mountains Hall of User Group Creation
20. Members! The Venue-less Valley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection Friends! At last! Hall of User Group Creation
21. Hall of User Group Creation Members! The Venue-less Valley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection The Venue-less Valley
22. 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
23. 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.”
24. Ask your company
25. Ask your friend’s company
26. When thanking those that said ‘no’, ask them for recommendations.
27. Are there any local companies that cater to your attendees’ demographic?
28. Ask your user group
29. Local University or Local Library
30. Check where other user groups are hosted
31. Try a Co-Working Space
32. Get flexible
33. STILL NO HOST :’(
34. Temporary or alternate locations
35. 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!
36. Hall of User Group Creation Members! The Venue-less Valley The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection The Venue-less Valley
37. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection Yes! Shelter!
38. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection The Speaker-less
 Swamps
39. Yes, it’s tough.
40. “What topics would you like to hear about next month?”
41. “Does anyone have experience with [X topic]?”
42. Post suggested topics to the group online, and ask again.
43. Ask individual members what they’re doing.
44. Cultivate those who don’t give talks (yet)
45. At your company: Look for managers that want to foster speaking opportunities for their teams
46. Topic Meeting for Meeting Topic
47. To companies: “Would you send someone to give a talk on [X topic]?”
48. Still no speakers? Hold a... Discussion Session Hack Night
49. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! The Speaker-less Swamps The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection The Speaker-less
 Swamps
50. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection Speakers! Yay!
51. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection The Food-less
 Flats
52. Finding $ponsors
53. The company that’s hosting you
54. Your Company
55. Other Companies
56. SWAG
57. Your Company as a Support Structure
58. Think Like Other Departments Leverage Sales team Leverage Professional Services team Leverage Education team Leverage Marketing team Leverage Engineering team Leverage Community team
59. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! The Food-less 
 Flats The Rains of 
 Rejection The Food-less
 Flats
60. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of 
 Rejection FOOD!
61. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of 
 Rejection The Rains of Rejection
62. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! FOOD The Rains of 
 Rejection The Storm of Sad :’(
63. Making your group inviting: Setting Expectations
64. Anatomy of a Meeting 6-6:30 - Socialize + Eat 6:30-6:45 - Introduction 6:45-7:30 - Presentation 7:30-7:45 - Source Next Meeting’s Topic 7:45-8:00 - Socialize + Clean Up Just an example....
65. Clear familiarity level Are the talks this month for intermediate users? Is this session accessible for absolute beginners? List this info for every meeting / every talk
66. 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?
67. Have a Code of Conduct
68. ― 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
70. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! Food! The Rains of 
 Rejection The Rains of Rejection
71. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! Food! :) Inclusivity!
72. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! Food! Inclusivity!
73. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! Food! Inclusivity!
74. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! Food! YOU Inclusivity!
75. Hall of User Group Creation Members! Venue! Speakers! Food! Inclusivity!
76. Kara Sowles - Puppet Labs Your advice? Twitter: @feynudibranch Email: kara@puppetlabs.com
77. Kara Sowles Community Initiatives Manager Puppet Labs Portland, OR Twitter: @feynudibranch Email: kara@puppetlabs.com Thanks for listening!