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The Little Meetup That Could

pwnela
March 16, 2016

The Little Meetup That Could

Presented at Great Wide Open Conference in Atlanta, GA 2016

What does it take to start a community? How many members does a meetup make? Is pizza really the best food to serve? How do you handle organizer burn-out? Recruiters? Sponsors? Venues?! Before starting a meetup, most people know to ask a few questions. But there are some questions that should be asked that are less obvious.

Since January of 2013, Rails Girls Atlanta has held monthly meetups; our numbers have been as small as 4 attendees–including the speaker and organizers–and as great as 40+. In that time, we’ve grown to have a steady number of regulars and have seen attendees progress from total beginner to full time developer time and time again.

We’ll give a history of our little meetup that could, and share some lessons, failures, and successes we’ve encountered along the way in hopes of helping other existing or new meetup groups find their footing…faster.

pwnela

March 16, 2016
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  1. The Little Meetup That Could A Rails Girls Atlanta Scrapbook

    Kylie Stradley & Pamela Vickers @RailsGirlsATL Great Wide Open 2016
  2. Rails Girls Workshops • Founded by Linda Liukas & Karri

    Saarinen • November 2010 in Helsinki, Finland
  3. January 2013 (1st Meetup) • ~20 people came • People

    said nice things • Used Google Hangouts for out-of-town workshop attendees
  4. Short Lessons • RSVP count != Attendance count (ordering food

    is hard) • Recruiters will find any technology meetup (but that’s not always bad)
  5. Long(er) Lessons • Not every talk is for every attendee.

    • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers.
  6. • Not every talk is for every attendee. • There’s

    no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
  7. • Not every talk is for every attendee. • There’s

    no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
  8. • Not every talk is for every attendee. Why are

    some talks better than others for our meetup? • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
  9. May 2013 ✨New feature✨ • Rolled out ToDo List project

    assignment • Slowly introducing Rails into the monthly assignments
  10. August 2013 • Continued working through and reviewing ToDo List

    milestones • Bootstrap talk from ATLRUG’s Patrick van Stee to prepare for front-end focused milestone
  11. October 2013 • Jordan Killpack gave talk on building silly

    apps to prep for 
 our November 
 “Silly Hacks Only” aka “Wackity Hack” event
  12. November 2013 ✨New Feature✨ • Regularly scheduled meetup was too

    close to Thanksgiving • Saturday afternoon hack event
  13. & First time handling the “but I saw that you

    had other male members, so I figured it was fine for me to come” situation. &
  14. • You’re going to have awkward encounters when you organize

    community focused groups • Set clear expectations for who should attend your meetup Short Lessons
  15. • Not every talk is for every attendee. Why are

    some talks better than others for our meetup? • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
  16. • Not every talk is for every attendee. Why are

    some talks better than others for our meetup? Recycle good talks. • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
  17. • Not every talk is for every attendee. Why are

    some talks better than others for our meetup? Recycle good talks. • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers. Holidays make it even harder to predict. • Don’t make assumptions about recruiters. Long(er) Lessons
  18. 1st Year Retrospective • Worked on projects and assignments as

    a group • Built membership base • Saw core members begin contributing in small ways
  19. Release Notes • Improved food ordering • Order vegetarian options

    • There’s no formula for predicting attendance numbers
  20. Release Notes • Improved expectation setting for all events •

    Who should come • What they should bring • What they will learn
  21. Release Notes • Improved meetup content • Not every talk

    is for every attendee • Recycle good talks
  22. February 2014 Bug Fixes • Made meetup location private for

    non-members • Added some leading questions for new members: “Are you a lady? If not: who are you here with?”
  23. Short Lessons • Joint community events are fun • No

    experience required content == higher attendance and engagement
  24. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers.
  25. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers.
  26. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers.
  27. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers.
  28. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue.
  29. July 2014 • Attempted to revive project based meetup •

    Goals: make open source contributions more accessible, work on project as a group, renew excitement around shared progress
  30. July 2014 • Attempted to revive project based meetup •

    Goals: make open source contributions more accessible, work on project as a group, renew excitement around shared progress • Results: blank stares, intimidated members, no movement on any of the goals
  31. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue.
  32. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue. • Shape content around community’s immediate needs.
  33. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue. • Shape content around community’s immediate needs.
  34. Long(er) Lessons • Time set aside for just conversation builds

    stronger community connections. • Our small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers. ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers. • Recognize organizer fatigue. • Shape content around community’s immediate needs.
  35. 2nd Year Retrospective • Talk based format • Became an

    established Atlanta meetup • More core members, and more core member involvement
  36. Release Notes • Improved expectation setting for events • Patched

    hole in Atlanta women’s meetups landscape with supplementary social meetup • Increased speaking opportunities for members • Improved talk selection based on our community’s needs

  37. Release Notes • Improved expectation setting for events • No

    experience required content == higher attendance and engagement • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections
  38. Release Notes • Patched hole in Atlanta women’s meetups landscape

    with supplementary social meetup • Joint community events are fun • Time set aside for just conversation builds stronger community connections
  39. Release Notes • Increased speaking opportunities for members • Our

    small meetup is a great place to foster new speakers • ⚡Lightning talks⚡ are less intimidating for 1st time speakers
  40. Release Notes • Improved talk selection based on our community’s

    needs • Just because a talk is great doesn’t mean it’s great for our meetup • Recognize organizer fatigue. Otherwise, content can suffer • Shape content around community’s immediate needs

  41. Release Notes • Improved expectation setting for events • Patched

    hole in Atlanta women’s meetups landscape with supplementary social meetup • Increased speaking opportunities for members • Improved talk selection based on our community’s needs

  42. January 2015 • New Year, New Environments! • Got everyone

    set up to do actual Ruby on Rails development in anticipation of working through a curriculum as a group
  43. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering.
  44. March 2015 • Community member presented on Ruby tool •

    Worked through RailsBridge curriculum
  45. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering.
  46. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with.
  47. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help.
  48. April 2015 • Held our first RailsBridge workshop with many

    of the coaches coming from our own Rails Girls community. • Held a meetup to keep working on the workshop materials
  49. May 2015 • Held a meetup to keep working on

    the workshop materials • Ticket Giveaway for Github’s CodeConf in Nashville (several members attended)
  50. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help.
  51. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help.
  52. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating.
  53. June 2015 • Presentation: “Git Workflow: Little Red Riding Hood

    and the Big Bad Ogre” • Workshop: “Git-it Git & GitHub”
  54. July 2015 • One of our most popular presentations “A

    Day in the Life of a Full Time Developer”
  55. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating.
  56. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused.
  57. August 2015 • Try out “new” study group/team ongoing project

    format • Provided opportunity for members to sign up as participants or coaches
  58. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused.
  59. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused. • Make it easy for your community to tell you what they need.
  60. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused. • Make it easy for your community to tell you what they need.
  61. Long(er) Lessons • Members who aren’t served directly by our

    content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering. Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with. • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help. • Going to a meetup alone for the first time is intimidating; going to a conference alone for the first time is more intimidating. • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused. • Make it easy for your community to tell you what they need. • Sometimes, Rails Girls just want to have fun
  62. 3rd Year Retrospective • Structured-learning-with- occasional-talks based format • Hosted

    a RailsBridge workshop • Put plans in motion to share organization responsibilities
  63. Release Notes • Improved volunteering opportunities for members • Provided

    space for members to request content • Improved food ordering • Added opportunities for community members to organize and lead
  64. Release Notes • Improved volunteering opportunities for members • Members

    who aren’t served directly by our content appreciated the opportunity to gain knowledge by volunteering • Volunteering is easier when you have expectations about what you’ll be helping with • Beginners like structured learning and opportunities to get help
  65. Release Notes • Provided space for members to request content

    • The best talks for a technology meetup aren’t always technology focused • Make it easy for your community to tell you what they need
  66. Release Notes • Improved volunteering opportunities for members • Provided

    space for members to request content • Improved food ordering • Added opportunities for community members to organize and lead
  67. Release Notes • Improved volunteering opportunities for members • Provided

    space for members to request content • Improved food ordering • Added opportunities for community members to organize and lead
  68. WIP • Board terms and responsibility handoff • Sponsorship •

    Attaining • Maintaining • Processing and accessing funds • ✨https://opencollective.com/railsgirlsatl✨

  69. WIP • Setting up formalized conference buddy system when we’re

    given tickets (thanks GWO for all the tickets!) • Hackathons: how even
  70. + [email protected] , @RailsGirlsATL - opencollective.com/railsgirlsatl ,ZMJF4USBEMFZ
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