Building a community - BuildStuff Lithuania 2014
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You want to be a user group lead? Thinking of starting your own user group? Awesome! But there are a number of things to think about before starting. Is your whole idea viable? Where do I get speakers and attendees? Should I create a legal entity? How do I finance the whole thing? In this session, Gill Cleeren will tell you how he has had a successful user group in Belgium for almost 10 years now.
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Building a community - BuildStuff Lithuania 2014
- 1. Building a community Gill Cleeren @gillcleeren
- 2. Hi, I’m Gill! Gill Cleeren MVP and Regional Director .NET Architect @ Ordina Trainer & speaker @gillcleeren gill@snowball.be
- 3. Watch my Pluralsight courses! • Windows 8 • MVVM • Social & community • Available via www.pluralsight.com/author/gill-cleeren
- 4. Agenda • What’s a user group and why would I want one? • Creating your user group • Organizing events for your user group • Building your community
- 5. What’s a user group and why would I want one?
- 6. A users' group (also user's group or user group) is a type of club focused on the use of a particular technology, usually (but not always) computer-related. Wikipedia
- 7. What’s a User Group? • Group of people • Shared interests or concerns • Gather for meetings • Knowledge sharing • Often in same location (city/country) • Often technology driven, linked to a vendor • First known user groups date back to mainframe period (1955) • Evolved strongly in 70s and 80s • Can be a career boost!
- 8. What’s a Good User Group? Put the community first Clear and unique goal Be consistent and informative Treat your volunteers well Be a source for education Go for returning attendees Open for suggestions
- 9. Why Do I Want a User Group? • Community. Community. Community. • Don’t put yourself in the first place • It probably won’t get you a higher salary • Create a circle of friends in technology • “I have things to share” • “I’m a great speaker” • “I know everything about XYZ” • A sense of initiative and persistence can get you a long way
- 10. Will People Join My User Group? Fun? Need? Goal? Oh and pizza? Free? Interesting topics? Schedule? Job options? YES Free goodies? Sharing experiences? Offer benefits? Allow attendees to speak up? Meeting experts? Location? Social aspect? Offer people a chance to connect with companies?
- 11. Types of User Groups • Offline (aka in the real world) • Online (aka in the virtual world)
- 12. I’m ready. I want one of those user group things!
- 13. “OK, here’s my checklist I suggest you follow!”
- 14. Step 1: What will be your focus? • Best to focus on a technology or product • .NET • Java • Visual Studio • Narrow down to avoid overlap • Visual Studio • Silverlight • Windows 8 • Eclipse • Check out other user groups (description and agenda) in the area
- 15. Step 2: Finding a Name for Your Group • Link to your technology/location • Belgium .NET user group • New York Java user group • Use an abbreviation • Alternative: use a name generator • Check if you name isn’t registered • At least locally • Create the domain • Website • Mailing • Use a cheap but reliable registrar
- 16. Step 3: Creating Your Visuals • Choose a theme • Colours • Logo • This theme can be used • On your site • In a PowerPoint template • In business cards • In your mail footer
- 17. Step 4: Creating a Website • Your website is the entry portal to your user group • Events • Members • Board • Sponsors • Forum • Don’t waste resources • Use an existing platform • WordPress is a great place to start • Sponsored alternatives • Alternative: Meetup.com • Ready-made • Targeted at communities
- 19. Step 5: Creating a Board • Don’t run your user group all by yourself! • Use volunteers • Finding volunteers • People you know and trust • Explain what the user group goal is • Send out a mailing • Give your volunteers credit for their work
- 20. Step 5: Creating a Board • You’ll end up with a fixed set of people • Create a number of functions • Don’t create a large board • Listen to your board!
- 21. Step 6: Money, Money, Money… • You will probably need money along the way • Depends on the model you want to achieve • Money will be necessary for • Food and drinks • Venue rent • Beamer/screen rent/purchase • Camera/screen recording software • Travel costs and hotel for the speaker • Prizes • Paid speakers (not recommended) • Sponsorship is key here
- 22. Sponsorship • Talk with companies – large and small • Attendees • Speakers • Your own network • Perhaps Microsoft, Adobe, Apple (local subs) can help out as well • Venue, food, drinks… • Sponsorship might not be needed immediately
- 23. Possible Types of Sponsors Software companies Consultancy companies Hosting companies Training companies Hardware vendors Publishers Non-technical
- 24. Why Would a Company Sponsor You? • A possible sponsor will need all the information about your group • Create an elevator pitch and a “What’s in it for you”document • Put in extra benefits for the company • Be careful for recruiting actions! • Feedback is important for sponsors • Metrics, not personal data • A yearly meeting with all your sponsors is often appreciated
- 25. The always-difficult question: member fees • Some user groups have a member fee • Often annual • Free trial (free-to-attend events for new members) • Per-session fee • Try keeping it free • Different expectations
- 26. Organizing events for your user group
- 27. Event Types • “Regular” talks • 2 Sessions in a row • Panel discussion • Study groups • Hackathon • Code camp • Social events • Conference
- 28. Regular Talks + =
- 29. Regular Talks + =
- 30. Speakers • Speakers don’t have to be the top-level • Local speakers are perfect for user groups • Your user group is a platform for aspiring speakers • Can be a trigger to dive into a topic • Speakers don’t have to know everything about the subject • Organize dry-runs or even a speaker academy • “Speaker Idol” • Gather feedback and pass this to the speaker
- 31. Where Do I Find Speakers? • Locally • Attendees in your user group events • In your own company • In the companies that sponsor you • The local “hub” for your technology • “Influencers” • Conferences • User group associations • Other user groups • Training companies • Book authors / Pluralsight authors
- 32. Where Do I Find Speakers? • Global • Conferences • Just contact the speaker • Local hub can help to get bigger names • International companies can sponsor • Remote • Virtual sessions • Lync • Skype • Cheaper but less interactive
- 33. Regular Talks + =
- 34. Requirements of the Location • Initially: free • Offices and company meeting rooms • Schools and universities • Bars with small backroom • Community buildings • Easy to reach • Power and internet • Technical requirements • Video: screen, beamer, connections such as VGA or HDMI • Audio: microphone (depending on number of attendees and room) • Good visibility of the presentation
- 35. Regular Talks + =
- 36. Before the Event • Match the speaker agenda with the location schedule • Obtain clear session abstract and speaker bio • Optionally, learning goals, intended audience, session level • Announce the event on your site • At least 3 weeks in advance • Location: provide clear instructions and a map • Send out newsletter • Ask your hub to promote your event in their newsletters • Connect with other user groups for promotion purposes • Find a small speaker gift • Order the pizza!
- 37. At the Event • Don’t forget the speaker! • Be there in time • Test the setup • Beamer • Microphone • Font • Introduce the talk • Emergency exits • Other practical information • Provide an overview of upcoming sessions • Introduce the session and the speaker
- 38. Prizes People love free stuff! Many companies have great things to share Things to give away Licenses and software Hardware Other: lanyards, stress balls, shirts
- 39. After the Event • Send out post-event summary to all that registered • Repeat your upcoming sessions • Upload slides and demos on your site • Upload video • Send feedback to speaker • Important for improving the speaker skills and your organizational talent
- 41. Increasing Your Reach • A user group == a community • A good user group involves its members and sponsors • Involved members will feel more welcome • Bring in new members • Grow the community • Events are only part of the job • You’ll need to reach your users on other days as well! • Creating a (online) community around the user group is vital
- 42. Creating a Community Website Registration system Mailing list Social media Survey tools Broadcasting Apps
- 43. Creating a Site for Your User Group • Your site should include: • Clear definition of what the user group stands for • Pitch on why people should join • Board overview • Sponsor overview • Agenda • Description of each upcoming event with details • List of passed events and recorded sessions • Links to social media and Twitter feed • Easy registration!
- 44. Using Eventbrite for event registrations • Online ticketing service • Can be used stand-alone or integrated into your site • Allows planning of events • Additional advantages • Attendees can print their badge • Apps for scanning badges • Promotion platform is included • Easy to integrate with social media
- 46. Mailings • Old-fashioned mail marketing is a great way to spread news in your community • Create regular (monthly) newsletters • Professional-looking (HTML) mails are best • Don’t use your mail client • Never use CC
- 47. MailChimp • Mail marketing tool • Offers • Template editor • Easy to personalize • Import and export users • Reporting and analytics included • Scheduled sending • Free for “Entrepreneur”
- 49. Embracing Social Media • A site is still static • Doesn’t always encourage people to register • Social media is the missing link • Faster to respond to questions from your community • Requires someone who monitors the accounts
- 50. Embracing Social Media Twitter Flickr LinkedIn YouTube Pinterest Facebook SlideShare …
- 51. Surveys and feedback • You want to give your users what they like • Capturing feedback is the best way to do this • Polls can be used to propose options • Topics • Speakers • Feedback captures impressions about the events • Speaker • Location • Food • Can be integrated in your site or used stand-alone • Instant.ly is often used
- 53. Summary • Running a user group is hard work but also great fun • Once you get started, it’s hard to let go!
Notes de l'éditeur
- In personal or business computing, a user group is a set of people who have similar interests, goals, or concerns. The members have regular meetings where they can share their ideas. Ideally, the members of a user group live in the same geographic area, so they can get together in person. However, some user groups have members distributed throughout the world, and they meet using Internet chat rooms, message boards, or mailing lists. Members may also correspond by telephone and e-mail on a one-to-one basis. User groups often have Web sites that each member can visit on a regular basis to stay informed. A user group may be devoted to a particular technology, application, or corporation. For example, a digital-photography user group might discuss the assets and limitations of various digital cameras and image-processing programs. A user group devoted to wireless Internet would share their experiences with the various providers of that technology. Some user groups are involved only with the products of a particular corporation. When devoted to a narrow range of products or ideas, the user group is sometimes called a special interest group ( SIG ). Users' groups started in the early days of mainframe computers, as a way to share sometimes hard-won knowledge and useful software, usually written by end users independently of the factory-supplied programming efforts. SHARE, a user group originated by aerospace industry corporate users of IBM mainframe computers, was founded in 1955 and is the oldest computer user group still active. DECUS, the DEC User's Society, was founded in 1961 and its descendant organization still operates. The Computer Measurement Group (CMG) was founded in 1974 by systems professionals with a common interest in (mainframe) capacity management, and continues today with a much broader mission. The first UNIX users' group organized in 1978. User groups started in the 1950s and proliferated in the late 70s and 80s. It was an era before the web, when hobbyists met to share their experiences, problem-solve together, learn about new technologies and meet subject-matter experts. These days, technology-focused user groups are more likely to be attended by developers who work within the industry rather than hobbyists, but the purpose of user groups hasn’t really changed. In this article Ally Burns, Senior Developer at Line Digital and the current organiser of edPUG (Edinburgh PHP User Group), shares some insight about running a successful tech user group.
- http://blogs.communitiesrus.in/communities/2010/07/03/top-7-reasons-why-people-join-a-user-group-community/
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