Re: [UG-ADMINS] User Group Open Spaces notes from php[tek] 2016

Not sure if I replied yet.

This is great information. I found a couple points that I'd like to try out! I wish I was there during that group collaboration! :-)

> On May 26, 2016, at 19:55, Andreas Heigl <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Thanks Chris for the sum up. Can I add that to the usergroup wiki for future reference? 
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Andreas
> -- 
> Andreas Heigl
> [email protected]
> 
>> Am 26.05.2016 um 19:31 schrieb Chris Spruck <[email protected]>:
>> 
>> Hi all,
>> 
>> Here are the notes I captured from our Open Spaces session on group
>> leadership. Apologies if I didn't attribute you or misstated something.
>> Hope this helps others!
>> 
>> Chris
>> ======
>> User Group Leadership Open Spaces
>> 
>> Attendees: Chris Spruck (AtlantaPHP), Joe Ferguson (MemphisPHP), Sammy K.
>> Powers (Chicago PHP UG), Mark McCollum (St. Louis Full Stack Developers),
>> Dave Stokes (North TX MySQL User Group), Cal Evans (Palm Beach PHP UG,
>> NomadPHP), Brian Retterer (DaytonPHP), James Titcumb (PHP Hampshire, PHP
>> SouthCoast conf), Ben Ramsey (NashvillePHP), Bill Condo (Columbus, OH PHP
>> User Group), Matt Turland (Gnocode New Orleans), Jeff Geerling (Ansible and
>> Drupal St. Louis), Michael Pickreign (NE PA, looking to start a group),
>> Travis Fettig (Palm Beach PHP UG)
>> 
>> How do you handle lack of attendance? Joe said that MemphisPHP tries to
>> provide quality content, and not just a hack night. He encourages members
>> to present, and does more social events (which usually yields better
>> response due to the shorter time committment than a full meeting). Dave
>> made the point to be aware of time issues and entrance security processes,
>> depending on the location. James made the point that lack of attendance
>> isn't necessarily bad, and any consistency is good, even if you feel like
>> the numbers are low. Chris said that fast/immediate growth isn't urgent.
>> 
>> Activities among groups? Cal and others mentioned joint Christmas parties,
>> summer BBQs, etc. with multiple groups, and Bill mentioned things like
>> Laravel/Wordpress/PHP joint activities. Don't forget about groups that use
>> PHP, but are more focused (Drupal, WP, etc.) - opportunity for speaker
>> cross-over and softer skills talks that can apply to any developer. Joe
>> mentioned "Super User Group meetups" - lightning talks across groups,
>> holiday parties, etc. These can be specific to group leaders or involve
>> entire groups.
>> 
>> Beth Tucker Long (of MadisonPHP, @e3BethT) has "training talks" or some
>> kind of material developed to encourage cultivation of conference speakers
>> from within her user group.
>> 
>> Someone mentioned using a Trello board for group members to suggest talk
>> ideas, talks they can present, etc.
>> 
>> Consider PHP-adjacent talks and other tech (JavaScript, databases, etc.);
>> consider remote presenters or other groups.
>> 
>> Look for chances to bring in someone nearby or passing through. Examples:
>> Coderabbi was at Laracon (in Kentucky), so Bill from Columbus asked him to
>> stay an extra day to present to Columbus PHP (Bill went to pick him up,
>> etc.) AtlantaPHP just had an extra "special speaker event", because
>> Sebastian Bergmann was in town the week after their regularly scheduled
>> meeting.
>> 
>> SammyK - summarizes RFC activity for his group, so members can get a taste
>> of PHP internals w/o the stress.
>> 
>> Alternative formats to consider: Show and Tell nights; test fests; bug fix
>> night; pair programming; screencast live coding; "bring your problem", code
>> reviews
>> 
>> Cal asked "how do you level your content?" for junior vs advanced devs.
>> Dave said one of the Dallas groups has a different meeting for junior devs,
>> and Boston started a virtual online class for juniors, where people could
>> contact more experienced group members for help.
>> 
>> It's a good idea for organizers to try to spot new people, to at least say
>> hello and make them feel welcome. Name badges are very helpful to break the
>> ice, remember names, etc.
>> 
>> Do groups have free beer? A few people raised hands and said it's typically
>> sponsored by recruiters or third-parties. Some go out after the meeting to
>> another location.
>> 
>> Try to have the next meeting topic ready to promote in advance, so people
>> know what's coming up and can plan accordingly. It definitely helps reduce
>> organizer stress to have a few speakers lined up ahead of time, and have
>> backup plans for cancellations.
>> 
>> How to start a new group? Definitely get on Meetup, as the discoverability
>> factor is worth it. Ask attendees to bring new people. Public libraries are
>> good for meeting space, as well as banks and other places with a "community
>> space". Find local companies with devs, as they can help with space, new
>> presenters and attendees, etc. Look at local universities.
>> 
>> Dues or fees? Depends on need and scope - some charge per event or special
>> event, some have annual dues, most have none. May need to charge for a
>> given event to cover expenses to bring in someone from far away.
>> 
>> How to handle recruiter spam? Stop it at the source - moderate your mailing
>> lists. Be firm, but polite in person and set the expectations for their
>> behavior at meetings. Some openly allow recruiters to attend and speak or
>> mingle, and others limit it to before or after meetings or at
>> after-gatherings. Have solid guidelines for posting to your lists (see
>> AtlantaPHP's guidelines at http://atlantaphp.org/jobs/ - feel free to use
>> and adapt!)
> 
> 
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