Re: [UG-ADMINS] How do you generate enthusiasm?

Good thoughts on the power of good titles and good topics.  However I will
say that not all groups are interested in the same thing.  Tonight I have
"Programming Diversity" and only 10 people RSVPed.  That will be my lowest
attendance this year.  Tomorrow the same speaker is giving the same talk in
Chicago (less than an hour from here), and they have 45 RSVPed plus a
waiting list of 10.  I realize my potential audience is not as large here
in the suburbs, but it is still surprising.  I think it is important to
know your group and know what they are interested in.  I think I have done
rather well on finding speakers, but in this case I suspect that what I am
looking for does not match what the group is looking for.


On Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 10:05 PM, Mike Willbanks <[email protected]>wrote:

> Hey Joel,
>
> When I ran MNPHP it took us a very long time to get things streamlined.
>  Jonathan Sundquist could elaborate a bit I am sure.  The largest issue we
> had for attendance was not announcing the meeting early enough.  At a
> minimum figuring out who is speaking and on what almost a month ahead of
> time is very important as well as providing details on the talk.  Secondly;
> topics are very important.  We always strive to have 2 speakers or two
> types of things going on or allowing people to participate.  This allows
> for people to be engaged on one topic or another.  Additionally we always
> went for more of an informal meeting.  Good topic, slides and more but
> really focus on the items more informally.  We also attempted to keep
> things social for the first part of the meeting.  Talk, network and engage.
>  Build an exciting area to be in.  Enthusiasm is great.  Keep the subjects
> moving around so there is something for everyone.  Not sure what else to
> mention but there are several items that are needed.
>
> Anyhow; since moving I'm not certain as to what they all do now but they
> have continued attendance and people seem to really be actively engaged.
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 12:01 PM, Joel Clermont <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> > Last night, we had our monthly meeting for MKEPUG (Milwaukee, WI). We
> > didn't have high expectations, since only 13 people RSVP'd, but we only
> had
> > 5 show up. The topic was new items in PHP 5.4 and 5.5, something several
> > members had expressed interest in. To make it even more engaging, we
> > formatted it as an interactive discussion, instead of a single speaker
> > talking for 45 minutes.
> >
> > Overall, we have a core group of regular people, but our attendance
> > averages 15 for a group of over 300 members. We'll occasionally spike up
> to
> > 25 or 30 if we have a visiting speaker, but that's rare.
> >
> > I'm discussing the issue with my fellow organizers and my current plan is
> > to send a heartfelt letter to the members asking them why more people
> don't
> > come? Is it logistical (bad time/location/day)? Is it the topic? The
> > format? Something else?
> >
> > We even have free beer (and soda/water/juice) provided by our host! The
> > location is comfortable with free wifi, plenty of seating, good A/V, free
> > parking.
> >
> > I'm getting frustrated because I want a more vibrant community. Any
> > advice/suggestions/help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
> >
> > Joel Clermont
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>