Growing YourUser GroupLinuxFest NW 2014

Growing Your User Group - a talk for LinuxFest NW 2014!

(Insert obligatory plant image here.)

Art by me. It’s pretty obvious why I’m working in tech and not art.

Hi, I’m Kara Sowles

Community Initiatives ManagerPuppet Labs

Portland, ORTwitter: @feynudibranchEmail: kara@puppetlabs.com

Hi, I’m Kara Sowles! I work at Puppet Labs, where among other things, I run the Puppet User Group Program. I help connect over 40 community-run Puppet User Groups around the world with the right resources to overcome obstacles. I’m no expert, though, so I look forward to hearing *your* advice in the discussion section at the end of this talk!My goal is for you to come away with at least a few thoughts for how to reinvigorate your user group. This is the part where I’m supposed to prove I’m a fun human with interests or something. I love mushroom hunting, edible wild plants, boardgames, Dungeons and Dragons, Lovecraftian horror, kids cartoons, superhero cartoons, and making stop-motion animation.... that enough? But, we can talk about all that stuff afterwards, because today I’m here to talk to you about...

Where are we headed?

Agenda! User Groups are formed in the comfortable Hall of User Group Creation, and we *think* we’re going to float up through the clouds to the perfect user group in the sky or whatever...but instead there’s a treacherous journey through many of the scary places you can see here...From the Foodless Flatlands (so hungry!) to the Speakerless Swamps.This talk fails to cover the VAST world of user groups, but in the limited time we have, I’ll blast through some common obstacles, and some common solutions to try.We all know this difficult journey in some way or other. It starts with...

I made a user group!

I MADE A USER GROUP! It’s great.

Awesome first meeting!

:D

AWESOME FIRST MEETING! All my friends came, and some other people too! It was so perfect, we had a great time! :D

ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD

And then...

- from The Lion King copyright walt disney pictures -

My group never met againMy cousin is in townI couldn’t find a presenter except that one friend last timeI don’t want to pay for pizza again. Frankly, I don’t want to eat pizza again, I’ve been eating it all week

(This image copyright Walt Disney Corporation)

“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

To create an in-person community, often you’re also creating an online community where you gather people to meet in person. The sign of user groups that no longer meet is usually in abandoned meetup pages, unused forums and google groups....

Obstacles

No Speaker

No Venue

No Food

Few Members

No Momentum

So, what went wrong? You might encounter any of these obstacles. Everyone running a user group will run into at least one of these problems, likely more. It varies - for some groups, it might be easy to find a venue, but hard to find members -- others might have no speakers, but a huge user base. Some may have all the ingredients, but somehow meetings are just never planned. It’s ok! These obstacles are normal :) Running user groups consistently - or at all - can be really tough.

Obstacles

No Speaker

No Venue

No Food

Few Members

No Momentum

Let’s fix this!

Ok then, let’s fix this!

WAIToh, wait, hold on

First, let’s start at the beginning...

Because not everyone in the room has necessarily started their group yet, right? I don’t want to jump into this book mid-chapter. I won’t cover everything, just a few points.

Starting a User GroupStarting a User Group

So, you’re planning to start a user group

THE BASICS

Date / Starting Time

Venue

Speaker

Way to communicate with members

Let the world know it exists

Maybe food?

You know the basics! Blah, blah, blah. Moving on.

RECONNAISSANCE

When do similar groups meet?

Is there already a group about X?

What works well for other local groups?

Make sure you do local reconnaissance! This helps make sure you:- Don’t make a repeat group- Don’t choose a time/day that conflicts with similar groups or groups w similar audiences- Familiarize yourself with what other local groups do. Do people travel far to to to a user group? Do they generally start early, at 5, or later at 7 so everyone has time to drive there? Every area has its idiosyncrasies.- What meetup tools do ppl use in your area? If no one in your community uses meetup not a good choice - same for google groups.- Don’t re-learn what other local groups have already learned. Talk to them. They’ve made mistakes in the past, and you don’t want to make the same ones!

Choose an online home for your group

Pick an online home for your group. Meetup.com, google groups, web pages, forums, mailing lists, etc. There are two separate functions: Communicating when & where & what your events will be; and staying in touch between events.Consider which method is most used in your specific locale. I use Meetup.com the most often, mostly in the United States and some in Europe, but in Portland we use a Google Group.Some groups use a Meetup page to post events (easy for anyone to see, but not good for discussion) and a Google Group to discuss upcoming events (not everyone is interested in the planning) - if you do this, make sure to make the separate purposes of the platforms clear.

SET EXPECTATIONS

Find a cadence and stick to it.

We’ll come back to this later...

setting expectations is key.

Find a cadence: first thursday, fourth wednesday, etc. You’ve done reconnaissance, so you’ll choose a date that doesn’t conflict with similar groups.Setting expectations is KEY - and a big theme in this talk.

Ok, let’s start removing some obstacles!

Ok, let’s start removing some obstacles!

Finding a Venue

Finding a Venue

Again, art by me, drawn awkwardly on my ipad with my finger really late at night. Daytime art is sadly no better. All buildings have angled roofs because I am from New England.

MAKEA

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

Make a list of info about the group BEFORE you start asking for space, and include that info in the request for hosting space. It saves the person on the other side time, and it helps make sure you find a space that’s appropriate for your group. It sets expectations.

THINK ABOUTPERKS

“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.”

Think about how a hosting company might benefit from hosting your group. I don’t mean to be crass. Obviously not every group finds it appropriate to talk about open jobs, or sponsorships...so tailor this to your group’s proclivities. Ideally, both sides benefit!

Ask your company

First choice - you naturally ask your company (if you work at one)

Ask your friend’s company

Usually our second instinct - to leverage strong connections.That’s fine, though - you don’t need good friends all over town in order to find a hosting company. I don’t have a lot of friends, so let’s move on to new strategies!

When thanking those that said ‘no’, ask them for recommendations.

When a place turns you down, email thanking them for their consideration, and politely asking if they might be able to recommend any other companies which might be interested in hosting.

Are there any local companies that cater to

your attendees’ demographic?

For example, a cleaners’ group might ask to meet at a cleaning supply company. This company is more likely to say yes. Think about your attendees, and the topic of your user group, and see if you can find a local company that might be more likely to say yes to a ‘cold call’ request. For example, at Puppet Labs, we would love to host a configuration management or IT related user group.

Ask your user group

Post it to the message board of your user group if there is one, and bring it up as a topic at the end of the next meeting. Often, someone will say the company they work at can likely host.

Local Universityor

Local Library

Try a local university, a local library, or a local community club. More on this at the end of the presentation from audience members.

Check where other user groups are hosted

Look online at other user groups in your area, and see where they are hosted. Reach out to those companies. You already know they host user groups - maybe they’ll host yours! You up your chances if you actually *attend* a user group in that office first : )

Get flexible

If you’ve tried all these steps and you’re not having success, try to find out what the issue is - why you’re getting turned down - and be flexible on that point. Did you accidentally choose a date that everyone’s busy? Does your meeting end at 11pm, and no employee wants to stay that late? Can you alternate between locations until you find a permanent one? Some companies are more likely to say yes to a one-time event.

STILL NO HOST :’(

Ok, I know you’re sad. But we can work with this.

Temporary, alternate locations

(often bars)

When I want a meeting to happen somewhere, but there’s no venue I can use, I’ll plan it in a bar. Ideally it’s got a quite back room that I don’t have to pay to use, but that’s just a bonus. This has some severe downsides: (1) you can’t have a presentation and (2) it’s alienating to some and (3) it’s loud. You need to also watch that you’re making a comfortable environment a little more closely. Then, during your meeting there, ask the members again if any of them have connections at companies that might host you instead. You can meet up before you’ve solved this problem, but keep trying!Some groups *prefer* meeting in environments like this -- that’s fine too.Often, this is a great strategy for a first meeting.

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!

bringing your own paper plates / cups are usually an important part of leaving the place clean! Check in with the company every month to thank them and check that the space is reserved for you. This comes back to setting expectations! Might seem basic - but we all forget things.

Finding Speakers

Finding Speakers

“What topics would you like to hear about

next month?”

At the end of each meeting, the group “What topics would you like to hear about next month?” Write them clearly on the whiteboard

“Does anyone have experience with [X topic]?”

Then, ask the group “Does anyone have experience with [the first topic on the list]?” If someone says yes, ask if they’ll present to the group on it next meeting! Go down the proposed topic list in this manner.

Post the list of suggested topics to

the group online, and ask again.

Take the suggested topic list and, after the meeting, post it to the group online. Ask for more suggestions, and ask if anyone can speak on any of the topics.

Ask individual members what they’re doing.

Still doesn’t work? Talk to individual user group members at the meeting, asking them what they’ve been doing with the technology, and when they say something neat, ask if they’ll speak on it at the next meeting. : )

Cultivate those who don’t give talks (yet)

Support people who haven’t talked before. User Groups are a great way for them to practice talks in front of a smaller group, and build up to conference talks! Consider holding a lighting talks day - with just 5 minute talks - to encourage people to speak.

At your company:Look for managers that want to foster speaking opportunities for their

teams

When I’m looking for speakers for the Portland Puppet User Group, I have say 50+ people I could approach and ask to give a talk - but many of the usual engineers who speak at conferences will tell me they’re too busy. However, I know that the VP of Operations has been trying to foster speaking opportunities for his team members, so I can ask him what employees on his team might enjoy the opportunity.

To companies:“Would you send

someone to give a talk on [X topic]?”

Topics are the hard part. If you can find topics, speakers are more convincible.Email companies that you know are using the technology - see if they’ll send someone!

Still no speakers?

Hold a...

Discussion Session

Hack Night

Still no speakers?Many user groups don’t choose to use speakers. They have discussion sessions - often with pre-arranged topics, to set expectations - or hack nights. These are awesome too!

Finding More Members

Finding more members

Local Community Sites

In Portland, we use Calagator, where anyone can post tech events and user groups that are happening

Local Conferences

and apparently not-so-local conferences!

At LinuxFestNW, I just ran into the Greater Seattle Linux User Group! The GSLUG has a table here, and they’re recruiting members, with the thought that many folks from Seattle are attending this conference in Washington. I love the cards they’re handing out - they have all the details one might need, clearly labeled. Plus, it’s an alluring logo!

Joint Meetings

Find a similar user group, and team up for a talk aimed at

both audiences!

For example, DevOps and Puppetor Puppet and OpenStackFind a similar user group, and ask if they’d like to team up for a meeting! Invite both user bases for a talk that everyone can enjoy together. Ideally, both groups will grow from it!

Keeping Momentum

Meet regularly

Same cadence (“Fourth Thursday”)

At the end of each meeting, talk about next time

Set expectations for yourself

Co-Organizers

What happens if you leave?

Meet regularlysame cadencetalk about next meeting at end of eachpost early about next meetingset expectations for yourself (when do you communicate with the group? etc.)get help if you need it - co-organizers are great, but have ownership of different aspects and roles. Get help! Train new user group leaders!Is ownership transferrable - do you think of your group as yours? Could it survive if you moved to a different city? Ask yourself these questions and find answers you’re comfortable with.

Finding $ponsors

*I* can’t afford to buy food for my user group every month. Let’s talk about some ways to find sponsorship for your user group. This is one of the trickier ones, since it involves cash, but fortunately it’s not necessary - you can meet without food.

The company that’s hosting you

Your best bet is the company that’s hosting you. Sometimes the host will buy you food -- but sometimes, they just say it’s ok for you to eat their snacks and drink their drinks. Depending on how exciting their food and drink pantry can be, this can be amazing, and it’s a boon that deserves a big-thank you! That said, if they say no on you noming their stuff, be respectful and make sure your user group members don’t partake of something that’s not theirs.

Your Company

Your company! Sometimes a user group organizer’s company will spring for food every month. If you need to pitch this to your boss, think through the potential benefits of you running the user group. If your department doesn’t bite, see if there’s another department that might be interested. I work in the Community department, so I might help sponsor something that another department doesn’t have money allotted for, and I’m doing it because I want to encourage employees to be participating in the local tech scene.

Other Companies

Let’s think about other companies that might sponsor, even though they aren’t hosting you, and you don’t work at them. Reasons would include wanting to me more visible to an audience they’d like to hire from, wanting to be more visible to an audience that might use their product, simple philanthropy & good will, or one specific attendee with a company credit card.

Perks

One site-specific example of this is that Meetup.com has a function for this, with Sponsors, and Perks. O’Reilley frequently sends out both booths, and discount coupons for books.On Meetup, the Sponsor function also allows a way for groups to show that they’re advertising their sponsor’s involvement.Having O’Reilley as a sponsor, for example, can also help groups look credible.

SWAG

If you’re hosting a user group around a technology, see if the persons creating that technology will send you some shirts or stickers to hand out to the group!

Your Company as a Support Structure

Your company as a support structure. This is very specific, so I’m not going to talk about it much. Not many people at a company that supports their user group. But since it’s such a big part of my experience, I wanted to touch on it.

Think Like Other Departments

Leverage Sales team

Leverage Professional Services team

Leverage Education team

Leverage Marketing team

Leverage Engineering team

Leverage Community team

Think how they interact with the community - touchpoints. Think about their goals.For me, working at a company that makes the software the user groups are centered around, I talk to nearly every department for support. I try to think about their goals, and how the usre groups intersect with that.Sales - source talks and venues for user groups, because it improves their sales regionProf Services - they’re always traveling, so I ask them to do talksEducation - they may add community links to their mailersMarketing - add community links to their nurturing email campaigns, or send email to regions Engineering - local talksCommunity - well, that’s me : )

Making your group inviting:

Setting Expectations

See, we keep coming back to this! If you want more members, you need to convince those on-the-fence people to come to your meeting. Setting expectations helps draw people in. One of the key parts of this is to try to think outside of yourself. You know what the meetup is, and you know you’re comfortable there. This is for others.

This is that feeling before you open a new book. You really have no idea what’s going to be in there. Similarly, your potential new members have no idea what your meetup is going to be like!

Anatomy of a Meeting

Socialize

Introduction

Presentation

Next Meeting topic & talk sourcing

Socialize

Just an example....

Setting expectations. There are many, many different agenda formats; this is just an example. Post an agenda on your page for the meeting (not just the talk title). This helps make new members feel more comfortable attending; they know what will be happening, and when.Example:6:30-7:00pm Socialize and get to know each other. Free pizza and salads.7:00-7:15pm Introduction, group notices, announcements, local job openings7:15-8:00pm Presentation on “Using Linux to feed local wildlife” by Gary Gygax8:00-8:15pm Choosing topics for next meeting8:15-8:45pm Socialize, with free beer, water, and soda provided by Local Company

Clear familiarity level

Are the talks this month for intermediate users?

Is this session accessible for absolute beginners?

Set expectations: Make it clear what level the talks or activities are. Don’t do this to make it exclusive; do it to make people more comfortable attending. “Absolute beginners welcome”You can also vary this from meeting to meeting. We’ve had groups that had issues where because the software was becoming so popular, a wave of new folks would show up every meeting. This didn’t leave the intermediate and advanced users time to talk - they spent all their time introducing new users to the software. You can handle this AND get more people into the group by alternating between clear beginner sessions, and clear advanced sessions. Just make it clear what level the talks will be! (ie “This will be an advanced talk. Beginners are always welcome to attend, but please save your questions for the beginner meeting next month.”)

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?

You don’t need to change venues! Just make it clear in the event description. If there’s a weird trick to getting into the building, list it. Make a point of mentioning that the venue is wheelchair accessible. This comes back to setting expectations

Have a Code of Conduct

Very simple question: Do you want more people at your meetup? This is one very simple way to get more members interested in attending, and it (again) helps set expectations in a way that’s clear, and that you can point to. Many people appreciate knowing what’s expected of them!I’ve heard of instances where people had bad experiences at certain user groups, just because of a few individuals’ behavior, stopped going to the meeting - then returned when they heard a code of conduct was implemented. I’m more likely to go to events where I know I can point to behavior and point to a code of conduct and say ‘that’s not ok.’ I’ve never had to point to it - but knowing it’s there makes me feel a lot more comfortable. And feeling comfortable is an important part of what makes me go to a meeting or event!It’s not a sign of a bad meetup to have a code of conduct - it’s the sign of a good one. If you haven’t had issues (that you’ve been aware of before) that’s great - and means you should implement a code of conduct now so you’re already prepared.

― Bell Hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope

― Bell Hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope

“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

We don’t intend to be exclusionary. We’re good, welcoming people. But we unintentionally do things that exclude people, that are hurtful, that are sexist or racist -- and we need to always work to become aware of those things, and stop doing them.Goes the same for me as for anyone else - I’ve got a lot of work to do. I look back a few years at some of the things I said and I’m like “How did I think that was ok?!” Never stop improving.

If you’re going to pay attention to one thing:

pay attention to your humor

I’m not saying don’t be hilarious, I love humor. I’m saying that in many cases where awesome people I know unintentionally say hurtful things, it’s in the context of humor, so that’s something I’ve been trying to watch for myself. Don’t assume that because people are laughing, that they all think it’s funny. This One Weird Trick will help you make your user group a more welcoming place.

Fortunately, you don’t need to write a code of conduct - others have already done that for you! You can check out the Geek Feminism Wiki or other resources online. http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Geek_Feminism_Wiki In the discussion after this talk, a variety of audience members re-enforced that ‘setting expectations’ by instituting a Code of Conduct has been a very valuable tool for them.

Did wemake it?

Ok, so......did we make it? Have we overcome these obstacles?

Let’s hear from the audience. What’s your advice? What are your experiences?

Kara Sowles - Puppet Labs

Your advice?

Twitter: @feynudibranchEmail: kara@puppetlabs.com

Discussion!

ideas brought up by the wonderful audience in the discussion afterwards:

What is the purpose of your group? Do you have a charter?

One participant said she walks around to vendor booths at the end of large conferences, and offers to

take any extra swag to her university LUG, so that they don’t have to ship it home! caveat: she warned to

have a large closet ready to store it in : )

Is there a similar group that used to exist in your region, that you can revive? Can you get access to the

user mailing list or page?

Notes from the discussion after this talk at LinuxFest NW

ideas brought up by the wonderful audience in the discussion afterwards:

Meeting at Universities:

Many groups have had success meeting at Universities. Some

mentioned benefits and drawbacks they’d experienced.Benefit: Helped some with university course curriculum; University helped advertise

group to students.Drawback: No alcohol;

needed faculty member each meeting present to use room

or had to pay.

Meeting at Libraries:

One participant said that he has had very positive

experiences meeting at Libraries. He said many Libraries want more

technology discussions and resources in them, and will

welcome user groups.

Notes from the discussion after this talk at LinuxFest NW

ideas brought up by the wonderful audience in the discussion afterwards:

One participant has been purposefully rotating

locations every meeting in order to draw in new members

from the hosting companies. Some members, however, have

been displeased with this.

We discussed food at user group meetings. Many people are tired of pizza, but having trouble finding alternatives.

Potlucks: Several user groups have enjoyed potlucks.

Nothing messy: Is it a meal with rice? Will there be rice kernels

everywhere afterwards that you’ll have to clean up?We discussed rotating content

levels - have a beginner meeting, then an advanced

meeting - just make expectations clear.

Free O’Reilly book requests:http://oreilly.com/ug/

Free O’Reilly book request form for User Groups: http://oreilly.com/ug/

Notes from the discussion after this talk at LinuxFest NW

Kara Sowles

Community Initiatives ManagerPuppet Labs

Portland, ORTwitter: @feynudibranchEmail: kara@puppetlabs.com

Thanks for listening!

You can reach me at kara@puppetlabs.com or follow me on Twitter as @feynudibranch. This is my first solo public talk, so thanks for watching, and I’m looking forward to improving it further (consistent slide format, anyone?).

I’ll be giving a version of this talk at OpenWest in Utah (2014), and I’ll be giving a different talk on events at OSCON in Portland, OR (2014). Come say hi!