Code Camp
-
Today is the Colorado Code Camp down in the Denver Tech Center offices. I'm actually attending with Tony Davis, editor of Simple Talk and we've been corralled into a short talk on DBAs and careers. I'm going to wing it because I've been involved with finishing a book and so haven't had a lot of time, plus I got dragged into this a little over a week ago
There's an interesting manifesto on Code Camps, which talks about the goals and ideas of a code camp. I think these are interesting events for people to attend, but I'm not sure they're a great way to boost business for anyone sponsoring the event. And face it, the sponsorships are what make this happen. I'm not even sure it's a great use of time for consultants and other speakers. Too many events end up with 50 people, which isn't a great draw.
User groups in general have struggled in the age of the Internet and I'm looking for ideas, thoughts, and comments on why. Personally I know why I don't go to too many meetings. The presentations aren't often super informative since every speaker gets corralled into the event (see para 1 above) and doesn't really spend a lot of time on it. Or they give an old, tried and tested presentations, which may be out of date or people have already seen.
I'm not saying I hate going to user group meetings or seminars. On the contrary, I think it's great to meet new people and see old friends. But it's also a struggle to drive across town with all the other demands on time.
Some groups are working well and that's usually because of the leader. Microsoft really supports some, others have sponsorship from companies, but I'm still struggling to really find a few good ways to get people interested.
So let me know what makes sense. Meeting every other month? Better speakers? Maybe a bull session where someone presents a problem and others try to help solve it? Breakfast meetings?
I'd really like to come up with ways to build a stronger SQL Server community and I'm open to ideas.
-
This is a tough one. I was involved with a User Group for a couple of years, and getting responses and attendance was always hard, even though it was held in the local offices of the Software Vendor.
Monthly meetings are fine, but alternate the topics around. Make some sessions for DBA's, some for Coders, and mix up the focus so that for DBAs there are some on Security, some on Query Optimisation etc and once a year have the vendor push the next generation of the product and benefits of upgrading.
State clearly what the target audience is for each session, so that you only get interested and relevant people.
Send reminder emails! People are busy and need the little bit of help remembering. If you can make them as Outlook invitations it may work as well!
Every so often, throw in a topic that is outside the scope of the software. One of the most successful meetings we had of this Database User Group was on Linux (ok - so this db runs on Linux so there was a small link), run by a guy from IBM showcasing the latest Kernel developments. If you can persuade Microsoft to come to the party maybe you could run a Windows Server version!
Make the meetings reasonably short! Most of us have lives/families and this is cutting into their time!
There are a few suggestions, some of which worked for us and some didn't (but should have!). Please don't take them as the absolute, unquestionable truth!
-
I'll state up front I'm biased. I am president of the Richmond SQL Server Users Group - a group Frank La Vigne and I co-founded last year.
Toby makes excellent points about communication and variety. We try to do both - sending a monthly newsletter and a reminder within a day or two of the meeting.
I was inspired to get involved when I returned to Richmond from Jacksonville, having seen the good work Jax UG leaders were doing with their groups and Code Camps. Our next code camp, Richmond Code Camp 3 is scheduled for April 28th. The developer community here appears to be growing and thriving.
I don't see this everywhere and I'm not sure why. It's easy to blame the leadership, but I've witnessed firsthand great leadership struggle to get attendance at User Group meetings and events.
:{> Andy
Andy Leonard, Chief Data Engineer, Enterprise Data & Analytics
-
Great thread... Thanks Steve:-)
I belong to a group in Charlotte, NC called the Enterprise Developers Guild. We have a web site at http://www.developersguild.org/ and it helps, but the real secret is no secret.
Our president, Bill Jones MVP, started the guild in the late 90's and learned quickly that it takes more than a village idiot to keep a users group going. He began to get volunteers and quickly found that the guild meetings became better because a committee of people helped keep the content interesting and lifted the burden of responsibility from the great one:-)
Most of the guild officers do more for the guild than I do, but I like to think of myself as the "guild gofer". Thankfully, the rest of the folks put up with me and I have found them to be a great source of friendship and technical help.
With the internet my need for individual help has gone down, but there is nothing like sending a question out to 10 professionals in the business when you are stumped:-)
All that said, here are a few of the lessons we have learned through the years.
1) If someone asks if they can help, say yes and invite them to the next officers meeting. (usually lunch)
2) Get local sponsors to help with the cost of providing food for the monthly meeting.
3) Make sure local people with good speaking skills have the opportunity to speak and share experiences. Experts are great, and we have those as well, but there is nothing like trotting out the local talent and letting the members get to know them.
4) Encourage young people to join. This year we have moved our meeting from the local Microsoft Campus to Central Piedmont Community College. There are a lot of talented students that need to meet the IT professionals in their community.
5) Keep a mailing list going and send out monthly meeting notices that include news letter material as well as the meeting schedule. We send out over 1000 meeting announcements each month and the attendance has usually been about 10% of the mailing list.
6) As you grow and have the help, think about free weekend training like a code camp. It's a lot of work, but it has it's rewards.
7) Keep the meeting content interesting. We use Microsoft several times a year depending on new software releases. They do a great job and can loosen up a bit in front of 75 to 100 people. But don't try to use MS for your total content, that can get boring pretty quickly:-)
If you do decide to start a users group, keep in mind that it is a lot of work, while still being a great way to give back to your community:-)
-
interesting ideas.....
A friend of mine is trying to get a user group set up in my community, and I have been asked to help. I have been hesitant in the past to try to get one going because of the work involved and I am not sure there are enough people using sql server to get a group going. (Ottawa has a population of 1.2 million, but from a DBA perspective there are not that many big shops using SQL). As Steve and others have mentioned it is hard to get people to leave the comfort of their homes to go to a meeting.
I am trying to start a sort of top 10 reasons to go to a user group to try to incent people to join... I have come up with:
- networking
- contacts for the job market
- meet new people
- meet local experts and Microsoft personel
I like Steve's idea about a bull session trying as a group to solve problems one night. Has anyone tried that?
And give aways... are they essential to have a successful meeting?
Lynda Rab
www.sqlpass.org -
It would also be interesting to find out why people don't go to local user meetings... is it because it is so easy to get information online from forums like this one?
Lynda Rab
www.sqlpass.org -
Hey Lynda,
We're starting up a PASS Chapter in Southern New England. It's hard work. The only thing that I've found interesting so far is how easy it is to get support from Vendors. The hard part is getting speakers (my job). Luckily we've got people like Adam Machanic available locally. We've had two meetings. The first one was 3/4 people from my company. The second was bigger, but only 1/2 from our company. So it's growing. I'm watching this thread for ideas.
By the way, anyone anywhere near Rhode Island that would like to address a users group, I've got openings starting in August.
Thanks for all the posts people. Keep 'em coming.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore RooseveltAuthor of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning -
Well, number one thing... I never heard about this Code Camp. In fact, I've never even heard the term before. So, clearly there is a marketing issue.
The other thing (for me anyway) is that I spend all my time working, and I really don't want to drive across town and sit in a stuffy room with a bunch of IT guys and fall asleep staring at bad Powerpoints. Online forums and the occasional email or phone call gets me much better than that. I surely am not going to pay a thousand dollars or more for that experience. If I go to a conference, it is for the people, and I don't mean the presenters. I'm one of those that leaves in the middle of a presentation, to go see who's standing out in the hall, and I almost always find them more interesting.
What would be great would be more social events. We need more things to get programmers together in a social setting where there ISN'T work to be done. We will eventually end up talking about our work anyway. That's what I liked about the User Groups of the past... the point was to get together and socialize. There was usually a small demonstration or presentation, and we would take care of club business, and then have an hour or two for whatever people wanted to do. I know a lot of bar owners that would totally not mind some new Monday night business. It does not cost anything to do this, only the time to notify people.
If you want to make it kid-friendly, as my group was back in Kansas, there are plenty of churches and other facilities that are happy to host groups like this. My dad is the pastor of one in Boulder... just a suggestion.
Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply