February 12, 2021 at 8:45 pm
So I live in a smaller community with no real User Group presence of any kind, and though when SQL Saturday events were still in person the nearest one near me is 2 hours drive. Now during pandemic I doubt we'll see any return anytime soon, so I was wondering if there's room to try and start a UG and see what happens. I did this about 20 years ago with a Linux User Group, stood up a website, online forum, and just tossed it into local forums -- and within a few months we had about 10 local folks willing to meet, and the group ran great for about 3 years. It was SO much fun, now this was in-person with an active message forum, and I'd love to see if there's still a place for such a group now. I know there are/were many avenues to do this through groups like SQLSaturday or other, but any guess on how a completely independent group would fair?
Maybe it's an "if you build it they will come" notion... create a site, Youtube channel, and forum, then just start building content to see if anyone decides to jump in.
Anyway just thinking out loud I guess...
February 13, 2021 at 9:10 pm
Thanks for posting your issue and hopefully someone will answer soon.
This is an automated bump to increase visibility of your question.
February 14, 2021 at 3:42 am
As of now, all SQL Server user groups are independent, and most of us were that way even when PASS was part of the equation.
do it! Even if it’s just a couple of people discussing problems, it’ll help each of you. Sometimes it just takes a nudge to get started.
February 14, 2021 at 3:43 am
And thank you. A week ago, I was done, and ready to be through with anything to do with user group leadership. Questions like this remind me of why I want to be involved.
February 14, 2021 at 3:36 pm
I agree that "if you build it, they will come". It does take a bit of advertising and one popular way to do that is to schedule regular meetings/events on "Meetup" and/or "EventBrite". EventBrite is free if there's no admission fee. IIRC, Meetup used to be free for smaller groups but I haven't looked into that for Meetup in quite a while and don't know if it's changed or not.
Such groups are really useful to folks, especially in "remote" areas. Sometimes the get large and sometimes they stay pretty small but even a small group of 5 can lead to the exchange of some pretty cool ideas, build up friendships of like minded people, and provide some networking opportunities to all.
With remote meetings now being the norm, it seems like it's a whole lot easier to inspire people to speak and to also get more experienced people. The old PASS organization used to be a good source for speakers but that's gone as of 15 Jan 2021. Still, there are other groups such as GROUP BY and others that you can saddle up with. Still, Meetup and EventBrite have a broad reach.
Of course, this site (SQLSeverCentral) can also be a source.
And, speaking of "this site", RedGate bought the PASS and SQLSaturday brands. It's only been just a few weeks since they have and so there's not much public activity in these areas but I expect that will change as RedGate "gets its legs" on these two brands.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
February 15, 2021 at 4:48 pm
Thanks everyone ... I've grabbed a domain name and I'm starting to build up a site for a local/regional SQL Users Group. I'll post details as it evolves. To be honest it'll be virtual for the unforeseeable future which means anyone anywhere could take part, but it would be nice to eventually have in-person meetings at some point. I've also looked at some other SQL Users Groups to see how they work, and thus far I haven't seen any that still meet. Also most seemed to have SQL Pass URL's which are no longer working.
I'm looking forward to this! As I said before I built up a local Linux Users' Group about two decades ago that took off very well, so maybe I can generate a similar spark here. We'll see...
Thanks everyone for the input. I'll post more as this evolves.
February 15, 2021 at 5:45 pm
I've also looked at some other SQL Users Groups to see how they work, and thus far I haven't seen any that still meet.
The New England SQL user group (NESQL) is still active and can be found on Meetup. Prior to COVID they met at Microsoft Burlington, MA. Of course that is all virtual now but they still have great speakers. Join the group and attend. I'm sure any of the organizers would be happy to talk to you about starting your own group.
February 15, 2021 at 6:01 pm
Hi,
codegumbo: most of us were that way even when PASS was part of the equation.
True for the local groups, not for the virtual groups.
codegumbo: As of now, all SQL Server user groups are independent
Not necessarily. Microsoft provides all you need to continue the former PASS user groups 🙂
What do we need for managing a virtual group?
(1) A system for the virtual meetings, (2) a place for discussions, and (3) a registration system for the meetings.
Microsoft Community Ninjas supports active former PASS user groups and will provide you a Teams channel to have meetings and discussions. The Team is under Microsoft Teams Tenant "msftcommunity.com". If you want to to join the Microsoft Community Ninjas then you can contact me in private (over Facebook or linkedin). I already use this option for our user group. This covers points 1+2.
Microsoft created a new channel named Azure Data community. They provide free Meetup account to former PASS user groups. This covers point 3. There are 61 user groups using this solution at this time! I created a Meetup group here: https://www.meetup.com/data-platforms-globalhebrew and I started to use this solution for our upcoming meeting(s).
In my case, I also provide the option to register to our meetings on eventbrite (but I do not promote this option and no idea how 3 people found it), and people can register at the official "Microsoft Communities Israel" Meetup, where I am a "Event organizer". Our main problem is that we lost all the connections list and we need to start from scratch and build a new distribution list.
codegumbo: do it! Even if it’s just a couple of people discussing problems, it’ll help each of you. Sometimes it just takes a nudge to get started.
Well said. I totally agree.
If you need any help in starting your user group I am sure the community here (and I know I will) be happy to support you and guide you.
I recommend to find a mentor for the early steps and work with him.
Senior consultant and architect, data platform and application development, Microsoft MVP.
February 15, 2021 at 6:03 pm
samalex wrote:I've also looked at some other SQL Users Groups to see how they work, and thus far I haven't seen any that still meet.
The New England SQL user group (NESQL) is still active and can be found on Meetup. Prior to COVID they met at Microsoft Burlington, MA. Of course that is all virtual now but they still have great speakers. Join the group and attend. I'm sure any of the organizers would be happy to talk to you about starting your own group.
While it was certainly before Covid, I once tried to sign up for that group as was denied because I didn't live in the area.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
February 15, 2021 at 6:14 pm
Tom Uellner wrote:samalex wrote:I've also looked at some other SQL Users Groups to see how they work, and thus far I haven't seen any that still meet.
The New England SQL user group (NESQL) is still active and can be found on Meetup. Prior to COVID they met at Microsoft Burlington, MA. Of course that is all virtual now but they still have great speakers. Join the group and attend. I'm sure any of the organizers would be happy to talk to you about starting your own group.
While it was certainly before Covid, I once tried to sign up for that group as was denied because I didn't live in the area.
Jeff - I messaged the organizers on Meetup to ask about their policy concerning membership for people not in the area. I will let you know what I hear back from them.
February 15, 2021 at 9:06 pm
Awesome, Tom. Thanks.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
February 16, 2021 at 9:32 am
Tom Uellner wrote:samalex wrote:I've also looked at some other SQL Users Groups to see how they work, and thus far I haven't seen any that still meet.
The New England SQL user group (NESQL) is still active and can be found on Meetup. Prior to COVID they met at Microsoft Burlington, MA. Of course that is all virtual now but they still have great speakers. Join the group and attend. I'm sure any of the organizers would be happy to talk to you about starting your own group.
While it was certainly before Covid, I once tried to sign up for that group as was denied because I didn't live in the area.
One advantage of virtual meetings would be, if permissible, for us this side of the pond attending.
Would love to see you presenting Jeff 🙂
Far away is close at hand in the images of elsewhere.
Anon.
February 16, 2021 at 2:44 pm
Tom Uellner wrote:samalex wrote:I've also looked at some other SQL Users Groups to see how they work, and thus far I haven't seen any that still meet.
The New England SQL user group (NESQL) is still active and can be found on Meetup. Prior to COVID they met at Microsoft Burlington, MA. Of course that is all virtual now but they still have great speakers. Join the group and attend. I'm sure any of the organizers would be happy to talk to you about starting your own group.
While it was certainly before Covid, I once tried to sign up for that group as was denied because I didn't live in the area.
I heard back from NESQL and all they require now is that you have a Meetup profile. Anyone can join.
February 16, 2021 at 5:51 pm
Jeff Moden wrote:Tom Uellner wrote:samalex wrote:I've also looked at some other SQL Users Groups to see how they work, and thus far I haven't seen any that still meet.
The New England SQL user group (NESQL) is still active and can be found on Meetup. Prior to COVID they met at Microsoft Burlington, MA. Of course that is all virtual now but they still have great speakers. Join the group and attend. I'm sure any of the organizers would be happy to talk to you about starting your own group.
While it was certainly before Covid, I once tried to sign up for that group as was denied because I didn't live in the area.
I heard back from NESQL and all they require now is that you have a Meetup profile. Anyone can join.
Awesome. Thanks Tom.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
February 18, 2021 at 3:17 pm
samalex, there's definitely room for user groups. The SQL community is, IMHO, the best in the world. I've worked in other database platforms during my career and they had lots and lots of advertising, but not much in the way of technical training without paying thousands of dollars for it. Thanks to the SQL community, I've learned a lot, done presentations and met some very interesting people over the years. I also met the guy who became my best friend at a SQL Saturday.
I'd encourage you to go for it. It sounds like you've run a group before and enjoyed it, so you're already familiar with what it takes. The difference now versus 20 years ago is what people have already said - advertising the group online. The eventbrite and meetup sites are two avenues. Word of mouth still works well, so encourage your people to tell their friends and co-workers.
The fact that PASS is dead does not mean the chapters-formerly-known-as-PASS no longer exist. I know of several is the USA midwest that are continuing to operate. I've found that a lot of people actually enjoy learning - that's what drives attendance.
Please do post a link to your site here when you get to publishing something. All the best in getting one going.
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