Several chapter co-ordinators indicated that the original date (23
July) as bad for them. Conversations off line with the 5 chapter
coordinators finally found an agreeable date: 20 August 2005.
I would still very much welcome comments on the idea, or any of the
specifics. The topics for discussion, for example based on
discussions I've heard in the past year or two. If there's other
topics you'd like to discuss, please bring them up and we can add,
modify or re-arrange schedule appropriately. This is _your_ meeting,
not mine. I'm just pushing to have the meeting itself.
Also, I'd welcome volunteers to moderate the discussions, or
volunteers to lead the research and background in taking a position
on any of the discussions.
On Jun 16, 2005, at 3:38 PM, Ted Roche wrote:
TO: GNHLUG activists, Chapter coordinators, board members,
volunteers, past activists and interested parties
RFC: GNHLUG Summer Summit 2005
Version: 1.2, 21-June-2005
Re: Summer get-together for LUG coordinators & activists
When: August 20, 2005, 0930 - 1630
Where: TBD, likely a hilltop farm in Loudon.
I've had discussions with a few of you about the possibility of
getting together this summer for a day of GNHLUG planning,
networking and brainstorming. I'd very much like to do that, and
have had a couple of offers for space we could use, and maybe mix
in a barbeque while we were there. This is an initial ping to get a
sense of who is interested in giving up a Saturday or Sunday (or
alternative proposals) and what we should cover, with some
tentative ideas I have. Once I have some sense of the numbers, I
can canvas the volunteers for locations and facilities, and then we
can figure out who brings the potato salad.
The problem with any get-together like this is that we all have way
too much catching up to do and any one discussion can suffer scope
creep and expand into hours of bringing up the same old grudges. So
I propose we plan it as an UnConference [1] (tm) - speakers but not
audience, moderators to keep the talk going, recorders to preserve
it for posterity, and scheduled topics to ensure our agenda gets
covered. Like a Birds of a Feather, if you've participated in those.
Sessions could be 75 +/- 15 minutes with plenty of time for
schmoozing, networking and calls of nature in between. Attendees
are asked to pay attention and participate, or go elsewhere to
engage in conversation, surfing or horseshoes. All session
proposals can be batted around in the forum and consensus (and
ultimately, a Fearless Leader or Benevolent Dictator) will decide
which get picked. If demand is complex enough, we can plan early-
morning or late-evening sessions for the fringe topics.
Date/Location flexible and will depend on number of participants,
available facilities and phase of the moon.
WHAT TO DO NOW:
Please respond to the email, anything from "What a dumb idea" to
"Yes! I want to participate and here's my idea for a topic..."
Neutral volunteers to run the sessions would be appreciated.
Partisans are encouraged to participate but not moderate.
Ideally, you should join the GNHLUG -org mailing list (very low
volume, at least until now) - links listed below - and participate
in the discussion.
gnhlug-org mailing list
[email protected]
http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-org
This is a Request for Comments. Please do. The idea may be screwy,
you might have better ideas for sessions, let us all know.
PROPOSED SESSIONS:
1. The Admiral James Stockdale memorial networking hour ("Who the
Heck am I and what am I doing here?") or "Practice the elevator pitch"
0930 - 1045
We all have a reason for attending meetings and participating in
the group. Many know each other's names from the mailing lists or
faces from past events. Share your agendas, hidden and overt. Talk
about your pet projects, what you want to learn, commercial venture
or dream project and network with others sharing the same. Every
participant has five minutes to pitch an idea, give your biography
(abridged) or alienate the group.
2. "We're the Huckawee!" or "What GNHLUG Wants To Be When it Grows Up"
1100-1215
Many organizers have done some soul searching about what the group
is, should be, or could be. Let's toss around some ideas and see if
we can define what we'd like to claim the group is, suitable for
publishing in a brochure or engraving as a Mission Statement.
Should we be advocates? To whom? Of what?
Lunch break
Speaker over lunch: "How to Talk Good" or "Slides don't kill
people; speakers kill people"
1230-1330
Ted Roche has given over 75 presentations at 30 professional
conferences and uncountable user group presentations. Some of them
were pretty good. Here's his twenty-minute pitch on one way to do a
presentation: a quick list of do's and don'ts. Handy if you get
called into present FOSS to the school board or a potential client.
Warning: this is the first time Ted has tried this while his
audience had food to throw at him. It could be his last.
3. Getting your DotOrg organized - Is 501(c)3 the future for
GNHLUG? Why or Why Not?
1330 - 1445
We've gotten along just fine with the chaotic informality of being
nothing, owning nothing and reporting to no one. It appeals to the
hacker spirit. But it may limit our access to some opportunities.
Let's discuss what a formal organization could do, and how the
structure of the LUG-and-chapters could work out.
4. "How to Mess Up A User Group" (title stolen from a great set of
notes by Whil Hentzen [2] )
1500-1615
Brainstorming the best use of our limited resources: email lists,
wiki, announcements, speakers, locations. Kick around ideas for
quarterly meetings, greater public presence. Share resources for
listing LUG activities, getting discounts, contacts.
[1]: Unconference: http://www.bloggercon.org/2004/04/21
[2] While this one refers to "Microsoft" and "Visual FoxPro"
specifically, most of the ideas apply to any computer user group, I
think:
Reference: http://www.tedroche.com/FoxCon2002/h2muaug.htm
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