In attendance were DrupalLancer, zoon_unit, and mal.
1) We spent most of the time getting to know one another and understanding one another's interest in Drupal. With just the three of us, there was great Synergy. Enough to keep us busy sharing and collaborating for some time to come. I expect when we get the full group together next month, the value and potential of the meeting will grow exponentially.
2) We determined that one of the first things to do was to establish a Web site for the group,primarily so we can manage profile and contact information for each of us. This would allow members to share Real names, phone numbers, addresses, etc. All information that we wouldn't want to include on the main groups.drupal site. This site will also function as a demo site for future workshops and tutorials.
3) Meeting format--Monthly meetings, with optional splinter groups and project groups meeting per their own convenience.
The next meeting will be 1.5 hours in duration. Approximately one hour will be spent networking and 30 minutes on business/organizational matters.
Future meetings will be 30 minutes for networking and 1 hour for special presentations/projects/tutorials.
4) Proposed next meeting date is Feb. 22, 2007 at the same location--5 Seasons in Alpharetta, on Old Milton, east of Hwy 400 (address?). There is a nice upstairs meeting room, that we can utilize located there.
5) Organization: 3 roles were defined.
a) Meeting moderator--agrees to organize and moderate 3 meetings. Moderator will also ensure meeting minutes get published. In order to avoid requiring long term, high level commitments, the moderator task rotates each 3 months.
b) Project lead--person responsible for prestaging and facilitating successful outcome of the special presentations/projects/tutorials.
c) Group Organizer--the person who watches over the group, and tries to anticipate its needs and facilitate its growth and success.
More roles will undoubtedly be defined later. Input is welcome.
6) A projector is needed to facilitate presentations and tutorials at the meetings.
The stage has been set for a great and interactive group. We hope everyone can join us next time. I think you will be glad you came. A great investment.
Comments
Exciting potential ahead
I'm really pumped after the meeting. One thing we all agreed upon: a Drupal users group can save huge amounts of development time for us all. Sometimes finding a simple answer to a Drupal question or learning a Drupal skill can take hours of searching through threads on Drupal.org.
Simply having a group with overlapping skills where members can answer each other's questions quickly, can save us all tons of time on the learning curve. We also discussed a future topic for coverage at a meeting: Using Views, CCK, and Panels to quickly develop custom content.
bollwyvl has mentioned this as a topic as well. I would be glad to volunteer as second chair to present this topic.
One resource we need badly: a digital projector. Can any member of this group provide one for presentations?
I urge each member of this group to respond with ideas, input, concerns, etc. during the next few weeks to insure that our first "official" meeting is a success.
Planning on next meeting
What the three of you have started sounds good. I expect to be there on Feb. 22. Send me info and I can get something in a couple of newspapers around here, too, though the Web works best for this kind of notice.
Hi All It was a good start
Hi All
It was a good start to the Drupal group in Atlanta.
As per the discussion at our meeting, I've registered DrupalAtlanta.com which will serve as a meeting place for people in the group.
Projector
I might be able to a projector occassionally. Do we need one for the Feb 22 meeting? I'm planning on attending barring any trips to the hospital or other major inconveniences :-)
Sounds like y'all had a productive meeting. Sorry I missed it.
BTW, what time on the 22nd?
I believe we can get by without a projector for this next meetin
I believe we can get by without a projector for this next meeting. I can use flip charts or something. I expect the first meeting will be mostly introductions and networking. Bring your elevator pitches. We'll probably give each person 30 seconds to introduce themselves to the group, and tell what they do.
The agenda might go something like this:
a) Introductions--30 minutes
b) Networking-- 30 mins
c) Group discussion (Our Drupal Atlanta Website)-- 30 mins
Meeting time 7:30pm- 9pm.
If you arrive late, you may miss the introductions.
**Thanks to Drupalancer for securing our "DrupalAtlanta" domain name.