Hi Montana Drupalistas!
It's time to get regular group meetings underway. Scott suggested I just decree a day/time and put it out, but I'm too bound my egalitarian tendencies to do that, so I want to get your feedback regarding:
- Day of week and times that work best for you
- Location
- Frequency
- Format
Day of week and time
Weekdays during the day
As a freelancer I can attend meetings during a weekday, and I know that's okay with Scott as well. Does that work for anyone else?
Weekday evenings
Currently I'm available only on Tuesday and Friday evenings, and I suspect Friday evening's not a popular time for a tech meetup. Tuesday evenings are often when the Montana Programmers meetups take place, but they're usually once a month, so we could schedule Drupal meetups on non-conflicting Tuesdays.
Weekend days
Weekend days are an option for me for meetups. I actually probably prefer weekend days to Tuesday nights if I had a choice. What do y'all think?
Hopefully we have few enough members that the responses to the day/time question will be manageable in the comments to this post. (If not we'll do a poll or something.)
Location
Phyllis has offered a room at Ruby's convention center on Reserve to us free of charge, which is very generous. It's quiet, private, spacious, and I think a projector is available. I don't believe food and drink are available, but you can bring in food from outside. In many ways this is an ideal space.
From my past experience, some people really like to have Drupal meetups in bars/restaurants. It can be a challenge to find a bar with a private room, WiFi, and a projector, but if such can be found it could be ideal. Anyone know of such?
For smallish groups (~ eight or fewer people) coffee shops can also work well. I like Zootown Brew, Break Espresso, Caffee Dolce.
Meeting frequency
Scott and I were talking Saturday and we would support biweekly (or semi-monthly) meetings. There's a lot of energy around Drupal here, and we're a new group so frequent meetings would help build skills and relationships more quickly. What do you think?
Meeting format
There are many formats which have been successful for local Drupal group meetings. Since we're starting out I think informal is better to give people more time to get to know each other. One format I've seen work well is taking the first 30 - 45 minutes for a short presentation or two, followed by questions, then use the last hour to break up for informal chat, special interest groups, or networking. This post has some ideas: http://drupal.org/node/247952. Ideas?
I don't think we need to overthink format at this point. I know I could present for 30 minutes off-the-cuff on probably 10 Drupal topics, and I hope that those of you working on cool sites (Scott, Evan, Kathy at least) would be willing to show us what you're doing. "Here's the site I'm working on and some of the Drupal features we used to build it" is a fine presentation!
Conclusion
That's it! Let the discussion begin! I'm hopeful that within three days or so we can set a time/place/frequency.
Looking forward to Drupaling with you all,
– Andy
Comments
My Input
Day of Week and Time
As Andy mentioned, I am free to meet during the day, as well as evenings, since I work from home. Any weekday evenings work, as well. I prefer weekdays (or weekday evenings) rather than weekend days, but I can be flexible...especially if that means some of our non-Missoula members may be able to attend.
Location
I like downtown locations for their proximity to my home, but I'm happy to commute to Ruby's. I like Zootown Brew and Break. Never been to Cafe Dolce, but I'm sure it's nice, as well.
Frequency
The more, the merrier for me. I'm game for 2x month.
Format
I like the idea of some sort of agenda for at least the first half of meetings. I'm happy to present on any of the three sites I have running or in development on Drupal.
Thanks Andy!
Scott Rouse
http://about.me/scott.rouse
Greetings from Bozeman
Just to let you know I will try to come to a few meetings once the schedule gets set. Since I will only be an occasional participant I won't weigh in on day / time preferences. My schedule is pretty flexible.
My first Drupal site is up and running (my students at MSU are registering on my site in dribs and drabs as I write this). The site is www.theolipfert.com
Hope to see you all at some point!
Best,
Theo
I can only attend
I can only attend occasionally because I'm in Great Falls, so as I've said, weekends work better. Don't put too much weight on that though, because I can't make it regularly. I might still try to attend a week night meeting, but its a long drive there and back...
Chris.
weekdays are best
I'm new to all of this and just joined the group last week, but I am interested in attending meetups and seeing what I can learn about Drupal. I don't have a strong preference as far as location or frequency, but weekdays work best for me. Depending on the time, Tuesday evenings might be a possibility, as well.
Anyone else?
Thanks to those who have responded so far. I know there are several others in the group who would like to come regularly, and who haven't responded yet. Hoping to hear from them in the next day or two – please weigh in!
Great group
I really enjoyed the first meetup I attended last month, even though Andy couldn't make it. I'm signed up for a class on Tuesday nights for 3 months, but I could probably skip a few of those meetings if that's when the next meetings happen. I might be able to do weekends, but I don't actually think that's the best choice since weekends often coincide with conferences or trips or just regrouping time. As for the format, informal time is great - but giving time for short presentations is really helpful, both for the health of the group and for those who present.
Once a month is probably my limit - but it would be good to know a meeting was happening bi-monthly if that's what happens. These kinds of networking events improve the skill set of everyone who comes - who knows, it could even lead to a collaborative venture at some point.
flexible
Open to any schedule but do think that setting a general topic/agenda for each meeting would be good. For some folks like me right now after going live with a big site and being in full development/survival mode, some topics might be more crucial than others.
Group viewing of some of the videos might be a good way to cover a range of interests.
Time, date, etc.
Hi all,
I would prefer to meet during the work day. Mornings (8 a.m. or 9 a.m.) are best for me, or 4 p.m. any day but Tuesday. I am a newbie to this stuff but would like to learn from all of you!
Caitlin Copple
YWCA Missoula
Marketing Coordinator
ccopple@ywcaofmissoula.org
Welcome, Caitlin
Hi, Caitlin. Welcome to the group.
Let's get it going, Andy. How about 2x per month? One meeting each month is during the day (Caitlin's times are fine with me) and the other is either in the evening or on weekends.
Thoughts?
Scott Rouse
http://about.me/scott.rouse
Flexible Newbie
I'm also pretty flexible on the meeting time, but afternoons are usually best. I'm a newbie like Caitlin and am looking forward to learning more about Drupal.
Greg Weber
herr.gweb@gmail.com
http://www.gweb.ws
Proposal for date/time
Thanks for all your input and patience. Here's what I propose:
Kathy has suggested some venues. I think at least one of the two monthly meetings should be in a place where we can have a projector set up for presentations. I think we can get Ruby's, and I'm going to check with the Library to see about their meeting rooms and whether they have projectors available.
If you know of places with a projector that can be had for free or cheap, or have a portable projector you could bring to the meetups, please let me know!
I'll put these up as individual events on this group so folks can RSVP and volunteer to present stuff.
I'm excited to see you all soon in person!
Sounds Great
Thanks for coming up with a plan, Andy. Sounds great to me.
-Scott
Scott Rouse
http://about.me/scott.rouse
Hey Andy, Sounds like a good
Hey Andy,
Sounds like a good plan. Unfortunately I'm already traveling this weekend. :( So.... I'll try to catch you next time.
Chris.