Dicas para Meetups

Encontrei um documento de 2002 com dicas da Microsoft sobre organização de Meetups. Algumas eu vejo serem seguidas aqui na região do Triângulo:

• Seja estável
• Escolha o dia certo
• Tente coordenar com outros grupos da área
• Localização deve ser central e oferecer bastante espaço

O "Formato do Encontro" não é exatamente este por aqui. Depois comento como é por aqui e como pode ser tentado no Brasil. 

O documento é

International .NET Association
White Paper
Best Practices: Starting and Running a .NET User Group

O original está em em: http://ineta.org/docs/White_paper_Starting_and_running_a_user_group.doc

Abaixo um trecho:

Offer quality

Nothing brings out attendees like knowing that they will be attending a first class presentation, and getting firsthand knowledge from an articulate, savvy presenter. Although you should encourage your members to share their knowledge, the reality is that many will not want to do presentations, and others may not have appropriate presentation skills. Even if the group leaders are industry experts, the members will tire of seeing them present month after month. Offer quality presentations, and strive for variety.

Be Stable

Pick a meeting date/time/location and stick with it. Many groups opt for an “every” approach, such as “we meet every second Tuesday of the month”, so that members can tell when the meeting is by glancing at a calendar

Pick the right day

This is perhaps the most obvious key to successful meetings. Meeting on Monday nights and Friday nights just won’t draw. Weekends are another bad choice. Choose your meeting day wisely. Evenings are more broadly accessible than during the day.

Try to coordinate with other area groups

You’ll have more drawing power and clout with speakers if you can offer them a “circuit” by coordinating your meetings with other area groups. Instead of saying “we meet on Tuesday”, you can say “We meet on Tuesday in Dallas, Austin meets Wednesday, andHouston meets on Thursday”. This offers speakers the ability to efficiently visit several user groups.

Location, location, location

Choose a central location that is large enough to accommodate your group, and consider traffic patterns. Local Microsoft offices may or may not have a suitable room, but some of your members may work at companies with auditoriums or training rooms that may be suitable. Local libraries and universities often have auditoriums they rent inexpensively. Lastly, if your group has sufficient budget, many hotels can provide suitable venues.

Meeting Format

The following is a meeting format that has proven to be successful:

6:00 - 6:30	Mixer. Members can chat informally amongst themselves, beginners can ask questions. If the budget allows for food this is a good time to serve pizza and sodas.
6:30 – 6:45	Housekeeping announcements. Talk about upcoming meetings. Highlight any major new .NET developments that members may not be aware of.
6:45 – 7:45	Meeting part 1
7:45 – 8:00	Break, peer networking
8:00 – 9:00	Meeting part 2

After the meeting, you may want to encourage members to adjourn to a restaurant or bar for refreshments. This kind of socializing will help form a stronger bond between members that may only see each other once a month.

Subject Selection

User groups draw a diverse mix of skill levels. As such, it is difficult to select meeting topics that will be of interest to all your members. What many groups do is either alternate skill levels between meetings (beginner/intermediate one month, advanced the next), or have one presentation in each of those skill levels at each meeting (part 1 or the meeting is beginner level, part 2 is advanced).