[ug-discuss] Dallas OSUG?!

[Jim Grisanzio]

Welcome, guys!

Jim



Laura Ramsey wrote:
> 
> Wences Michel wrote:
> 
>> Howdy! 
> 
> 
> Hi Wences!
> 
>>
>>
>> Bob Netherton and myself are trying to get a users group started here 
>> in Dallas and I would like to get some information like the following 
>> information:
>>
>> How to get started?  What is the process?  What is required? 
> 
> 
> It's really easy!  Send me your user names and your preferred name for 
> the user group. We have an austin user group that goes by ATX-osug.
> let me know what you'd like your group's name to be.
> 
> I'll set up the webpage, and Eric Boutilier will set up the email 
> alias.  Then you're ready to go!
> 
>>
>>
>> How are you doing email distribution? 
> 
> 
> Eric Boutilier will assign an alias for you.
> 
>>
>>
>> How are you advertising? 
> 
> 
> We advertise through the discuss alias, announcements and blogs on the 
> opensolaris site. Other leads have posted meeting notices on local Linux 
> user groups or the solarisx86 yahoo group as well.
> 
>>
>>
>> Do you have any sponsors?  What are your thoughts on sponsors?  I know 
>> some UG love them other do not? 
> 
> 
> Each user group has their own experience with sponsors. I think sponsors 
> are good as long as the user group remains independent (meaning they 
> don't take too much support from any one entity).
> 
>>
>>
>> Where are you holding meetings?   We are thinking the Sun office in 
>> Dallas, but a couple Universities have showed some interest? 
> 
> 
> Some offices go for local universities and it seems to work well. Others 
> go for Sun Offices and that works as well. Location seems to depend on 
> where the concentration of members are coming from, central locations 
> always being the best.
> 
>>
>>
>> How are you recruiting speakers?   
> 
> 
> Each user group accesses speakers in their area, or once in a while one 
> of our lead developers will be on the road and can stop in to present. 
> Some user groups have linked their meetings to Solaris Day or other 
> field events in their area so they can pick up speakers from those 
> agendas. This is where the presentation library on the user group page 
> comes in handy.
> 
>>
>> How are  you getting engineering resources to present and who's 
>> sponsoring travel expenses for speakers? 
> 
> 
> Occasionally engineers are able to come out to make presentations--and 
> the travel expenses are usually covered by the engineering group, and 
> other times by the field marketing groups in the area. We don't have a 
> fund for travel or speaker support at this time so each case is 
> different. For the most part, we try to inform local user groups 
> whenever we know an engineer or sun exec will be in the area so a user 
> group can schedule a meeting in the same timeframe.
> 
>>
>>
>> We would like to hear about any lessons learned?  Stuff like do this 
>> not this?  This really works, this doesn't? 
> 
> 
>>
>>
>> How do you get OpenSolaris paraphenalia?  T-Shirts, Cups, Coasters, 
>> Pens. etc... 
> 
> 
> Another t-shirt run is being planned for Q4. So we're hoping to resume 
> sending out welcome kits (30 shirts for new user groups) in May.
> 
>>
>>
>> Does Sun provide any seed money? 
> 
> 
> Not at this time--we're just covering our own travel expenses whenever 
> we can.
> 
>>
>>
>> What about providing refeshments? 
> 
> 
> This is where sponsors come in handy!  There is no fund for refreshments 
> coming from the opensolaris community.
> 
>>
>> What does you typical UG membership look like?  Who are you targeting? 
>> Are you focused on students, developers, professionals, etc...  Who? 
> 
> 
> Students and developers seem to have the most interest in OpenSolaris 
> user group topics. Many groups have solaris system admins in addition to 
> developers. Average attendance is right around 20--but if it's less, 
> don't be discouraged. Some months you'll have large attendance, and 
> other months you'll have the "core members". This is typical.
> 
>>
>> Any tips on housekeeping or management? 
> 
> 
> This is just barely the beginning. The best way to go is to :
> 
> 1--Have an active user group page. Keep blogs flowing, and link into the 
> announcements whenever you can.
> 2--Check in with the local field marketing office and see what 
> activities they have planned that might bring in more experts into the 
> area--and schedule meetings to leverage those events.
> 3--Touch base with local Linux, Sun or Java user groups and see if there 
> is any interest/synergies between the groups.
> 
>>
>> Appreciate all your time and help in getting us started. 
> 
> send along your user IDs and what you'd like to name the group and we'll 
> get you started in style!
> LKR
> 
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Wences