Today was another Condug (Central Ohio Notes/Domino Users Group) meeting. Turnout was unfortunately very low. Any other Notes/Domino users out there have some suggestions for getting people out to these meetings? We even had Chris Blatnick drop by and give a really nice modified version of his Lotusphere presentation on user interfaces.
My presentation ended up getting canceled since there wasn’t a large turnout and we started a bit late to see if others would show. So instead of our formal presentation recapping Lotusphere we just chatted about it a bit.
I know that these gatherings can become popular…. Just looking at the ILUG (Ireland lotus users group) which has turned into a two day mini-conference is amazing.
Anyway, if you haven’t seen Interface Matters (Chris’s blog) before, I highly recommend it. He does some amazing things within the Notes client.
- Heavily moderated, SPAM will be dealt with.
Hmmm…perhaps it is BECAUSE you had Chris Blatnick drop by that the turnout was so low!
Seriously, though, thanks for inviting me. I had a great time visiting and enjoyed giving the presentation, even if it was to a small crowd.
As far as increasing attendance, I’ve got one word…FOOD! I was involved in one of the early incarnations of the Lotus user group here in Cleveland and am also participating in the most recent version. Perhaps it is just coincidence, but many more people seem to turn out when you have free food for the group. The newest user group in Cleveland has gone to a quarterly meeting format and meetings typically start at 9 AM and go until 1 PM. Starting at 8:30 there is a continental breakfast available and then lunch is brought in around 11:30. This little perk seems to help people justify the trip a little more. The food is sponsored by a local consulting company (Berbee) that is a supporter of the group.
Good luck with future meetings!
Chris Blatnick
March 8th, 2007
I’ve always found that the while *everyone* wants to be able to make it to the meeting, there needs to be something extra to seal the deal. Food is good, free stuff is better.
Sometimes, it’s tough to get food donated and it requires a lot of overhead/management. Mind you, I’m quite pro-food, but I’ve found freebies to be more compelling. What I like to do is (1) send out a notice a week ahead of time with details of the meeting and promise to burn a custom CD for those who attend (LS07 PPTs, Ubuntu pre-configured for a Domino install, ND8 Beta). I won’t distribute commercial/copywrited material, but you’d be surprised how many will show up for a demo of OpenNTF and a CD of their material (I checked with Bruce to ensure it was appropriate). Good luck. P.S. Qenos looks very promising, doesn’t it?
Jack Dausman
March 24th, 2007
Thanks for the tips Jack, I don’t know if we’ll be able to get a sponsor for food, but getting some freebies shouldn’t be too bad.
Rich Waters
March 25th, 2007