O'Reilly and Microsoft are co-sponsoring an all-day event in Cambridge on Saturday, May 2 where user group leaders can discuss how they make their groups work. We all fall into ruts and fail to notice the possibilities presented by new ways people interact, new reasons for joining, etc.
I think O'Reilly's masterful user group coordinator, Marsee Henon, has already publcized this event, but as an occasional participant in this group I want to add my own invitation. Don't be put off by the Microsoft location. First, it's a research facility and has a different identity from Microsoft proper (although I've been on the Microsoft campus and they feel a lot like a research facility too). They're reaching out to local tech people, including open source/free software advocates. And Microsoft staff are playing no special role; O'Reilly is really running the event. (I can't come to tonight's meeting, unfortunately.) Following is Marsee's invitation. Andy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- We'd like to invite you to join us on Saturday, May 2nd for a special Northeast community/user group leader summit. Together we can help each other by sharing our experiences of running a user group. We'll discuss building community, finding relevant meeting topics in today's economy, attracting and keeping members, using social media and other tools to get the word out, working with vendors and collaborating on group events like Code Camps and Ignite. Anything goes since we're going to focus on the mechanics of running a group and not the technical content. We'll start with a few organized sessions to get things going but most of the day will be decided by you and your peers in typical Unconference-fashion. Also invited are a few community experts. Here's a link to our wiki for you to list the topics you want to discuss http://neugsummit2009.pbwiki.com/ O'Reilly Media is hosting the event with Microsoft at their New England Research and Development Center (NERD)--One Memorial Drive in Cambridge, MA--which is easily accessible via public transportation and has ample cheap parking nearby. For more information, go to: http://www.microsoftcambridge.com/About/Directions/tabid/89/Default.aspx We've also invited other industry notables such as Google, Adobe, Red Hat, SourceForge, Wiley, Wrox, Safari Books Online, and more. Please RSVP by going to http://neugsummit.eventbrite.com/ as soon as possible so we know how many people are interested. Because we have limited space, we can only extend this invitation to you and one additional member of your group. There is no fee to attend and we'll provide some snacks and beverages throughout the day. We've scheduled activities from 11am to 5pm but you're welcome to arrive as early as 10:30am. We look forward to a great community event! See you soon. O'Reilly Media and Microsoft Marsee Henon O'Reilly Media User Group Manager About O'Reilly O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly has been a chronicler and catalyst of leading-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism. Visit us at: http://oreilly.com/ UG program information http://ug.oreilly.com/ About Microsoft Microsoft New England Research & Development Center is a new research and software innovation campus located in the heart of Cambridge, Massachusetts. This new campus is home to Microsoft Research New England, Microsoft Startup Labs, Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) and other development and marketing teams from across Microsoft. Visit us at: http://www.microsoftcambridge.com/ _______________________________________________ Boston-pm mailing list [email protected] http://mail.pm.org/mailman/listinfo/boston-pm
