Bob Coppedge
Bob Coppedge gave an excellent and entertaining treatise on the value of developing Professional Special Interest Groups within our organization.
We've talked about SIGs before, and why we don't have any, but some of what he was saying made a lot of sense.
The commonly held view is we don't have any SIGs because of a lack of committed constituency within our organization, and this is probably true. To have a Microsoft Word SIG, or an Adobe Photoshop SIG composed of BGAMUG members, we would have to identify members that both had these interests and had the time to put on meetings and training sessions. This presupposes a lot, as committing even one night a month to the club is something that many of our members can't do on a regular basis.
If we look at the SIG more externally, and realize that even just two people (or one person with an interest and the drive to recruit just one more person), then the SIG becomes a recruiting tool. One of the reasons why very technical people do not attend meetings, and sometimes have a passing interest in the group for one or two meetings, but never show up again, is because we do not offer the detailed, focused, and intense look at the software they use.
I am proposing that there are already SIGs out there in our community, but they don't know what BGAMUG can offer them (discounted software, meeting space, tax-free opportunities, funding opportunities), and may not even know that the ability to hitch on to BGAMUG is a realistic possibility. In short, they meet regularly, perhaps even at work, but are not affiliated with a club because they don't understand what's in that relationship for them.
So, if we look to the John Walkers of the world, and a couple of other guys I know that are out there talking about computers every day, we can, with proper marketing, bring them into the club along with their sub-group. We cannot reasonably expect officers to form SIGs, because many of us are overcommitted to this and other obligations already, but I want to look at this external approach to SIGs and get these parties to realize that they can be a part of BGAMUG without necessarily committing to the meetings or anything, other than turning in something that looks like minutes and recruiting their own membership.
Most of our users are newbies. Many can't or won't organize meetings. But if we can find outsiders that are already meeting, and find a way to associate them with BGAMUG, we can have SIGs.
As a result, I am going to propose one SIG that we already have, but are just not calling it a SIG: The NonProfit SIG. John, myself, and Dick Schultz have been meeting off and on at Big Brother Big Sister of Warren County for most of a year now, helping that establishment form a security policy around their computer network. That, my friends, is a SIG. The work we have done there can help other non-profits, I am certain of it.
What about you all? Do you know of anyone that buys their very bread and butter based on computer education? Someone that does training in computers at local businesses? Here's something I didn't know: Association with a non-profit computer user group is something they can use. It enriches their resume. Probably should be worth at least the cost of a membership.
Mike Moore
We've talked about SIGs before, and why we don't have any, but some of what he was saying made a lot of sense.
The commonly held view is we don't have any SIGs because of a lack of committed constituency within our organization, and this is probably true. To have a Microsoft Word SIG, or an Adobe Photoshop SIG composed of BGAMUG members, we would have to identify members that both had these interests and had the time to put on meetings and training sessions. This presupposes a lot, as committing even one night a month to the club is something that many of our members can't do on a regular basis.
If we look at the SIG more externally, and realize that even just two people (or one person with an interest and the drive to recruit just one more person), then the SIG becomes a recruiting tool. One of the reasons why very technical people do not attend meetings, and sometimes have a passing interest in the group for one or two meetings, but never show up again, is because we do not offer the detailed, focused, and intense look at the software they use.
I am proposing that there are already SIGs out there in our community, but they don't know what BGAMUG can offer them (discounted software, meeting space, tax-free opportunities, funding opportunities), and may not even know that the ability to hitch on to BGAMUG is a realistic possibility. In short, they meet regularly, perhaps even at work, but are not affiliated with a club because they don't understand what's in that relationship for them.
So, if we look to the John Walkers of the world, and a couple of other guys I know that are out there talking about computers every day, we can, with proper marketing, bring them into the club along with their sub-group. We cannot reasonably expect officers to form SIGs, because many of us are overcommitted to this and other obligations already, but I want to look at this external approach to SIGs and get these parties to realize that they can be a part of BGAMUG without necessarily committing to the meetings or anything, other than turning in something that looks like minutes and recruiting their own membership.
Most of our users are newbies. Many can't or won't organize meetings. But if we can find outsiders that are already meeting, and find a way to associate them with BGAMUG, we can have SIGs.
As a result, I am going to propose one SIG that we already have, but are just not calling it a SIG: The NonProfit SIG. John, myself, and Dick Schultz have been meeting off and on at Big Brother Big Sister of Warren County for most of a year now, helping that establishment form a security policy around their computer network. That, my friends, is a SIG. The work we have done there can help other non-profits, I am certain of it.
What about you all? Do you know of anyone that buys their very bread and butter based on computer education? Someone that does training in computers at local businesses? Here's something I didn't know: Association with a non-profit computer user group is something they can use. It enriches their resume. Probably should be worth at least the cost of a membership.
Mike Moore
posted by Michael Moore @ 4:48 PM
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