In talking with Russell Campbell via email, he mentioned a downfall to the groups on here mirroring the user groups around town.

The problem he stated is that unless you were to get every one of your members to join this site (which we know will not happen), then your group may give the appearance of being smaller than it is or worse yet dead.

In my opinion, AtlantaUserGroups.com should only be a way to augment an existing groups infrastructure and not detract from what they already have in place. If a group has a centralized resource website then obviously we want to drive people and traffic to that website. This site would then work as more of a marketing source hitting people in the Atlanta area interested in user group atmospheres.

If however, there is a user group that does not have the infrastructure of a website, then could most certainly use this platform for a lot of things like tracking RSVPs, posting meeting materials before and after, having pre and post-conference discussions as well as utilize the LIVE chat service during the meeting itself.

With that in mind, it may make more sense to have the groups mirror a technology. For instance there could be a group for ColdFusion enthusiasts in Atlanta. That group of course would have information regarding www.acfug.org but possibly other CF resources like the global online meeting group run by Charlie Arehart.

What are some thoughts in this arena?

Views: 0

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I "solved" that problem by making the description of our group read like this: "The Atlanta FoxPro Users Group meets the second Tuesday of each month. Please see our site for further details. Note: The number of members here is not reflective of our actual membership." I hope that helps.

You mentioned live chat . . . check out www.dimdim.com for free online meetings like WebEx and GoToMeeting, but for free (for up to 20 participants per meeting, paid after that but still reasonable). They have chat built into that, but the real draw is for desktop video/audio sharing so that the participants can see the presentation.
I actually forgot and had chat on here disabled. It is now enabled on the bottom of the screen.

I will have to check out dimdim.com (another great reason to have the group leaders here, for different ideas). Sharing desktop video/audio will be a great feature.

Also, since this platform is built upon Ning which is part of OpenSocial, we should see more and more plug-ins/applications available for the groups and even your individual profiles.

You can even add PacMan to your profile if you want to get nostalgic for the old classic.
Great points Ben and echo those sentiments of trying to keep a centralized communication strategy.

With that posting there I was experimenting with how to deal with "online" events and events that fit into more than one group (that one being flex and php). I didn't realize it would email you as the admin, but at least it helped nip something immediately in the butt.

As admin you should be able to turn off the discussion section, which makes sense for your group. You should also have control to turn off the comments area and other stuff, basically make your group nothing more than an outpost leading people to your central area. This is what I'm doing with our ACFUG group here, the same as we have set up with our LinkedIn and Facebook groups.

Discussion Forums is something we don't currently have on our CF site, so I left them on for our group.

This same conundrum falls into place for posting events. Check "disable RSVP" if you already have a system in place. Most groups here do, but some groups do not, so they may wish to use the RSVP system.

Again, thanks for all of your thoughts on this as I think we are getting it honed down more and more, and tailored to each group.

The Uniqueness of utilizing Atlanta User Groups vs. FaceBook,LinkedIn, MeetUp etc. is that the target audience of this site is not just PHP Users in Atlanta, or CF users, the way that I have seen the other big social sites end up looking like in being "Just another outpost for the same group".

The advantage we are looking for here is that the audience is broader and more specific in that it is people that like learning about varying technologies in this format when they know about them.
I used some JQuery to remove the display of number of members from the homepage and group listing page. It does look better.

I still need to dig into jQuery a little bit more to figure out how to remove the member numbers from the two places on the individual group page.

Anyone know if there is a jquery command to find text inside of an element and zap it out. That would then clean up the group number conundrum.
Hi, I'm brand new to the area, and so also new to the group. I found out about this site by way of the Atlanta Mac Users Group, which I had just joined. They are considering joining this group, and I think that they should, to help promote it. I've joined to find out about other groups, but also because I am starting a new user group. I hope this web site will help me to start and publicize my new user group.
Welcome David. Absolutely, any and all groups should feel free to join and use this site as a method to promote their groups and meetings. Even for yourself David, I'd encourage you to go ahead and start a group on here to begin gathering interest in your topic, finding speakers and a place to meet.

As far as the mac user group, I have not had a chance to attend one of their meetings, but definitely having them post their meetings here month by month would be great. They have a great logo. I posted their event for them in June, but it conflicted with another user group on here. Definitely add their August event if you know about David. The point is to make this a socially updated calendar for Atlanta.
I think Russell's point is spot on. Both our group and events here are simply pointers to our own web site. This looks like it will mitigate the issue somewhat, but I doubt it will ever solve it.

I'm not fond of the way ownership of groups and events are emphasized. Our group and its events are listed as mine "Stephen Cristol's event Atlanta Perl Mongers (September meeting)" or sometimes they are attributed to non-creators. From the perspective of community building, I think this sends the wrong message. I would rather see text to the effect that "the Atlanta Perl Mongers will meet in September." My first reaction to this was that I need to have two users--one for me personally and one for my role as organizer. Is there a better way?

Also, is there a way for a group's page to show upcoming events? Events and groups seem to have a very loose relationship.

Reply to Discussion

RSS


Latest Activity

Glen Gordon is attending Cheyenne Throckmorton's event
Thumbnail

Adobe CS6 Atlanta Release Party at Ravinia

June 6, 2012 from 6pm to 9pm
Adobe, ColdFusion and Flex User Groups join forces in June to celebrate Adobe's release of the Creative Cloud and CS6. Join us to find out more about both, see some demos, and maybe score a little swag.Details on the presentations will be released closer to the date.Agenda:6:00 Meetup, hellos6:30 Welcome and introductions6:45 Guest presenter TBA8:00 Closing discussionSee More
Wednesday
Cheyenne Throckmorton posted an event
Thumbnail

Adobe CS6 Atlanta Release Party at Ravinia

June 6, 2012 from 6pm to 9pm
Adobe, ColdFusion and Flex User Groups join forces in June to celebrate Adobe's release of the Creative Cloud and CS6. Join us to find out more about both, see some demos, and maybe score a little swag.Details on the presentations will be released closer to the date.Agenda:6:00 Meetup, hellos6:30 Welcome and introductions6:45 Guest presenter TBA8:00 Closing discussionSee More
May 22
Atlanta Foundation for Public Sp posted a status
"Peachtree Hills Festival of the Arts"
May 17
Atlanta Foundation for Public Sp posted an event
Thumbnail

Peachtree Hills Festival of the Arts – Celebrate Summer in Style! at Peachtree Hills Road

June 9, 2012 at 10am to June 10, 2012 at 6pm
     Who hasn’t wanted to wander the lovely tree lined Peachtree Hills Avenue between Buckhead and Ansley Park neighborhoods?  This area is begging for an arts festival, and now it will happen.  Visitors will enjoy a cool summer weekend stroll through the Peachtree Hills Festival of the Arts on June 9-10, 2012.  There is plenty to see and do with 150 artists and artisans lining the festival route, plus a children’s area, gourmet foods and local acoustic music.  The event is easy to find from…See More
May 17
abel.henry is now a member of Atlanta User Groups
Apr 19
Atlanta Foundation for Public Sp posted an event
Thumbnail

3rd annual Buckhead Spring Arts & Crafts Festival at Chastain Park

May 5, 2012 at 10am to May 6, 2012 at 6pm
The 3rd annual Buckhead Spring Arts & Crafts Festival will return to Chastain Park on May 5-6, 2012. Over 175 local artists and artisans from the southeast will celebrate spring with the return of the Buckhead Spring Arts & Crafts Festival at Chastain Park on May 5-6, 2012.  This is the 3rd year for this annual festival, which includes art, craft, antiques, furniture makers, gourmet food trucks, children’s area and local music along Park Drive in Chastain Park.  This event is highly…See More
Apr 7
Kelley Chambers commented on Evan's group Atlanta Web Design Group
"I so hear ya', Cheyenne... LOUD AND CLEAR.  I'm in the absolutely same mindset as you are.  That said, I'm very much about truly satisfying my clients.  I'm just not sure I can make the grade this time with that…"
Apr 4
Cheyenne Throckmorton commented on Evan's group Atlanta Web Design Group
"AOL!  I think you really need to advise your client against this.  I can't think of any reason, even living in the congo, to support AOL these days.  Just download Chrome or anything else for free."
Apr 4

Badge

Loading…

© 2012   Created by Cheyenne Throckmorton.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service