Running a Successful User Group

The best user group meetings are like a good party—you have a theme, good food, and people stay until the host kicks everyone out. Do you want to meet other people who use and hack on the same software? Have a great idea and want to just get together with like-minded people to talk? We can help you get started!

As the use of open source increases, so does the need to get people who develop and use that software together. And new groups are sprouting up all over! Whether it’s to drink beer and blog, or to start a brand new software project. All the groups we’ve watched start have one thing in common: a motivated organizer. And that can be you.

We’ll cover the following topics: fundamentals (a goal, people, meeting area) and where to find those things; topic ideas to kick-start your presentations; how to host speakers; how to keep the group rolling throughout your first year; and what to do when things go wrong. We’ll also share a couple of case studies from the Portland area.