ubuntu-qa team mailing list archive

[Roy Verrips <roy@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear All

Below is an edited post from Randall, which was sent to another Ubuntu
group in our region that is going through some growing pains and struggling
to keep the momentum going ... Well worth the read as we think through
getting Ubuntu Qatar off the ground ...
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Randall <randall@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 9:21 PM
Subject: Thoughts about teams, Meetup, etc
To: ...


[Snip] ... It is unlikely I would ever attend a meeting in [Qatar],
but I would love to be able to see lots of vibrant and fun meetings
taking place there. The world needs more Ubuntu.
[Snip] My job (and hobby) is to be an agent of change. I'm also the
Community
Manager for the Ubuntu Vancouver LoCo, which is the largest and
liveliest city-based Ubuntu group in the world, and in some cases, we're
bigger than entire country teams. This is not an accident.

So, why are we successful? It's a number of things, but here are the
biggest reasons I can cite.

1) We are truly local. Our geography is one city. My guideline: No more
than 30 minutes walk/bike/bus. That makes it easy to gather and form
friendships and work on things face-to-face, or just get together and
enjoy a nice meal, to eat Jam,  or to celebrate the newest Ubuntu release.

2) We use meetup.com as our primary channel for organizing events. That
is what meetup is designed to do. Don't believe me? Check out the
founder's message "I started Meetup to use the internet to help people
get off the internet." That is brilliant. Local communities are sadly
busted in many parts of the world. Neighbours seldom know neighbours.
People stare at their screens too much. Facebook, G+, Launchpad, IRC,
mailing lists, etc are all tools that dissolve local community and
encourage more virtuality. Virtuality leads to social disconnection and
problems.

3) We are diverse. We specifically market our group to people who aren't
techies, aren't 1337, and aren't solely looking for business deals.
(There's a lot of the latter in Vancouver.) We got that way by finding
places where non-Ubuntu are, and then going there. It was a lot of trial
and error to get that right. We advocate Ubuntu in street fairs, public
markets, other meetup groups (that aren't about technology.) We
especially encourage non-technical contributions.

4) We have a core team with a consistent philosophy. We essentially sum
it up by saying: Make it fun. Always have growth in mind. Bring in
people that have never heard of Ubuntu. Don't hold events that make
Ubuntu feel like work. (Most of us have day jobs that do that.)

5) We ignore the nay-sayers. We've had people come through the group
that wanted us to be something that is contrary to Ubuntu, or in some
cases only loosely related to it. That waters down the group and makes
others lose interest. Our response in these cases has been "That's a
great idea. But, it is not the idea that will move this group forward."
We encourage people to start groups that are consistent with their needs
rather than to distort or dilute ours.

6) We never stop. We never give up in our quest to make Vancouver an
Ubuntu city. We are persistent.

7) Our meetings are unpredictable, but frequent. We have meeting at
different places and different times and with different themes. That
brings fresh people out rather than the same group of a few that are
always talking about the same things. We've noticed that regular
meetings quickly lose energy.

With all that, what would I recommend if I were with you physically,
rather than just an interested advisor?

I would recommend that you

[Snip]

1) [Perhaps look at] meetup.com. There is no other platform
that comes close to enabling face-to-face community. One day, maybe
we'll build something using Ubuntu that replaces it, but we're not there
yet. Some will say "But is costs money." Well, if everyone pitches in a
small amount, you'll be able to fund it quite easily as a group. If you
grow to a large size,(usually above 500) sponsors may offer their
assistance. View is as the cost to meet really good people.

[2]) Focus on the fun. The rest will follow. People are attracted to
people that are having fun. Leave your computers at home often.

[3]) Don't think of Ubuntu as a project that needs government/governance.
Think of it as a project that needs passion, enthusiasm and great
advocacy. Don't ask for permission. Just do it. We don't have a lot of
time to spread this everywhere. The proprietary world is marching
forward with haste and locking down more and more people every day we wait.

[4]) Don't meet regularly. Meet frequently. Meetup makes it easy to know
when and where the next event is.

[5]) Write [a] crisp mission [statement] for your group and rally around
[it].

Good luck my friends. I hope that I can meet you someday if not in [Qatar]
, then maybe in Vancouver.

Keep up the good fight!

Cheers,
Randall
Ubuntu Buzz Generator

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