how to create and start a cloudstack user group in your region
TRANSCRIPT
How to start and grow a
cloudstack user group in
your region
Karen Vuong
Open Source Program Manager
Open Source Solutions at Citrix
@kar3nv
About me
• Open Source Program Manager
• Citrix Open Source Business Office
• Apache CloudStack Project Committee Member (PMC) and Committer
• Founder/Organizer of CloudStack Silicon Valley User Group
• Helps organize CloudStack Collaboration Conferences and CloudStack Days
• Fun facts: Bungee jumping, riding my motorcycle and backpacking in California
What is a cloudstack user
group meetup?
BEER!
So what is a cloudstack
user group?
What?
Place to discuss:
CloudStack-related
Technologies,
Hands on workshops,
Tutorials
Who?
CloudStack Users,
Developers, anyone
Interested in CloudStack
When?
About every 1.5
months for 3 hours
Where?
Companies will host
CloudStack meetups
cloudstack user groups around
the world!
Cloudstack silicon valley user group
-founded 2013-
• 1,015 members
• Largest meetup reached up 155 attendees at Apple
• Various sponsors have supported our meetup group – CA Technologies, NetApp, SAP Labs, Apple, Citrix, Datapipe, etc.
• Co-organizers – Ilya Musayevand John Kinsella
Japanese Cloudstack user
group (JCSUG)• Satoshi Shimazaki - vice-chair of
Japan CloudStack User Group
• 450+ members participate in Mailing List Activities
• 110 attendees at meetups
• Host and participate in events
• Study and book reading meetings
• Hackathons
• Birthday parties
• CloudStack book in Japanese (2012)
Cloudstack European
user group
• Founded in 2013
• 100 members and 7 meetups
• Giles Sirett, CEO of Shapeblue and Harm Boertien from Schuberg Philis are the Organizers
Cloudstack collaboration
conferences Europe 2013-2015
Amsterdam 2013 Budapest 2014 Dublin 2015
How many of you have been to a
cloudstack user group
meetup?
agenda• 3-step process:
• Setup
• Promote (emphasis on this)
• What to do after the meetup
Setup Promote After the event
1,2,3,4,5,6…7(?)
What happened?
• There were two other open source cloud meetups going on at the same exact time
• We capped the attendee list at the maximum room capacity
• We did not do anything to promote the meetup
• We did not send reminders to attendees
Let’s not have this happen again
Setup PromoteAfter the
meetup
Setting Up your Meetup Group
Meetup Groups• Heard of meetup.com?
• Tips and best practices for setting it up, promoting, and what to do after
• Yes, there are steps that you can follow - It’s SIMPLE
• I’ve made it even more SIMPLE with checklists!
Setup Checklist for Your Meetups
Setting Up your Meetup GroupIf you haven’t done so already, create a CloudStack meetup group!
Even meetup.com says “you don’t need to be an expert to organize an awesome meetup.”
*Add 15 topics. If you add “CloudStack” People
who search for topics, such as “CloudStack” will
come across your meetup group.
Appearance of meetup page
Email Karen and she can create a banner for your meetup group.
About section
• Include a description of the
Apache CloudStack project
and what the meetups will
be about
• Visit cloudstack.apache.org
for a project description
• Blurb about meetups,
hands on sessions,
tutorials, etc.
Cloudstack trademark
guidelines
• Follow the CloudStack Trademark guidelines located here: https://cloudstack.apache.org/trademark-guidelines.html
• Questions: Email [email protected]
Setting Up your Meetup Group:
First meetup• First meetup: Start with a beginner’s talk “Introduction to
Apache CloudStack”
• Send out a call for speakers note:• Reach out to the developers, marketing and users mailing lists • Reach out to meetup group members• Reach out to your own contacts
Setting Up your Meetup :
date & time
• Select a date/time for your meetup
• Check meetup.com’s calendar of meetups in your area first for conflicting dates
• Avoid Mondays/Fridays
Setting Up your Meetup:
venue
• Find a Venue
• Reach out to your contacts and ask if they can offer a space for your meetup
• They said YES? Go and check out the space (no surprises).
• Test out the speakers, mic, projector (especially if you are going to live stream)
• Remember to hit “record”
• Ask local libraries, colleges, etc
Setting Up your Meetup:
announce
• Now you’re all set!
• Announce the meetup to your members
• Provide a map and parking information
Setting Up your Meetup:
free event = no shows
It’s a free event – expect a
30% - 50% no show rate
Don’t take it personally
many things get in the way…
Setting Up your
Meetup: The big day
• The day of your meetup:• Arrive about 45 minutes to 1 hour early
• Registration table
• Name badges
• Directional signage
• Beer & Food
• Speakers prepare
• Get slides from speakers
Attendance
• How am I going to get people together?
• Put yourself in their shoes!
Promoting your meetup
Setup Promote After the
meetup
Promo Checklist
CHECKLIST
Social media channels (the project’s LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) ✓
Announce to your meetup group members
✓
Post your meetup on event websites and event calendars ✓
Share a Blurb with meetup group organizers ✓
Email Blasts
✓
Tweet pictures during the meetup ✓
Email the CloudStack developers, users and marketing lists
Promote your Meetup:
social media
• Social media channels:• CloudStack Twitter profile
• CloudStack Facebook page
• CloudStack User Group LinkedIn page
• Open Source LinkedIn pages
Promoting your meetup:
hootsuite
“Save the date! CloudStack Silicon Valley Meetup will be on August 20 clds.co/1FvPyo9”
“RSVP for the CloudStack Silicon Valley meetup on Aug 20 clds.co/1FvPyo9”
• HOW TO:
• Send an email to the CloudStack marketing list
([email protected]) addressed to Sally Khudari, Chip
Childers or Karen Vuong
• Include a spreadsheet with your tweets about your CloudStack Meetup
• Chip, Sally or Karen will get them scheduled within 24 hours
Tweets
• Create click-to-tweets
• Clicktotweet.com
• Ask others in the community to tweet
Promoting your meetup:
Promote your Meetup:
Announce & Remind
• Announce your meetup to group members:• Email members in your meetup group
• Don’t be afraid to send reminders!
• Send reminders 7, 2, 1, and the day of the meetup reminding attendees that it’s still happening
• Setup automatic reminders on meetup.com
Promote your Meetup:
Event websites
• Post your meetup on event websites and event calendars:• opensource.com
• eventbrite.com
• lanyrd.com
• eventful.com
Opensource.com
• Conferences and Events
section
• Click on “submit it today”
• Fill out the form and click
submit
• A RedHat admin will review
and approve your request
eventbrite
Lanyrd.com
Eventful.com
Promote your Meetup: blurbs
• Write up a blurb that other meetup group organizers in the area can share with their members
This meetup will beAWESOME!
#MyAwesomeMeetUp
This is a partner announcement from the CloudStack Silicon Valley User Meetup group. It might
be very interesting for many of you:
____
Dear Community,
It's my pleasure to announce that our next meetup will be around Docker, Kubernetes, CoreOS
and Big Data in Apache CloudStack! Our main speaker of the evening will be Sebastien
Goasguen. He is currently a Senior Open Source Solutions Architect at Citrix, where he works
primarily on the Apache CloudStack project, helping to develop the CloudStack ecosystem.
Sebastien is a project management committee member (PMC) of CloudStack and Apache
libcloud and a member of the Apache Software Foundation.
RSVP NOW: http://www.meetup.com/CloudStack-Silicon-Valley-User-Group/
example
Promote your Meetup:
Email Blasts
Tweet pictures during the
meetup!
You’re done with the meetup!
Celebrate!
Now what?
After the meetup
Setup PromoteAfter the
meetup
After the Meetup Checklist
Good to see you!
Share Links to Slides and Videos
Upload Pictures
Write a Recap Blog Post
Be Consistent and Poll!
• Keep a consistent schedule – every 1.5 months is good.
• Create a poll and ask members which topics they are interested in (make a list of 4 or so)
• Poll only takes 30 seconds!
Checklists are for you!
clds.co/csmeetupguide
QUESTIONS?
