R Y A N C U P R A KJ A V A O N E 2 0 1 3

ORGANIZING YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

BACKGROUND

What is a User Group?

BACKGROUND

• Why do people attend JUG meetings?• Education• Product Education• Networking• Recruitment• Job Opportunities• Community

• Are JUGs vendor specific?• Are all JUGs “public”?

BACKGROUND

How did I end up running a JUG?• Attended a COOUG board meeting 2002.• COOUG was the oldest OO user group in the country.• Non-profit 501c organization with full executive board.• Founded 1993 in Hartford, CT.• Several thousand members and many well known speakers.• Spawned several SIGs:• Java SIG ~ 1999• .NET SIG• RUP SIG• Business Rules SIG

• COOUG ceased existence around 2004.• .NET and Java SIG have continued…

BACKGROUND

• Volunteered at October 2002 board meeting to lead up the effort to restart the “Java SIG.”• Recently graduated.• Didn’t know anyone at COOUG.• Attended only a handful of meetings.• Initially no clue where to start.

• Previous Java SIG leader was MIA• Received an outdated distribution list in an email.• Organization was dormant

CTJAVA HISTORY

History of CT Java User Group (www.ctjava.org)• Started initially at CSC in East Hartford, CT.• Goal to recruit Java developers to CSC (internet

bubble 1999).• SIG continued to meet even after the bubble

burst.• Founding leaders were a group of friends.• By 2002 original founders had drifted away.• Organization was in cardiac arrest. • Assumed control in October of 2002 – re-launched

in January of 2003.

CTJAVA HISTORY

• Meetings initially vendor sponsored:• Only 25% of talk could be a product pitch.• Droplets, Solarmetrics, etc.

• Non-sponsored meetings members kicked in $5 to cover food.• Began connecting with local authors to present.• Mined connections at COOUG for additional

presenters.• No connection with Sun until ~2006.

CTJAVA HISTORY

• Meetings held every 3rd Tuesday.• Joint meetings with other SIGs.• Eventually acquired ctjava.org and ctjug.org

domain names for the JUG.• Organized conference in 2007• 3 tracks• 110 attendees• Small room for sponsoring companies

• Added second meeting location in 2011 near Stamford CT.

DS JUG

• Started DS Java User Group in 2012. • DS Java user group internal to DS (3ds.com)• Leverages internal social networking (SWYM).• Blogging, Polling, Wiki, etc.

• DS encourages internal communities.• Any employee can start a community.• User group spans business units.• Membership spread across the globe.

WHY RUN A JUG

• Improve organizational/people skills. • Build connections outside of work.• Gain insight into technical trends.• Connect with other Java developers and

companies.• Improve your local community.• Foster innovation.• Recruit talented developers.

LESSONS LEARNED

• Running a JUG requires effort and dedication.• JUGs take time to mature and will change over

time.• JUGs cost money:• Time is money!• Raffle tickets for books.• Cups/napkins/plates for food.• Gas/transit to JUG meetings.• Web hosting.

• A new JUG will require an initial investment.

LESSONS LEARNED

• Running a JUG is not much different than running a business.• Marketing – attracting new ‘customers’ • Financial planning – paying for pizza /venue/ insurance.• Sales – recruiting sponsors

• Java rockstar not required• Coding skills != good leader

• Appreciate that there are many different technologies and approaches to solving problems.• Don’t get discouraged when few people show-up

at a meeting – can be traffic, project deadlines,

STARTING A JUG

• Start with a core group of friends or coworkers.• Start the JUG at work:• Facilities already provided.• Attendees share common interests.• Meetings can be held at lunch without logistics.

• Expand the JUG outside of the company over time.• Plan ahead for meetings:• Always have the ‘next’ meeting schedule.• Maintain a regular schedule.

STARTING A JUG

• Legal entity required?• Types of entities:• Non-profits (501c)• Sole proprietorship• LLC• S or C corporation

• Entity taxes• State sales taxes• Annual reports• Trade names

STARTING A JUG

• Opening a JUG bank account:• Trade name required (unless incorporated)• Business account – credit card• Chase Bank – free checking with minimum of 5 charges

• Only open an account if accepting money:• Monthly hosting fees• Venue rentals

• Some sponsors will not pay an individual• Beware of taxes!

LOGOS

• Logos are very important for a JUG.• Purpose of a logo:• Leave a lasting impression.• Visual representation of a brand.• Used by sponsors to promote their involvement in the

community.• Catches the attention of current and prospective members.

• Help form the community’s identity:• Same function as a jersey for a sports team or a flag for a

state.

• Logos convey the personality and character of the organization.

LOGOS

• Logo design is more complicated than it appears.• Use vector graphics.• Beware of copyrights – stock art is dangerous. • Complicated graphics are bad.• Using color for visual effects• Fonts!• Coders usually don’t make good graphic

artists.

LOGOS

• Professional designers > $2000 for a simple logo.• Provides multiple iterations.• Letterhead, greyscale renditions, etc.• Business cards

• Online logo services can be good.• Provide multiple iterations• Used LogoDesignTeam.com for CT Java ($150)• Multiple designers on a project

• Common questions asked by a designer:• Type of logo: (textual/iconic/illustrative)• Special font requests• Preferred colors • Maximum color cost (printing charges by the color)

WEBSITE

• Don’t spend too much time on the website!• Focus should be on the meetings.• JUG websites aren’t destinations.• Plenty of online communities for sharing asking

questions.• Stackoverflow• Java Ranch• OTN

• JUG community is local • Start-off with a Wordpress.com website.

WEBSITE

• Eapps provides discounted hosting to JUGs.• GlassFish/Tomcat/JBoss containers (pre-configured)• Email services – majordomo (moderated mailing lists)• Multi-homed VMs

• Use Google Analytics to track traffic.• Consider using oAuth• Discussion boards: Google Groups, Java.net, etc.

RECRUITMENT

• Recruiting never stops.• Personal connections are the most important.• Encourage members to recruit coworkers and

friends.• Managers can be the best recruiters.• Recruiting is hard:• Direct marketing (postal mail) boasts a 4.4% response

rate.• Email response rate is 0.12%.

• Leverage human resources.• Encourage recruiters to promote JUG meetings.

RECRUITMENT

State technology groupswww.ct.org (Connecticut Technology Council)

SOCIAL MEDIA

• Major social sites:• Facebook• LinkedIn• Twitter• Meetup

• Concerns• Membership privacy • Circumvention of sponsorship rules

• Meetup.com• $75 for six months• Any member can assume control• Poor response rate

SCHEDULING

• Meeting location should be consistent.• Meet regularly and predictably. • Avoid time around holidays:• Weeks before Christmas – shopping/traffic

concerns/company holidays.• Last week of August.• Religious holidays.

• Pay attention to graduation season:• End of June for high school• Early May for college.

• Avoid meeting dates around April 15th!

VENUES

• Meeting location is important for the success of a group.• Location should be convenient for attendees.• Parking should be easy and free.• Should be near tech companies.• If meeting in the evening, meeting location:• Should be on the way home.• Near the office.

• Facilities should include:• Overhead projector• Tables/seats for attendees.

VENUES

Considerations for a venue:• Does the venue require you use a specific

vendor for food?• Are you required to carry liability insurance?• Hotels will cover you for liability insurance.• Some companies will not cover you.• Liability insurance is important!!

• Is security available?• University considerations:• Students will often show for free food. • Urban environment can result in “street” attendees.

VENUES

Potential Meeting locations:• Local Libraries• Limited hours• Restrictions on meetings per year.

• Restaurants• Cabella’s has catered meeting rooms.• A/V capabilities

• Hotels• Provide liability insurance, A/V capabilities.• Can cost hundreds of dollars.

VENUES

Potential meeting locations: (continued)• Universities:• Often have catering requirements.• Room fees may apply.• Events must often be student organized/connected.

• Government Incubators• Many state governments want to sponsor business

development.• Will provide meeting space.

VENUES

ATTENDANCE

• Track attendance – important tool in predicting who will/won’t show. • Some members;• will always RSVP but never appear.• Will always show but never appear.

• Attendance policies:• Removal from the registration list after x no-shows.• Removal from the list after not attending x meetings.

• Require registration to attend:• EventBrite – www.eventbrite.com

MEETING STRUCTURE

• Meetings should have structure!• Typical agenda:• Networking:• Have members introduce themselves and give some

background on their motives for attending.• Provide name tags for attendees.

• Formal announcements – JUG business• Meeting highlight – featured speaker or topic.• Raffles/QA

• Make a point of keeping all attendees engaged.

MEETING TOPICS

• Topics should vary during the year:• Java EE, Java, JVM langauges, Embedded, etc.

• Have meetings on non-Java centric topics:• Image Processing,GIS, etc.

• Vendor’s can and do give good presentations.• Don’t favor technologies – keep an open mind!• There is interest in uncool technologies (like

Struts).• Conduct joint meetings with:• other local user groups.• chapters of the ACM and IEEE.

MEETING TOPICS

Worthwhile vendor presentations:• Alfresco (alfresco.com)• AWS (amazon.com)• GIS – ESRI (www.esri.com)• JBoss Drools (jboss.org)• Android (jpasssion.com)• Lattix (lattix.com)• JRebel (jrebel.com)• Myln (tasktop.com)• Interactive Brokers (interactivebrokers.com)• BIRT (actuate.com)• SunSpots

SPEAKERS

• Speakers – lining up good speakers is always a challenge.• Many people do not like public speaking!• Some people aren’t good at presenting/teaching.• Putting together a presentation is time consuming.

• Finding speakers:• Local members who have organized training talks at work.• Local authors • Pre-sales engineers• Contact publishers • Contact local universities• Recruit at conferences

SPEAKERS

Dealing with speakers:• Always request a copy of the presentation in

advance!• Vendors sometime give a useless high-level sales pitch.

• Titles are important!• Be prepared to handle:• Complications - no-show presenter.• Hostile presenters who mistreat attendees.• Attendees who repeatedly interrupt the speaker and

disrupt the presentation.

PARTICIPATION

• Encourage interaction at meetings.• Be wary of those who want to lead but haven’t

participated.• Discourage discussions of politics.• Delegate tasks:• Sending/reviewing emails• JUG newsletter• Meeting setup• Food• Speaker recruitment• Tracking employment opportunities

POLICIES

• Privacy• Personal information• Distribution List• Attendance• Sponsorship• Vendor Presentations• Presentation Approvals• Passwords• Email Notification• Cancellations due to weather• Executive meeting minutes• Social Media

Q&A

Questions: rcuprak@gmail.com

Connecticut Java User Group: www.ctjava.orgConnecticut ACM Chapter: http://ctacm.wordpress.com