WordPress Meetup Roundtables scheduled for March

In an earlier post about how to assist dormant Meetup Groups, we kicked around some ideas on how to support meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. organizers in their essential community work, especially if they are struggling or suffer from burn-out.

As a test, experienced meetup organizers will host four Meetup Roundtables. Kathy Drewien, Roberto Remedios, Jim True and Ulrich Pogson have already agreed to be our hosts, and we are recruiting a couple more people right now!

The Meetup Roundtables are an opportunity for Meetup organizers to connect and discuss challenges and opportunities for their local MeetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook.. We’ll hold them via video chat, using Zoom.

Here are the dates and topics, all Wednesdays at 16:00 UTC

The format is quite informal. We’ll kick-off the meeting with introductions, name, and location. The hosts will talk about their experiences for this week’s topic for a few minutes, and then we open it up for general Q & A from participating organizers.

For this first round, we’ll plan for these video chat Meetup Roundtables to last one hour. We will record them and make them available for those that couldn’t make it.

We hope you can join the discussion! If you’re an experienced meetup organizer in the WordPress chapter program and would like to participate as a host, please comment below!

Interested in learning more about WordPress Meetups?

#meetups-2, #roundtables

Handling Dormant Meetup Groups

With 575 meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. groups on the chapter account (and always growing!) we like to check in every so often to confirm if the groups are active. However, there are some meetup groups in the program that are inactive or dormant, and we need to figure out how we should manage them going forward.

A few weeks ago, I exported a list of current chapter meetup groups to a spreadsheet and sorted them by the date of their last event. A quick guide to this spreadsheet:

  • Groups highlighted in Red haven’t had an event in over a year.
  • Highlighted in Orange haven’t had an event in 6–12 months.
  • Highlighted in Yellow haven’t had an event in the past 3–6 months.
  • You’ll notice a column titled “Upcoming Events”, which we’ll need to investigate for each group, as it can mean they have an event listed, but don’t have a location and/or date yet.

In some inactive groups, organizers are still interested, but they are struggling with attendance and/or finding event topics. We should check if this is the case, and if we can help advise/support them in any way.

I propose the following plan:

  • Email existing organizers of dormant groups that we have contact info for (according to the Meetup Status doc).
  • Also reach out to the organizing team via message on Meetup.com (this will help ensure that the message reaches organizers that we don’t have email addresses for, and/or if their contact information has changed).
  • If we don’t hear back from any organizers for a particular group by 5 March 2018, we will then reach out to all the members of the group via Meetup.com message to ask if anyone is interested in organizing.
  • If no members of the group volunteer to organize the group by a 12 March 2018, we will remove the group from the chapter account.

Below is the email that I’ve drafted, which is based on an old annual survey email that we sent to dormant groups. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for changes and/or additions.

Continue reading

#meetup-com, #meetups-2

Payment Intermission September 11-18

The Automattic sponsored staff members of the Global Community TeamGlobal Community Team A group of community organizers and contributors who collaborate on local events about WordPress — monthly WordPress meetups and/or annual conferences called WordCamps., who routinely handle WPCSWPCS The collection of PHP_CodeSniffer rules (sniffs) used to format and validate PHP code developed for WordPress according to the WordPress Coding Standards. May also be an acronym referring to the Accessibility, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, etc. coding standards as published in the WordPress Coding Standards Handbook. banking, will be at a company offsite September 11-18. During this time we’ll halt WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. and MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. vendor payments, reimbursements, and sponsor payment attribution. If you’ll need to pay for goods or services in mid-September, please submit all requests no later than 9am Pacific Friday, September 8, 2017. Payment requests submitted after that time will not likely be processed until Tuesday, September 19, 2017. Sponsor invoices paid September 11-18 won’t be marked paid until September 19.

If you have an urgent payment request that must be handled that week, but did not submit your request prior to September 8, please reach out to @kcristiano. He can be found on slackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.@kcristiano“.

DeputiesProgram Supporter Community Program Supporters (formerly Deputies) are a team of people worldwide who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about program supporters in our Program Supporter Handbook., mentorsEvent Supporter Event Supporter (formerly Mentor) is someone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues., and community members will still be available by email at support@wordcamp.org or on Slack in the #community-events channel.

Normal vendor payment and sponsorship attributions scheduled will resume Tuesday, September 19, 2017 though it may take us a day or two to get fully caught up.

#payments #afk #wordcamps #meetups-2

New Documentation: Presenter Best Practices

It seems odd that in our ever expanding documentation we don’t really have much content on the best practices for presenters in our program. Given that presenters are one of the cornerstones on which we build WordCamps and MeetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. that’s something we’d like to change but we need everyone’s help.

We’re looking for a good general set of best practices for each of the following specific presenters/ presentations so please let us know what has worked best for you both at events at which you’ve presented and which you’ve organized.

  • Opening Remarks
  • Emcees
  • Speakers

Example questions we’re looking to answer: What should be covered during opening remarks? How much content should an emcee share? How do you deal with attendees who interrupt your presentation?

But please don’t let that limit your response. Anything that can be of help to organizers, presenters, and emcees at WordCamps and Meetups could be relevant. We’re looking to curate some truly helpful advice and best practices for the handbook so let us know what you know, or what you’d like to see.

#wordcamps #meetups-2 #handbook

Swag for Meetup Groups

We currently have a policy that WordPress Chapter MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. groups who have not received swag in the past 18 months are eligible for to receive a 100-pack of WordPress swag (which contains 100 stickers and 100 buttons with the WordPress logo). The reason we have this policy is because we usually restock swag with that 18 month cycle in mind. However, it’s possible that we need to scale that up if lots of organizers are experiencing unusual growth in their groups.

Do you think that this is of concern, especially as more Meetup groups experience growth, and as we’re seeing more new Meetup groups being created?

If so, what solution(s) would you suggest? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

UPDATE: We intend on coming to a decision on this on Friday, 21 July, soon after the Community Team meeting. Please chime in with any suggestions or opinions in the comments before then. Thanks!

#meetups, #swag

Group Meetup Orientation at WCEU Contributor Day

Greetings potential meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. organisers!

At the Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/. for WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Europe this year (which will be taking place on 15 June), we will be holding a group meetup orientation at some point during the day. So, if you’re planning on starting a meetup group in your area and you will be attending the Contributor Day, then please get your meetup application in as soon as you can by filling in this form. That way we can process it before the day and you can join in the group meetup orientation along with the other new organisers who will be doing the same thing.

Even if you are attending the Contributor Day as part of a different contribution team, you can still attend the meetup orientation as it will not be longer than 1 hour. We will decide on the time of day for the orientation closer to the date, and will let those of you who are going to be a part of it know when it will be.

This will be a great way to kick start your meetup group as you will immediately have a friendly network of other organisers who you have chatted to in person 🙂

#meetups #training #deputies

Premium Plugin in exchange for promo favors for Meetup Organizers

We’ve had a lot of discussion with MeetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. and organizers in the past about how to handle sponsorship for meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. groups. One of the types of sponsorship offers we see are  similar to this one:

Modern Tribe offers the Event Aggregator plugin to meetup organizers on the chapter program who also maintain a WordPress site for the group.On the application form, they request from the applicant: (paraphrased here)

  • to send information to the group’s members via email 
  • to share information at an upcoming Meetup
  • to tweet our thanks (if a twitter account is available)<
  • to post a Thank You Facebook page (if available)
  • to give Modern Tribe and The Events Calendar permission to show meetup logo within their lists of participants/customers.

As I understand  #1 of the Good Faith rules, this doesn’t seem to benefit the community as a whole. As a WordPress meetup organizer, I would not sign up for this kind of offering.

What do you think about offers like this? How do you think, it should be handled by Meetup Organizers? Please add your comment below.

#meetups #deputies

Dear Meetup Organizers, we need your help with Meetup Video Testimonials

WordPress meetup TestimonialsDear MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. Organizers

A favorite moment in all WordPress meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. is that time when you meet new WordPress users and hear their stories of how they use WordPress. Sometimes it’s a simple blog, sometimes it’s a complex content management system for news, or a mid sized e-commerce site for their local store front. Whatever the story, it’s always fascinating.

We would like your help in sharing those stories with the WordPress community.

Can you take a few moments to record a video testimonial with one of the attendees at each of your meetups? Nothing fancy, no special cameras, microphones or glaring lights. Just a camera phone and a good, honest story that will inspire others as they search for how to use WordPress for their own projects.

Let’s do this in March and April, folks. WordCamps count, too.

As Dave Navarro says, impromptu videos are best.

“I work for a TV and Radio station in the midwest and I can tell you, from experience, that unpolished raw video has more of an impact on most people in social media than polished professional video.”

Suggested prompts:

  1. How long have you been using WordPress.
  2. What brought you to the Meetup?
  3. How has coming to this Meetup affected you?

Scope:

  • Spontaneous or planned video testimonial.
  • Make sure the lighting is good.
  • Quiet place is best.
  • Have them speak up (good audio).
  • 1-2 minutes is best; max 5 min.
  • Upload to WordPress.tv in the Testimonial CategoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging..

WordPress.tv Testimonial Category for Meetup Marketing

WordPress.tv Testimonial Category for Meetup Marketing

Videos that you lovely meetup organizers upload for the Marketing The Community are here.

Once the videos are accepted and published, share, share, and share!

Love,

The Marketing the Community Team

#video-testimonials #meetups

Collecting ideas & methods for Meetups promotion / growth

Hi Everyone,

We would like to share ways that people are promoting, growing and sustaining their local meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook..

The idea will be to collect what people are doing in their local areas and turn them into information we can share with everyone via our meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. handbooks and the way we give meetup support to all the organisers we meet.

Let us know below how you are organising your local meetup and share your ways of promoting, growing and sustaining the local community where you are!

Thanks!
#meetups

Global Translation Day 2

Hello hello!
As some of you might know, last April the Polyglots teamPolyglots Team Polyglots Team is a group of multilingual translators who work on translating plugins, themes, documentation, and front-facing marketing copy. https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. hosted the first Global Translation Day with 24 hours of streamed sessions and live events around the world. It was an incredible experience: we translated thousands of strings, on-boarded hundreds of new contributors and ate tons of cake (oh well, that might have been only in Torino). If you wanna read some really impressive statistics, head over to the recap post:

Global WordPress Translation Day – recap & results

It was such an incredible experience that we decided to have another one on November 12 and we would like to get *even* more people excited from all over the world.

I have been involved with Polyglots and Community for a while now and I think it would be very helpful to have the support from the Community team to do some outreach.

I will get in touch with WordCamps that have Contributor Days coming up to announce the event, and I think it would be super cool and effective if we could send a message to all MeetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our Meetup Organizer Handbook. organizers in the chapter: @chanthaboune do you think it would be possible?

We have a ton of materials from last WGTD to help Meetups organise a local event if they want to, even if they never contributed to Polyglots before.

Here is the website for the upcoming event: https://wptranslationday.org/
Here are all the videos recorded last time, I think they make an incredible resource for Meetups: http://wordpress.tv/event/global-wordpress-translation-day-2016/

Can you think of other ways to get local communities involved? I am all ears! We can brainstorm here or chat on SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/., I am @francina.

Ciao for now!

#contributor-day, #contributor-meetup, #meetups-2, #translation, #wordcamps