BozemanLUG: Looking to the Future

Ten years ago, I would not have expected Linux to have as small of a market share as it does now. I guess I underestimated the power of network effects and software patents.

As for the LUG, a four hour one way drive is a bit much for a meeting, so I haven't been for a while.

Scott, I too thank you for all you do to keep the LUG alive and although I am booked until Feb, doing the FIRST robotics thing, I will put my hat in for a presentation after that.

I do enjoy greatly the meetings, posts and comments this LUG (Scott) generates and don't want to see this end. It seems we are all pretty busy but I don't think some promotion is out of question. I work at RightNow Technologies and a few well placed fliers could pull a good range of folks that I am guessing don't even know about the LUG.

The bottom line for me is I want the LUG around and am willing to pitch in to keep it that way.

Now that I think more about it if there would be interest I could do a FIRST robotics presentation this month or next, with the disclaimer that I am still looking for volunteers to help out with this years competition.

Pippin Wallace

I just moved into Bozeman from Scottsdale, AZ about three weeks ago. I heard about the Bozeman LUG from a coworker at RightNow Technologies. A few years back, I belonged to a LUG in Rexburg, ID and enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to getting back into one here. I'm hoping I'll be able to make it to the October meeting. I was going to attend the September meeting, but decided last minute to spend time with family nearby.

I have at least three presentations I can immediately contribute to the group (Embedded Linux, VirtualBox, and Web 2.0). I would be happy to volunteer to give any/all of these presentations if you'd like.

Looking forward to meeting ya'll.

Best Regards,
Derek Hildreth
http://thelinuxdaily.com
http://derekhildreth.com

From: Anna Collins-Proper

I haven't been on your mailing list very long, and although I do read all e-mails they are mostly over my head. I think that if you gave lessons of the simple type you might get more people.

My son got me started just by changing me over to Ubuntu. I am not the best on the computer, and probably will never be, but I do appreciate Ubuntu. I had so much trouble with Microsoft -- I hardly ever get in trouble now. When I do I call my son.

Just like R. Potter said, I would be embarrassed to go to a meeting as I know little about computers. If you could show people how much better Ubuntu is you would get more disciples. Find a way to entice them.

Sincerely,
Anna Collins-Proper

From: Lou Caudell

I once suggested to Ken that a mix of subjects would attract more participants. He gave me a look as if to say that bored him, but the fact remains that we were having a technical presentation, and then one of our rant sessions. If the new comers were the least bit intimidated, they likely never came back. It would be better to have a presentation of general knowledge subjects, such as: how X works, or rsync, wireless setup, review a command, etc... along with a technical presentation as well. Even old pro's can benefit from a new implementation update. If this were a Java Users Group, then it would behove them to present concepts to the beginners, and entice them with more technical utilizations. There can be a huge amount of ego in the Linux community, we need to rise above that and make newbies feel more comfortable.

- Lou Caudell

From: Rob Potter

Not sure I have any answers. I have been trying to think of how we as a group could promote Linux and especially the IEEE units with Bozeman kids. But so far I have been unable to think of an appropriate age group/event that would allow us to get involved.

I do think a big hurdle might be the knowledge that we exist. After someone finds out for sure we exist then comes remembering the one night a month and not being caught up with other life obstacles. I wonder how many people are uncomfortable or unsure of finding us on campus? I had to step out of my comfort zone the first time on several levels one of which was venturing onto the campus.

For me, I enjoy attending even when there is no presentation planned. I attend for a few different reasons but all in all because I just enjoy getting together with everyone. I especially enjoy the after meeting side walk BS sessions - not sure how we can promote those without Beer and Meat being offered . I attend in hopes I learn something Linux related that I might be able to put to use.

I might be a bit more unique though than everyone else. Although I am just guessing, I think I may be the least educated, least Linux experienced and probably least technically experienced person in the group. This at times has created brief periods of minor "deer in headlights" episodes as I have had no real understanding of some discussions. This can be somewhat uncomfortable, but to date no one has really shown any irritation over my lack of comprehension which has made my LUG experience all the more enjoyable. Perhaps some people assume attending a LUG meeting would be a little like a farmer in a room full of Google Engineers? Anyhow, my overall lack of General or specific Linux experience is why I have not and cannot think of anything to present. It's not that I want Scott or anyone else to shoulder all the presentations, it's that I don't feel I have anything to offer. My Linux usage, my Linux customization, etc., all must be pretty simplistic or it probably won' t get done.

Like I said, I don't really have any answers, but I've tried to shed some light on why I attend, what I enjoy and why I don't give presentations.

-Rob Potter

From: Brian Vincent

To follow up with a completely random collection of thoughts:

* I think attracting more students and people in the community is a good idea. I think the make up of the LUG will stay the same and I think it'll just add more likeminded people.

* David E. mentioned finding out "who we are". I think that's a good idea, and the answer will likely come down to Linux hobbyists and doing fun things with Linux. While I don't mind sitting through a presentation that discusses the intricacies of setting up Samba in an enterprise environment, I'd really rather hear about something fun, like using Blender.

* I think extending presentations beyond Linux is ok. For instance, we do some things at work that are pretty interesting such as setting up wireless mesh networks, managing a Blackberry Enterprise Server, and making things like lift tickets scan. I also have a lot of experience in the telecom world, so if you've ever wondered how to cable a T1 or how you'd locate pair 437 in a 600 pair cable, or crazy WAN things, there's a good chance I've done it.

* Kudos for Scott for stepping up and organizing so many meetings and presentations. It's a lot of work. I know I don't attend a lot of those meetings, but I still appreciate there's someone in the community promoting Linux.

* I think you might be able to publish a calendar and get people to fill up slots for presentations. I know that I could commit to doing one presentation a year. I could probably get 1 other friend to do the same. Now if we had 10 other people, that would fill the entire year. The approach here should be very direct emails to people that say, "Brian, will you put together a presentation for January? I need to know your topic by tomorrow." Or, "Dan, I know you just did a project using a wifi spectrum analyzer, I need you to do a presentation on it at the next meeting otherwise you have to bring pizza for everyone."

-----------------------------
Brian Vincent
Moonlight Basin Technology

From: Jordan Schatz

Well, I don't know about how to increase membership, except that I wonder how many of the college students and other people around Bozeman even know that the LUG exists? I wouldn't try and convince anyone to come, or to change the meetings so that more people want to come, just let more people know that its around.

BTW I can increase the number by one : ) I plan to come around after I move to Bozeman in November.

-Jordan
(web developer / emacs + racket-lang fanatic)

From: David Boreham

Ok, my $0.02 worth:

I think the current meeting format, type of people attending is great. I'd come to every meeting if I didn't have other stuff in my life that makes it almost impossible for me to attend any event of any kind in the evening.

In fact, if the meetings were during the work day, I'd come to every one. (I have two kids in elementary school and the time between the end of the school day and bed time is pretty packed up with sports activities, music lessons, scouts, homework, etc every day of the week). I'm not saying move the meetings to the daytime, just explaining why I only show up every couple of years. I'm also an IEEE member and their meetings are cool too, but I haven't been to one in...um...6 years.

I know a few interesting people living in the area (major league coders, gray-beards) who would I'm sure enjoy the meetings, but it's hard for me to persuade them to attend when
I don't :(

From: David Eder

I believe the quest for membership numbers to be a common issue to all organizations. But I also believe it to be wrong-headed. If we seek to change our organization to be more attractive, we will head into the downward spiral of chasing whatever is the current "in" thing. This almost always universally fails.

I believe the best approach is to first discover who we are.

If we promote our true identity we will attract people of like-mind. If we promote what we think people will like, they will come, find out who we really are, and leave.

I propose that we all answer the following question:

Why do you come, and what do you think would make it better for you?

And my personal answer is:

I come to the meeting for two reasons: 1) I like to be exposed to new ideas and software, and 2) I have nobody else to shop-talk with. I think we should get to know each other better. I doubt many of us know much about each other other than our names. And we don't even have that down often times. We could know things like were we work and what we do there?

How do you use Linux at home? What do you wish you could do? What do you struggle with? What's been going on in the last month?

So, I guess my talking point is that we should find out who we are and then promote that.

As always, don't be shy about saying I'm wrong. I won't be offended.

David

Scott, I really see and have experienced you points made here. Reasons for not advertising are spot on. With the BillingsLUG though, I see a more folks stepping up lately. I certainly don't mind facilitating if I'm not expected to present and make all the decisions. Scott, you have done both and one of them, I think, should be delegated out.

I like hearing about the 'Lunch with Linux' project! Was a bit taken when hearing about the intimidation aspect. I'm not sure we will ever get respect beyond just being known as the dreaded 'hackers'.

Last week I mentioned in IRC, on my way to our LUG meeting, I noticed a gal at the stop light thinking to myself... I wonder what she would think of our meetings or what behavior would change with the guys in the meeting. Truth of the matter is, she probably would not feel too comfortable. Not that we talk coarse either, just the intimidation factor.

Change is good too! I learned over the years with everything, not just Linux, that if you are not willing to change, then you will get fired, boring, and dwell in the past. If your not always changing you are dying.

I'm not entirely sure that I'm allowed to comment on this particular subject, but I thought that I'd throw my $0.02 into the ring here anyway.

First, a little bit of full disclosure. While I was one of the first people in the BozemanLUG, I haven't attended in quite some time. I do miss it, but it's a little bit of a drive from my house here in Phoenix. I do still lurk in the background of the mailing list, and enjoy the discussions.

I can honestly say that during the time that I was attending the meeting, it was a tad bit intimidating, mostly since it seemed like pretty much everybody knew more about the whole thing than I did. I've been using Linux since around 1996, but mostly for Desktop and LAMP systems. I've done all the usual stuff in Linux, kernel updates and the like, but I've never come into nearly the whole system understanding that it seems the vast majority of the attendees there already have.

I think if you'd like to get a little bit of new blood into the group, you're going to have to advertise. I don't think anybody will argue with that. The other thing is schedule and stick to it. Get some presentations scheduled a couple months in advance, several per meeting. Make those things items that will interest a variety of different people. If you're going to recompile your kernel in one presentation, do another presentation on setup and installation of World of Warcraft in Crossover Games or something of the like. That way you're covering a wide range of subjects, and people will be less inclined to skip a meeting because the "only" thing that will be discussed will be something they're not that interested in. After you've got your meetings and subjects scheduled, advertise like you're running for public office. Make signs and t-shirts, buttons and stickers. Get the word out there any chance you get.