I attend meetups consistently. I observe, conferences give information; meetups give the transformation.
I have discovered that the informal and interactive format of meetup helps me express myself, connect deeply with others, and build a stronger network than in conferences.
As someone who organizes and volunteers at meetup in Bengaluru, I have seen firsthand what it takes to make them thrive and succeed. In this post, I will share a glimpse of behind the scenes and why these gatherings matter so much to our tech community.
What is a Meetup?
A meetup is an informal community-driven gathering where people with shared common interests come together to share, learn, collaborate, network and grow. Unlike conferences, the meetups emphasize on openness and active participation.
Usually the meetups are a regular happening -- often month after month and it is recurring. The community drives, foster and sustains it with its energy.
Conversations here are not one way lecturing; they are dynamic exchanges where everyone's voice is valued.
Most meetups do not charge and are free to attend. Yet, the meetup delivers amazing hospitality and hosting.
Once you attend a meetup which helps you to be aware and contemporary, you will start searching for more meetups in the community. That's how the meetups function, work and hold you together in your growth journey.
Ravi as a Meetup Volunteer
As a meetup volunteer, I see myself less as a moderator and more as a community curator. My role is not about control; it is about creating space.
I work on facilitation -- assisting so that knowledge, ideas and experience flow from community back into the community. The people are already enabled; what they need is a platform, a spark, a rhythm and that's where I work.
I try my best for the communities of software testing and software engineering.
Meetup Volunteer's Priorities
Here are the first few priorities I work on.
- Have I created an atmosphere and space where people can connect and collaborate with ease?
- How do I foster comfort, conversation, and the confidence to share?
- The real challenge is "tagging" connections -- quickly introducing individuals to help them find common ground.
- Initial facilitation creates a ripple effect -- once people are connected, they will network independently in future meetups.
- How to surface the available knowledge within the community?
- My goal is not to find the speakers.
- If I did so, I will make the meetup a mini conferences; it fails the purpose of the meetups.
- Identifying the "Quiet Experts"
- I collaborate to know who can surface the knowledge and share.
- It is all about collaborating with members to assist them surface and share their unique insights.
- I work to build time and structure for the community to share the knowledge it already possesses.
- It is okay when we do not have an answer. We will solve it in the upcoming meetups.
- As a volunteer, I do not work to give answers.
- Instead, we community work to solve problems.
- Sometimes, we do not get solution for questions in a meetup.
- But, we follow it up, get an approach and potential solutions in the upcoming meetups.
- This is not see in the conferences.
- What if all registered people do not turn up to a meetup?
- In a meetup we do not take attendance.
- Instead, we work on connecting, networking, collaborating and sharing.
- Say 10 out of 40 people turned up the meetup.
- The goal is how we 10 can deeply connect and partner to help self and the community.
- I facilitate here much deeper and stronger on purpose.
- This is an asset we build.
- In the meetup, number of people is not success; the connection we make is!
- How should I function so that this meetup will recur?
- I will be planning for the next meetup sessions in the ongoing meetup.
- It is a ritual that recurs month on month.
- If I run meetup as a conference, people will feel disconnected.
- People do not enjoy the powerfulness of informality and knowledge packed meetup.
- I work on how to remember the names of people. I talk to them by calling their names in next meetup.
- People feel connected and associated when I do so.
- Leaving the meetup venue clean and organized.
- As a volunteer, it is me who will be last to leave the meetup.
- People would have spilled the coffee, tea and eateries.
- I pick it and move to trash bin.
- Erasing the white boards, moving the chairs, pens, duster, cables, turning off the lights and moving the cups to wash basin.
- I do this, if this is not done by the people.
- Look for any items which people have left in the venue.
- Collect it and hand over to them.
- Why I do this?
- It is a mark of respect and my duty to leave the venue clean and organized.
- That way, the venue sponsor will be happy to give us the space next month with hospitality.
Volunteer and Payment
I am not paid for doing all this by the community which organized the meetup. Neither it is observed, recognized and appreciated. But, the security and home staff of the venue got much closer to me to work as a team in running the meetup.
Most times the meetup organizing community do not think of the efforts I put and travel to run a meetup. Yet, I do it for the software testing community and my happiness!
Delivering a Meetup
As a volunteer, I'm more of a community curator than moderator and organizer.
I facilitate [not enable] the sharing of knowledge, thoughts and work from the community to the community.
Running the meetup is a collaboration and team work together with the community. This team work will have multiple challenges to solve. Some of the challenges mention are,
- Passion and commitment
- Funds
- Venue sponsor
- Surfacing the speakers to share the knowledge
- And, speakers who finally makes on the day
- The topics and how it is relevant for the today's need and audience
- Meetup campaign execution
- Attendees
- The audience reach
- Reaching the meetup's information to the right audience
- Registration
- Maintaining the data sanity
- Keeping the audience excited
- Pre-meetup engagement
- Getting the audience to the meetup on the day
- Engagement of the venue sponsor, speakers and audience during pre-meetup, in the meetup and post meetup
- Venue management
- Meeting the venue's administration expectation
- Arrangements and facilities
- Hospitality
- Leaving the venue clean and sane
- Agenda of the meetup
- Keeping it balanced so that it serves audience interest and time with a take back to their desk and apply it
- Volunteers available on the day to host and facilitate the meetup
- Travel of people to the meetup
- Promotions do happen in meetup
- Who is being promoted, why, how and when?
- This has to be evaluated by the volunteers and meetup organizers
- Too much of it, it leaves behind not a good impression in the audience
- Why?
- Meetup should not be a place for promotion by large and solely
- It is a happening where people of common shared interest gather and collaborate informally to learn, share and grow
- Finding the balance here is critical
- The volunteers have a role to play to keep the meetup organizer see the interest of community and not just the business branding
- And, more as you add to it.
To end here, I do not get why this phrase is used in announcements -- "last but not the least".
The meetup organizer and volunteers are not last and the least. They are part of the meetup in each phase. Without the commitment and passion of the volunteers and meetup organizers, the meetup is not ready to deliver.
Yeah, finding that volunteer who is super charged and passionate is like spotting a wishing star!
In gist, this is how the meetups are delivered by a passionate and committed volunteers from the community.
