26 \ August 2019 \ http://www.phparch.comCultivating a Community:Five Things I’ve Learned Running a PHP User Groupcharging a nominal fee^13. This fee helps cover the cost of food
and makes members feel more invested, so while we don’t do
it at the Chicago PHP User Group, it’s not a bad idea.Continuing to Improve in 2020 and Beyond
I’ve learned a lot in this first year of running our PHP User
Group, but I do still feel like we have several areas to improve.
In the next year, I’d like to try some of the following ideas and
best practices other organizers have passed along.- Adopt a Code of Conduct. I haven’t heard any specif-
ic instances where members felt unsafe or discriminated
against, but then again, maybe they just haven’t felt comfort-
able saying anything. Having an explicitly stated Code of
Conduct is an important way to tell members that certain
behavior is unacceptable and should be reported. - Hold more panel discussions. Creating and giving a
45-minute presentation is a huge undertaking, so unsur-
prisingly, not many of our members can commit to it. For
the past couple of years, we’ve held one month for light-
ning talks, which is a great way to get lots of new speakers
involved, but panels are also useful for this. As a panelist, a
member needs to bring their knowledge and doesn’t need
to commit to a slide deck. - Collaboration with other meetup groups. I’ve tried
holding joint meetups a couple of times, but so far it’s
been challenging to work out the timing and coordination.
13 90% attendance by charging a nominal fee:
https://phpa.me/hhg2288-2448
Having one more party in the mix makes communication
more complicated, and every meetup organizer has opin-
ions about the best way to do things. That said, I think panel
discussions would be an interesting opportunity to work
with other groups—for example, we could host a CMS
(Content Management System) panel and invite represen-
tatives from the WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla meetups.What Can Members Do to Help?
While my tips are mainly aimed at user group organizers,
most of you are probably not running a meetup. If you attend
your local PHP user group, there are plenty of things you
can do to help the organizers out and make sure the group is
healthy and successful:- First, ask what you can do to help. Speaking is an obvious
way to get involved, but you can also volunteer to record
the talks and post them to YouTube (as our member,
Yohan Park^14 , does for us in Chicago). Spread the word
via social media or your office email list, or talk to your
employer about sponsoring sometime. - If you want to speak, but you’re nervous, talk to the
organizers. It’s okay to ask for concessions like having a
co-speaker, getting a shorter time slot, or turning your
presentation into a group working session. - Understand meetup organizers can’t read your mind. If
you see inappropriate behavior, you want a specific topic
to be covered, or you have questions, talk to the organiz-
ers. We love getting feedback from attendees.
Finally, I’d love to keep the conversation going and hear
your tips. You can find me on Twitter at @KarlLHughes.
Karl is the CTO of The Graide Network^15 ,
where he manages product development and
software engineering. He also co-organizes
the Chicago PHP User Group^16 and runs
CFP Land^17 , a free newsletter for technology
conference speakers. @KarlLHughes14 Yohan Park: https://phpa.me/yohan-park-7920
15 The Graide Network: https://www.thegraidenetwork.com/
16 Chicago PHP User Group:
https://www.meetup.com/Chicago-PHP-User-Group/
17 CFP Land: https://www.cfpland.comRelated Reading
- Community Corner: Lessons Learned Running a
PHP User Group by James Titcumb, March 2018.
https://phpa.me/community-corner-march-2018 - Two Years Of PHPAmersfoort: Running a Local User-
group by Stefan Koopmanschap, November 2018.
https://www.phparch.com/magazine/2015-2/november/