[Charlug] first things first

[Don Parris]

On 1/9/07, Ken <nuxnog at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Hi Don,
>
> Before we go inviting big shots to meetings, we really ought to get
> membership up. Maybe a Linux CD/DVD giveaway, publicized on the website,
> which seems to be getting good traffic.
>
> A big name might get inactive members to the meeting, but maybe not.  And
> that would be embarassing. Might be advisable to get a "commit" from memb=
ers
> before you solidify arrangements with a speaker. What is the minimum numb=
er
> of attendees that would still be acceptable for a big-name speaker? If you
> cant get a "commit" from that number of members, then can the plan.
>
> So, my suggestion is a membership drive. Use the website to get people to
> join. You got a mailing list of members, you have 100 or so visitors to t=
he
> CharLUG website. Gotta start somewhere. Every member brings a guest to the
> meeting, some kind of reward for that. I thought the CPCC contact was gon=
na
> steer a few tech students in our direction. Need to post a sign for meeti=
ngs
> on school bulletin boards. Ask Joe how many unique IP addresses visit the
> site regularly, get an idea of how many interested parties there are. How=
dy,
> stranger.
>

It seems to me like a bit of a chicken and egg situation.  Who wants to come
if nothing is going on?  By the same token, we're pushing for the class in
March, so hopefully, will be able to build up our membership by April.  I'm
kind of hoping that pulling some big names in to speak will help draw a
crowd.  Besides, some of us surely know some corporate types that we could
invite to a discussion on Enterprise Open Source Adoption?

BTW, you bring up an interesting point about the old members.  We seem to
have lost an awful lot of people when we changed the list over.  Did we just
drop dead weight, or did we lose real members?


Comment:  Most people know that parking at CPCC is tricky, or at least it
> was in the past...one-way access roads and multilevel parking lots. You
> might wanna allay those fears, and put up a nice diagram on the website,
> showing roads, parking lots and pathways.
>


It _would_ be good if we made it a little more clear about how to park at
CPCC, especially since they have changed the parking entrance on Elizabeth
Ave. to an Exit only.  You can enter and exit on Independence Blvd, or on
4th Street, but you can only Exit on Elizabeth Ave.

I agree with the Bring a Friend idea - everyone bring a friend on February
3rd!  I am also looking into how we can advertise in various local media.

Regards,
Don
-- =

D.C. Parris
Minister, Editor, Free Software Advocate
http://www.linkedin.com/in/dcparris
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