# Open Space @ PyCon US 2024: Meetup of Meetups ## Discussion * Intros * Name, what community you're a part of, what you want to do better * Deb Nicholson * Marie Nordin * Angel Hoeppner * Larry Kooper * Przemek * Jeff Triplett * Ryan Miller Galamb * Jon Kiparsky * KwonHan Bae * Mason Egger * Anurag Saxena * Trey Hunner * M * Brian Cohan * Ben Berry * Fay Shaw * Kevin Horn * Iqbal abdullah * Sarah * Barbara Shaurettet * James * & more people who joined later! * Things folks want to do better * online meetings * promotion * finding sponsors * building more leaders * managing hybrid meetups * getting back to pre-pandemic numbers * what to tell people before they start * How to pick things up from dormancy * Tips: * Delegation * Continuity * Consistency over frequency * Mention of strategic breaks (well socialized that it is happening) * Topic 1: Promotion * Word of mouth * Send reps to other events that are adjacent * Media sponsors/partnerships * Having a bigger community (for example having a PyCon organizer at a meetup) present at your event * Reposting each other's events when your area has multiple meet-ups * Cross pollinating meetups (your members go to other meetups to spread the word) * Encourage newcomers/newbies to attend, be welcoming * Find professors local to your region * Request a presence at bigger events (community booths) * Make sure to socialize with other small communities at bigger events * Topic 2: Bringing things back from dormancy and life after pandemic * Keeping the community "warm", social events, happy hours, hang outs at library or other open spaces * Side quest: what do folks think about growth? is it important to keep an event growing? * It's important to sponsors * Be where you are: don't use numbers as targets, use it as measures * Knowing that you have a community/people you know, can be more important than growth numbers. It's good to have people you know, quality interactions. * Ask initial event attendees, what do they want to do? Allow your volunteers to do something that excites them * Having alternate leaders, in case the person running it needs to be away * If someone is new, make sure you interact with them and they feel welcome (it's easier to come back to a meetup where you know someone) * A good task to delegate because its fun! * Go out with people after the meetup to connect further * Topic 2.1: Hybrid events * Slido for hybrid events. Allows people to text in questions, add up votes * Remote event, use something called Meeting Owl- Owl does all the A/V stuff, attendees get normal zoom experience. Owl is a third of the price (still pricey but more affordable). * Good to consider that folks don't like to be recorded. There should be a space where people won't be recorded if this tool is used. * At Hybrid/virtual events, you can ask some bigger names in your community to speak (cheaper and easier for them to be a part of small events) * Doesn't need to be big names! virtual events help inclusivity, allows folks from other countries to give presentations to your local community * People want recordings, make sure to get consent from speaker * Having virtual speakers are great if things don't work out with flights or visas, but some people really dislike this, so don't rely on this * Local meetups are a great place to dry run new talks, some bigger conferences want people to give talks in advance of their meeting * Establish a chat platform (eg Discord). This broadens your meetup audience. Use live stream & chat simultaneously * Foster sub-divisions of your meetup to help encourage newcomers and underrepresented folks to get experience * Topic 3: PSF support * We support some as Fiscal sponsorees. We are at a cap on that currently. * Grants program. Come to the grants office hours! * https://pyfound.blogspot.com/2024/02/introducing-psf-grants-office-hours.html * PSF to help broker speakers for local events * There is a discord Conference Chats (conferencechats.org) Trademarks> please check the Trademark policy before using the Python logo