Network, Share Information, Learn, Make Friends, and Have Fun; Barbara Conn, author

Network, Share Information, Learn,
Make Friends, and Have Fun!
by Barbara Conn

By starting a Capital PC User Group (CPCUG) Special Interest Group (SIG), you can do any or all of the following:

Learn a computer-related subject of your choosing
Continue to learn after mastering the basics
Share your knowledge with others
Gather with peers in social/networking environments

"Organizing the Internet SIG in mid-1994, just as the Internet boom began, and running it for nearly 10 years, put me in the middle of the blossoming DC-region Internet community. I made dozens of friends, learned a lot, and brought local and national speakers to SIG audiences. Most gratifying was being able to help all sorts of people--computer professionals, hobbyists, and everyone in between--learn about and benefit from the Internet.

"SIGs are a key part of CPCUG's community service, so it's essential that our SIG roster evolve along with technology and the industry. The best way for this to happen is for CPCUG members to organize SIGs they wish existed, meeting their own needs along with likely those of many others."

--Gabe Goldberg, Former CPCUG Internet SIG Chair

As a SIG chair you get to choose the subject for your SIG, the meeting/event formats, and the geographic area for SIG events. CPCUG SIGs are decentralized, meeting at locations throughout Maryland, northern Virginia, and Washington, DC. SIG meeting styles include--

"Go with the flow" agenda
Study group
Question and answer (Q&A) session
Presentation/seminar/workshop/panel discussion/class
Social gathering for networking and discussion (at a restaurant or other relaxed venue)

You can select a specific style for all meetings or select a mix, using two or more styles. You can get started using one meeting format and evolve over time to another. You can add options for socializing and networking to any meeting format (the simplest might be just adjourning to a local pub or restaurant following a SIG event). The choices are yours.

You Can Keep It Simple

Some SIGs are informal. A theme for a meeting might be chosen in
advance, perhaps during a quick discussion at the end of an earlier meeting or event. Someone in the group might volunteer (or be encouraged by the SIG chair or other attendees to volunteer) to make a short presentation and lead a discussion at the next or a future meeting.

Some meetings of SIGs with an informal style rarely have an agenda planned in advance, preferring to "go with the flow." After attendees arrive, discussion focuses on a topic(s) of interest to those present.

A Study Group As a SIG

A useful format for some SIGs is the study group. Meetings might consist of five to a dozen or more people getting together on a regular basis to help each other through problems that arise as they study a programming language or learn an application. An attendee might also present a problem he or she has encountered. Q&A sessions are another popular and worthwhile format. If the SIG leader or members recruit two or more advanced users, with at least one advanced user attending most meetings, participants are even more likely to learn something of value at each session. As a result, they'll look forward with anticipation to SIG meetings. And they'll spread the word about the value of the SIG, adding more participants, and more value.

You Don't Have To Be an Expert

I'm not an expert in business (or computers, for that matter), yet I started and have run the CPCUG Entrepreneurs and Consultants SIG for nearly 7 years. During that time we've offered many excellent presenters knowledgeable in a variety of computer and business topics. To choose speakers, I select from those I've heard or for whom I've received a recommendation from a member of the E&C SIG speaker "scout" team.

If You Are an Expert

If you are a computer guru yourself, as a SIG chair you have a great opportunity to share your knowledge and enjoy your expert status--you've earned it. If you enjoy making presentations, you can book yourself to present. Be careful, however, of booking yourself too often. If you overcommit, burnout may follow. Don't try to do it all. Recruit colleagues to speak on related topics in their own areas of expertise.

"Being a SIG chair forced me to approach industry leaders for presentations, something I would not have had the guts (or desperation) to do on my own."

--Walter Houser, Former CPCUG HTML SIG Chair

CPCUG Resources for SIGs

Over the years CPCUG has made important additions to its resources for SIGs:

Traveling equipment for meetings, including laptop computer (with mobile card for accessing the Internet) and two high-resolution projectors
Speaker leads
Meeting room leads
Insurance--Some meeting venues require that groups carry insurance and/or be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit--CPCUG carries the required insurance and is a 501(c)(3) educational organization
E-mail discussion list using LISTSERV software for each SIG
Web space for each SIG
Publicity via print and Web versions of the CPCUG Monitor, CPCUG e-mail announcement lists, CPCUG Web site, CPCUG General Meeting announcements, CPCUG TV, trade show booths, and more
Door prizes--New SIGs can get help in obtaining door prizes and giveaways for meeting attendees
Registration and collection of fees via the CPCUG office for any fee-based SIG classes and workshops

CPCUG's Web site provides additional information about the many resources available to its SIGs for startup, publicity, growth, management, and maintenance:

http://www.cpcug.org/user/comm/sigresources.html

Topics Awaiting CPCUG SIGs

Computer-related topics around which to build SIGs are limited only by our imaginations. Here are a few mentioned recently as worthy of consideration--

Communications
Digital Photography
.NET
Electronic Publishing
Games
Genealogy
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Graphics
Information Security
Internet
Linux
Project Management
Visual Basic
Web Development
Windows
WordPerfect

"I learned a lot as the WordPerfect SIG Chairperson."

--John Sherman, CPCUG Virginia Vice President

SIGs for Special Demographic Groups

Some SIGs are organized around a demographic trait members have in common in addition to their interest in computers. Possibilities for such new CPCUG SIGs include--

Kids
Seniors (in Virginia)
Spanish Speakers
Teenagers

Starting a SIG

The most important reasons for starting a SIG can be summarized in four words:

Learning
Sharing knowledge
Networking

There are only two requirements for starting a CPCUG SIG:

Hold a public organizational meeting to define the purpose of the proposed SIG and to choose a SIG chair, who must be (or become) a current member of CPCUG (Membership is just $42 a year.)
Attend a meeting of the CPCUG Board of Directors to introduce the proposed SIG and request provisional SIG status

To start a CPCUG SIG, contact--

Dennis Courtney, CPCUG President (and former chair of CPCUG's Delphi SIG)
Gabe Goldberg, CPCUG Director of Outreach (and former chair of
CPCUG's Internet SIG)

If I can start and run a SIG--you can, too.

Join the fun: Contact Dennis and Gabe now!

Barbara Conn is CPCUG Director of Corporate Communications and Chair, CPCUG Entrepreneurs and Consultants SIG. In real life she is a publishing strategist and technical communicator. She may be reached via e-mail.