Meetings/2019-12-08

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2019-12-08

1. hackerspaces monthly meeting
   1. 8th December 2019 14:00 UTC on freenode #hackerspaces

attendees: <insert your name here>

   * Josh P, Melbourne Makerspace, FL, USA
   * rtn, ralptheninja
   * aimeejulia
   * bronsen
   * BuZz
   * myself
   * zeno4ever

1. 1. agenda points

1. 1. 1. check-in

• who is here and how are we all doing?

   * rtn - doing well, under the circumstances
   * aimeejulia - here but nursing a very sick Podha (the dog) so a little distracted
   * myself - awake now!
   * buZz
   * bronsen - very late, didn't do much

1. 1. 1. advice for hackerspaces

• How to advertise/marketing/etc to get new members.

   * have a nice name for the hackerspace is a good start (aimeejulia)
   * make sure the space is registered on https://wiki.hackerspaces.org (rtn)
   * we actually do not use paid for advertising, what we do is organising regular meetups and I give some talks at conferences that I go to (aimeejulia)
   * collaborate with other associations that have similar or related interests (aimeejulia & myself)
   * word of mouth (buZz, rtn)
   * twitter, faceboob not worth the effort
   * good blog content that people link to, project writeups and stuff, has given us nice high pagerank so we always come up first when people search for related terms in the area, but getting people to write documentation is a slippery problem (myself)
   * wear your merch (myself)
   * If you have a vinyl cutter, make it a stop on the tour and make sure every visitor has the chance to cut a bumper sticker that they can put on their own car before they leave. You'll be seeing 'em around town _everywhere_ after a few months.(myself)
   * Regular events (don't have to be frequent) allow the curious to "see some action" (bronsen)
   * Get a ML for the space to help with internal and external communication (rtn)
   * Reach out to other local communities to find unexpected overlap (rtn)

• How to keep current members interested and coming in to work on their projects/group projects.

   * I think, is more like avoiding burnout. Interest generates itself unless something's deflating it. (myself)
   * engage in others and their projects, ask how the project is going and how they are doing (rtn)
   * we have a lot of people who'd rather fuss over administrivia, and "SHUT UP AND HACK" hasn't made it into our local lexicon as forcefully as I'd like. (myself)
   * I really want to make it clear that the rules-lawyers are simply not welcome if all they're going to do is nag people. Being excellent is more than just being compliant to every letter.(myself)
   * I think mentorship can help turning new members into active members(bronsen)
   * giving them root on everything also works :D (buZz)
   * never hack alone: hackerspaces, and thus hacking, are social (bronsen)
   * Mentorship works best when it's not helping someone do the task they're interested in (they have to do that on their own), but helping them navigate the group and space so they become independent sooner. (myself and buZz)

• Residencies?

   * ecohackerfarm gives you a room and food for 25 hours a week of volunteering (https://wiki.ecohackerfarm.org/kuckucksmuehle:start)
   * most spaces don't offer anything similar

• Ideas for public events?

   * Repair Cafes
   * Learn to use $tool (table saw, soldering iron, power drill)
   * hackevents
   * Retro gaming night
   * Take-it-apart events for kids
   * bring a friend evening
   * c3talks 
   * open day, waffles, cakes
   * Arduino workshops
   * go somewhere else as a group (myself, bronsen)

• Turning event attendees into advocates, if not future members

   * Gotta differentiate this from "pay for an experience" outfits in town (myself)
   * I've always tried to take an "intermission" in the middle of an event, for someone other than the main presenter, to stand up and talk about the group a bit, what it means to be a community nonprofit, etc. (while the presenter can go get a drink or whatever). And I'll take questions from the attendees. (myself) 

• Where to reach out to get help with e.g. funding or sponsoring to cover costs like rent etc? (rtn)

   * having several membership tiers with varying fees can perhaps help (bronsen)
   * companies will sponsor --as in donate their products--, but will want a tax-deductable receipt (bronsen)
   * organise a fundraiser (hello recursion ;P)
   * Add a donation page to your homepage; bitcoin, PayPal etc (rtn)

1. 1. 1. general hackerspaces.org matters

• shall we organise and meetup session at congress for hackerspaces.org? (aimeejulia)

   * yes (bronsen, rtn)
       * who will set up the meetup?
       * I can do it - aimeejulia

• update on hackerspace census

   * https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/Hackerspace_Census_2019 - last update was in October... I am hoping to pick this up again soon (aimeejulia)

• shall we try to get the hso geekend organised?: https://pads.ccc.de/wrbL1Iu7GE (aimeejulia)

   * Could be something to discuss/bring up at 36c3 (rtn)