The first User Groups 2.0 Virtual Conference is scheduled for October 29, but what’s a conference without a keynote speaker?

James Lee of Tropical Software will be the keynote speaker for the first User Groups 2.0 Virtual Conference, scheduled for October 29.

Jim is well-known in user group community, having placed in The MUG Center’s Top User Group Presenter rankings for both 2005 and 2006, providing support for several user group projects and extending discounts for MUG members.

With those credentials, Jim has some insight into the interaction between Mac User Groups and vendors. Jim will present his Top 5 Tips for welcoming a vendor to your user groups. And yes, Jim will be wearing one of his trademark shirts.

The User Groups 2.0 Virtual Conference will help Mac User Group leaders and interested parties operate, improve and move their groups into the future. There are a few (and we mean few) slots still open, so if you’re interested, please email your name, user group name and leadership position and group URL to The MUG Center. Once confirmed, you’ll receive the details for attending and participating.

The MUG Center has announced the first in a series of virtual gatherings to help Mac User Group leaders and interested parties operate, improve and move their groups into the future.

The first User Group 2.0 Virtual Conference will be held on October 29, 2007 from 9 PM until 10:30 PM ET. While there is no charge for attendance, a limited number of participants will be involved, due to the nature of virtual communications. To participate, you will need a telephone or Skype Out (with headset), iChat and a willingness to participate in discussions of pro-active MUG leadership. Bring your ideas and bring your enthusiasm!

To apply to attend, please email your name, user group name and leadership position and group URL to The MUG Center. Once confirmed, you’ll receive the details for attending and participating.

We recently mentioned the need for a group logo in discussing the components of a user group identity, but the topic deserves special attention because it is so important. It can also be difficult to change once you’ve invested time and money in creating any amount of mindshare with your members, your community, vendors, and the larger world of Mac User Groups.

Why a logo? Look around you at the, literally, thousands of brands you encounter every day. You don’t have to read them. You always know them by shape (Apple, Nike) and by color (Coca-Cola red, IBM blue). They allow a presence to be placed on a wide variety of items and in a wide variety of media in a concise but recognizable fashion.

Here are some things to consider when creating or selecting a logo:

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Every user group leader, regardless of location or discipline, would like to see his or her group grow. More than that, however, they would like to see more young people involved. The greying of the user group community is a very real phenomenon. If a Mac User Group is going to be around to enjoy 2.0 status they need new blood to be ready to step up to the leadership plate.

We’ll look at ways to encourage involvement in future editions, but for now, you need to make sure that you have a decent chance at getting young people to your meetings. That means that your meeting time has to be convenient…and that doesn’t mean holding meetings on Friday night or Saturday morning.
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This week’s tip is simple. It involves little effort, is so basic that it is almost embarrassing to mention, and yet is missed by an amazing number of groups:

Make your group easy to contact.

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Raffles are a long-standing tradition in the Macintosh User Group community, usually to the benefit of the members, but occasionally to the detriment of the group. At the very least many groups could get more out of their raffles by implementing a few simple procedures and guidelines. 2.0 user groups re-examine every aspect of their operations, determined to get more out of everything and that includes raffles.

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Even if you don’t consider your Mac User Group to be a business, you can still take plenty of ideas and practices from the business world and apply them to your group. One of the most important aspects of being in business today is branding. Having people know you helps define great organizations from less-than-great ones, and that all starts with branding. While branding and identity are two different things, you have to have one before you can start to to the other. When we think of 2.0 user groups the first thing that comes to mind is that they have an identity already established and have moved well into branding themselves.

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Your Mac User Group’s newsletter is, most likely, something of a sacred tradition. Many groups see their newsletter as the single biggest benefit they deliver, and the primary way they communicate both Mac and group news to their members. In a world moving at the speed of the Internet, a monthly newsletter is fine for some types of information, but in most cases, once a month just isn’t enough.
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One of the best things about being part of a Mac User Group is the sense of fellowship and camaraderie that comes with getting together with people of similar interest and enthusiasm. However, most groups get together only once a month for a few hours, new members join and group membership waxes and wanes. As a result, while you probably know the faces, the names escape you.

A 2.0 User Group leaders should make it a point to try to learn the names of as many people in the group as possible. Few things make people feel more welcome than when they are recognized and called by name when they arrive or leave a meeting, or are called upon during a question and answer session. It also facilitates the banter that is characteristic of a a healthy group.

If your group is going to survive, thrive and prosper, then you need to make it personal.
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One of the most venerable traditions in the Mac User Group community is the production of a monthly newsletter. They range from a simple couple pages to magazine-style offerings that might rival many of the commercial entries in quality and content. And the time has come for the to evolve: If you’re still delivering on paper, stop it!

Producing an online or online-distributable version of your newsletter is an idea that is hardly new, yet so many groups continue doing it the old way because…because…someone please tell us why. If your group aspires to 2.0 status, stop killing trees.

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