As it stands right now this Blog is very limiting. It is good for information purposes, but not really interactive. A couple of weeks ago I thought it would be great and also being free you can’t go too far wrong. If we are going to be a users group where we actually have to do something for the group it is stifling. Presently, you have to send articles, questions, and pictures to me and I will copy and paste them on the Blog. Who wants to do that? I don’t want to be the controlling factor.
As a screen printer, I belong to a forum, http://www.screenprinters.net/, which is totally interactive for the user and hands off for the moderator. In the forums page, there are about 18 different forums (topics for discussion). Click on one that you are interested in and see all of the conversations that help screen printers. Registered users can post topics of discussion, comment, post pictures and answer question with other users.
I think this kind of set up would be great for the question and answer section. I don’t know the cost, who would be willing to put it together, or if it is worth doing.
What do you Think? Comments welcome.
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2 comments:
I am wondering how much interest there actually is in our group. I believe that there is much interest in the general population of the greater Portland area, but the trick is to get to these people and get them in the group.
So, how serious do we want to be? We can just post items in such forums as Craigslist and get whoever happens to be looking there for a group such as this, or we can reach out through other venues to get attention.
I have ideas on how to do this, and I have organized and managed press coverage for projects I have worked on before.
It is possible to get a lot of attention to a Photoshop users group, especially when you consider how many people are just getting into digital imagery.
It would probably be possible to raise consciousness about our group to a point where it would be well known among those that wanted to use it.
We could grow to a place where we had different groups meeting at different times of the month for various skill and knowledge levels, various features of Photoshop, and differing focuses (no pun intended.
The trick is that to do this takes time and some investment of money. There's the rub. If we want to establish a user group we can all benefit from we need a fair amount of participants or we will run out of ideas and knowledge base fairly quickly. Not to mention that the more we have, (to a point), the better the group will withstand the attrition of those that lose interest or can no longer attend for whatever reason.
What makes a good user group is the variety of knowledge levels and diversity of interests. To have a user group of 10 or 15 people becomes more of a social gathering after most of the skill levels begin to even out. We need a constant dynamic of changing blood and progression of skill levels to make it work.
So, who is willing to put in the time and effort to organize, manage, and prod along this group? Who has skills in organization and management with the added plus of being a person with ideas to get it going and keep it going while keeping participants’ interest levels up enough to maintain the dynamics that make a great group?
Who is willing to invest not only the time, but the money to do this?
Think about all the things that would help make this group fly on its own. There should be a website where the group(s) can record their actions and knowledge while providing a place for discussion of the issues between meetings. Have a question? Just go to the forum on the website and ask. Do you feel you are an expert? Go to the forum and help someone understand. We could have articles, help files, discussion groups, tips and tricks, and many other features on the web site.
We could also do other things like organize special speakers for the group. How about setting up special classes for members? We could make agreements with local related businesses for discounts for our members in exchange for advertising on our site. There are endless possibilities for what we can do with this group. Maybe even a cable access TV show.
So the subject of a non-profit organization has been raised. However the down side to this is that it would need officers that would commit themselves to this endeavor as well as be responsible for it. This would be a legal entity that would have a tax liability and other legal liabilities and responsibilities.
But to do what we can do to make this a great group with many features and benefits cannot be done without funding, so how do we have a group that anyone can participate in without having to charge? I believe it is not possible.
My proposal is that this group can be achieved by making it a business. There would be a minimal charge for membership but the benefits of membership would far outweigh the cost. The cost would also serve to weed out the “looky lous” that just come to one meeting, make commitments, and are never heard from again.
There are plenty of serious Photoshop enthusiasts out there. It takes one person with the vision and the ability to create the business that would do all the aforementioned things that would promote, grow, and maintain the group as the vibrant user group it could be.
So my suggestion is that someone create a business of the Portland Photoshop User Group and make it work. This person would put in the time and energy necessary to promote it and make it work. In return he/she would have the satisfaction of seeing it become the mature and stable group that will serve the interests of its members well.
This person would also get paid for their work from profits from memberships after expenses are deducted. This person would have a vested interest in making the group grow as hers or his income would ride on their performance. There would be a natural balance in making the group something many people would want to be a part of, with the necessary investment of time and money, while also making it a profitable venture.
This takes commitment. Of course, if it was not working there would still be the option of “folding up shop” and letting it die of natural causes if it just did not work. The person running the business would then have a tax write off.
So, here is a outline of a way to make this work. Any comments?
I just found this blog, give it yime,it'll grow!
WaPam handsonfarm@comcast.net
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