Continuing the discussion from Meeting after Whistler 2015-07-07:
In the meeting we talked about how to build a community and increase our numbers. We talked about starting simply by just finding people who want to contribute to Mozilla and getting them into the same communication channels.
I have an idea for a relatively simple event type called Mozilla Orientation.
Pretty simple, once a month, or however often you like, just hold a “get started with Mozilla event.” The idea is people who want to get involved can come meet other Mozillians in person, and walk away at least with a subscription to the local community’s communication channel of choice. Even better if they walk away with a first contribution opportunity.
The event can be supported in person, or remotely by other Mozillians who would mentor the new contributors. Note that the event should also be friendly to people who are looking to work for Mozilla rather than volunteer, we can let them know how to find out about job opportunities and of course recommend that contributing first is an excellent way to network.
This would be especially easy in office cities. There would be no need for any expense, just need the community space. Participants could be encouraged to move on to the same cafe/bar to socialize later (at their own expense). Maybe we’d want some basic swag like stickers to hand out so that the new Mozillians can show off their pride.
It can be that simple, or it could be iterated on, for example if you will have someone from Marketing available for the event, maybe you want to advertise that and try to focus on attracting people who want to get involved in volunteering in that area.
I’m thinking that the end of September would be a good time, people will have had a chance to get back into routines after the break, students will have had a chance to settle in at school. Is anyone else interested in running this type of event in September to see how it goes?