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Show HN: Many to Many, a different kind of tech meetup (London, UK)

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Re: Show HN: Many to Many, a different kind of tech meetup (London, UK)

#11

Post by rrpadhy »

This is a nice idea. We had tried this once in Bangalore, however, there was two major challenges.

1. Not enough people asking great questions. 2. The answers to questions was only vocal, with no presentation or material to back it up.

The first was easily solved by seeding a few question in the public to get things moving. However the number 2 was a major problem. Many people were not able to connect to the answers/discussions.

I would love to know if you are able to solve the 2nd problem.

Thought I would share my experience.

Re: Show HN: Many to Many, a different kind of tech meetup (London, UK)

#13

Post by hafabnew »

rrpadhy wrote: post #11

This is a nice idea. We had tried this once in Bangalore, however, there was two major challenges. 1. Not enough people asking great questions. 2. The answers to questions was only vocal, with no presentation or material to back it up. The first was easily solved by seeding a few question in the public to get things moving. However the number 2 was a major problem. Many people were not able to connect to the answers/…

It is a problem indeed. We found the best solution to #2 is to avoid any massively niche topics. For example, "has anyone used " isn't great for a group conversation: it instantly excludes people who haven't used that library, as well as people who don't know Python. Instead we try to stick to topics which everyone can relate to (even weakly), e.g. process-related topics are great for this.

Re: Show HN: Many to Many, a different kind of tech meetup (London, UK)

#14

Post by hafabnew »

jarofgreen wrote: post #12

Very interesting idea, thanks for sharing. My question would be how do you make sure the quieter members speak up and it's not just the same people talking all the time? Is this something the moderator just has to watch for?

Good question -- it's hard! It is partially up to the moderator, but their job is more on the side preventing people from hogging the conversation, i.e. giving the opportunity for everyone to say something. Naturally we encourage everyone to talk if they have something to contribute, but we can't force them to :).

Re: Show HN: Many to Many, a different kind of tech meetup (London, UK)

#15

Post by wbeckler »

hafabnew wrote: post #14
jarofgreen wrote: post #12

Very interesting idea, thanks for sharing. My question would be how do you make sure the quieter members speak up and it's not just the same people talking all the time? Is this something the moderator just has to watch for?

Good question -- it's hard! It is partially up to the moderator, but their job is more on the side preventing people from hogging the conversation, i.e. giving the opportunity for everyone to say something. Naturally we encourage everyone to talk if they have something to contribute, but we can't force them to :).

Maybe you can "force" people to contribute. If someone signs up to attend a many-to-many gathering then they are agreeing to be more than a passive observer.

One way to facilitate this is to have "go arounds" in which everyone says something, in order to get a sense of people's reactions and the best direction for the conversation. Another option is for the facilitator to know something about everyone and then to call on people (without their raising their hands) to keep the conversation moving.

Re: Show HN: Many to Many, a different kind of tech meetup (London, UK)

#16

Post by wbeckler »

Another great twist on the meetup is the http://houseofgenius.org format. One of the challenges to open discussion is the way in which people conform to roles and hierarchies. In House of Genius gatherings, there is a veil of anonymity that helps release participants from these roles. The result is addictive. You find developers, VCs, political leaders, artists, and other successful people sharing and learning in ways they can't find through any other avenues in their lives.

Re: Show HN: Many to Many, a different kind of tech meetup (London, UK)

#18

Post by jarofgreen »

wbeckler wrote: post #15
hafabnew wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good question -- it's hard! It is partially up to the moderator, but their job is more on the side preventing people from hogging the conversation, i.e. giving the opportunity for everyone to say something. Naturally we encourage everyone to talk if they have something to contribute, but we can't force them to :).

Maybe you can "force" people to contribute. If someone signs up to attend a many-to-many gathering then they are agreeing to be more than a passive observer. One way to facilitate this is to have "go arounds" in which everyone says something, in order to get a sense of people's reactions and the best direction for the conversation. Another option is for the facilitator to know something about everyone and then to cal…

From my experience as an event organiser, there are some ppl who just won't come if you do that.

We run a popular Meetup that does introductions. You can say lots or you can just say "I'm james and I'm here For The free drink." And even with that easy out, there are still occasionly ppl who don't want to say a single word and wont.

You can try and set the tone that everyone can contribute. The moderator can say things like "does anyone who hasn't spoken yet Want to add anything?". Rounds and moderators calling on ppl is good to.

I wouldn't like to try actually forcing tho.

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