Ask HN: What would make you attend a network for professionals in your niché?

[karles]

We're a consultancy who are currently in the planning-phase of a new initiative where we want to establish a professional network for our clients (or anyone else interested in the tools and products we work with).

In Denmark where we reside, we have a term called "ERFA-group" ("ERFA" is short for the danish word "Erfaring" which means "Experience" - thus an ERFA-group is a place for people to meet and exchange ideas). Typically an ERFA-group is a mix between a facilitated session (eg presentation of a daily topic) and an open discussion or workshop between the participants.

I've both hosted and participated in groups like this before, but I feel like the crowd here on HN could certainly help me improve on the concept. I'm sure quite a few people in here participate in professional networks like this one - either open source projects or just professionally related arenas in general.

The question is really:

- What is it that keeps you coming back to a group like this?

- What kills your motivation to join a group like this (eg "subtle selling from the organizer")?

- What traits do a good professional community have in your eyes?

- Would you ever be willing to pay to participate in a group like this?

- What are the most important take-aways for you, when you spend time in networks like these (networking, knowledge, inspiration, peer-reviews etc.)?

[dieselgate]

Potentially some of this will depend on how one defines "attend a network" - like a networking "event" or an existing "network of individuals"? I've been a big fan of tech Meetups (Ruby and JS mostly) in various cities (meetup being capitalized because meetup.com is the proxy). They're free and "opensource" and nobody is selling anything really - there are opportunities to give talks and listen to talks. The biggest thing I like is maybe seeing the same people multiple times and having a "local" focus because people most likely live in the area where they're attending an event. I'd be willing to pay a cover charge to help support the organizational budget but would not personally go to a "proprietary" meetup/event. That's kind of what separates a conference from a meetup in my opinion, as well as conferences being longer.

[Shinmon]

- meetups with rather specific topics (e.g. python, local startup meetup, ...)

- regular schedule (every other monday, first monday in the month, ...)

- selling from the organizer definitely kills the motivations to go there regularly

- group traits: good mixture of junior and senior people => different levels of experience and know-how

- I would not pay for regular meetups, but probably for one-time networking events if I trust the organizer to make it good or if the company pays.

- I like short talks + discussion formats. barcamps are pretty cool, too. not gonna lie.

[karles → Shinmon]

We are working with a 4-hour session-span, 4 times a year with facilitated exercises and discussions. We have a pretty exclusive position in the market, and will thus charge a fee for attending. Most likely, people will get the fee covered by their employer. It's not a personal network, but a professional/invite-only network (for now!).

People who attend are invited and are using the same piece of software (something similar to an ERP-solution)

Thanks for your input!

[Shinmon → karles]

If it's a professional event and the attendees are only there because the companies they work for use a specific software, that makes a lot of sense.

That's more like facilitating community building and not comparable to a meetup in my eyes. Even though I might have some professional interest in using the software, it's purely based on my company's using it. What would be important in this context for me is that actual users share how they use it, what tricks they use, best practices and so on.

[kopipe]

Nothing. I'm physically disabled. Reaching everyone isn't possible.