IT Global Meetup: An Inside Look. Ideologist of the Piter United initiative about quarterly gatherings of St. Petersburg IT specialists
Today's guest of the iChar blog is Mikhail Ryzhikov, one of the ideologues and activists of Piter United, an association of St. Petersburg IT communities. Three times a year, Piter United holds a meeting of IT communities called IT Global Meetup , where the entire IT crowd of St. Petersburg gathers and representatives from other cities come (the nearest global meeting will take place this Saturday, November 28 ). Mikhail has been working in IT for a little over 6 years; he has been developing medical information systems and specializes in management and business analysis. He told us how the unification of the IT communities of St. Petersburg arose and how the favorite event of St. Petersburg IT specialists was arranged.
The launch of the Piter United initiative inspired us (me and Nikolai Ryzhikov) with two interesting events that we were able to attend in 2012 and 2013. The first of these is IT Jam 2012 , which was held in Kiev that year. Once there, we imbued with a very interesting format and atmosphere. The event was held in a large building on two floors. Both floors were large open space, divided into many islands. Some of the islands were organized by companies, some by the IT communities of Ukraine. The atmosphere of continuous communication reigned in space, people circulated from island to island, communicated, painted something on flipcharts, asked each other questions and argued! In general, enjoy the pleasure of communicating with each other.
The second inspiring event was Ulcamp 2013 , which is regularly held in Ulyanovsk on the banks of the Volga. The event is held outside the city, in a tent camp. In the camp, in the forest and on the beach, barcamps are organized, i.e. communication spaces equipped with flip charts. Anyone can submit a topic for a speech at the barcamp; for this, a special place is given with boards on which you can indicate the time, place and topic of the speech. Ulcamp is organized by the urban IT community in Ulnovsk. Which is created by the forces of IT companies in the city. There we seriously and thought about the strength and benefits of the community, seeing it on a living example.
In 2013, both of these events formed a single concept ... And we moved on to practical actions!
At that time there were already several IT communities in the city: the SPb Ruby User Group, the DevOps, Linux, UX communities, testers, managers. We gathered all the activists together at one meeting, discussed the idea and launched the Piter United initiative. The main goal of Piter United is to create a favorable ecosystem inside the city for the emergence and development of IT communities. The main principles of Piter United are publicity, self-organization, and all this should be free. We want any IT specialist in the city to find a community of interest, become its participant and attend regular meetings.
As part of Piter United, three times a year, the IT Global Meetup is held - a meeting of the IT communities of St. Petersburg. Its main goal is to acquaint IT-communities among themselves, to be a launching pad for new communities and to stimulate cross-community activities. Each community, in addition to participating in meetings, holds regular (mostly monthly) meetings. Each of them has an online platform where they raise important questions for the participants, announce the upcoming meetings and exchange ideas, materials and links. IT Global Meetup is, as the name implies, a global event that sticks together local communities into a single IT party of St. Petersburg.
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The first IT Global Meetup was held in December 2013. It was attended by 9 IT communities. The event was attended by about 80 people. In those days, we had no organizing experience, the mitap turned out to be small and intimate, but it was already organized on the principle of islands, i.e., communication took place on the islands, each community had its own island and program. Having coped with the first event, we set ourselves a goal: to do each subsequent mithp better than the previous one. I dare to suggest that we succeed: now 750+ IT specialists are gathering at meetings. And there is a strong growth potential, the question rests on the site, because Our format requires a lot of space!
Looking back, we see that we have grown a lot. Learned to involve IT companies in the initiative. We organized the first mitap on our own investments, but even then we had both food and flipcharts =)
Since the time of the first IT Global Meetup communities, it has become exactly three times more: their number has grown from 9 to 27. The initiative works, people organize communities and attract colleagues to them.
Progress is noticeable both in equipment, and in a choice of a platform, and in a format of actions. If earlier the islands were collected and diverged on a whim, now there is a single time grid at IT Global Meetup. We have achieved synchronicity in the life of the islands: at different ends of the site, the speakers begin and end to perform at the same time. Thus, participants in the event can plan who and when they would like to listen.
We learned how to do informational support, branding. At every global St. Petersburg rally there are t-shirts for speakers, press walls, and gifts for active participants.
But the most important thing is, probably, loyalty to oneself. We manage to keep the brand and attract IT specialists to the meetings, remaining an event for professionals with an interesting format aimed at communicating and sharing experience.
For some reason, it is difficult for many to realize / explain that Piter United is a non-profit initiative, the main focus of which is the professional development of its participants and the exchange of experience. Such explanations have to be conducted both at the level of communication with companies, and during personal conversations with representatives of communities or potential representatives.
Another difficulty for us as the organizers of IT Global Meetup is the lack of active participants willing to help ... Alas, it’s so common that in any community only 5% of the total number of participants take the initiative. We really do not have enough drivers, and we are working on it. We try, with the help of formats of mitaps, explanations and general atmosphere, to involve people in discussions, to kindle a fire of activity in them. We always try to convey to community members that they will benefit more if they are active: ask questions, meet, join in the discussion, argue and make mistakes.
Piter United promotes the principles of self-organization. In the community, all members have equal rights and opportunities. Interesting and usefulness of the community depends on each of its members. Everyone can suggest a new topic for discussion, speak and participate in the organization of the community meeting.
The notion of IT professionals as introverts in stretched sweaters has little to do with reality. The profile of the programmer, in principle, has changed a lot in recent years. Now I see young people at our events - open and proactive. Maybe 10 years ago everything was different, but now IT-specialists are not like silent hermits. Although, of course, in any field there is always a certain percentage of uncommunicative people =)
We strive to involve IT companies in the initiative, get acquainted with companies, talk about Piter United and its events. Many become our partners and provide platforms for local and global meetings. Currently, there are about 20 IT companies among our stable partners. They also help us promote IT Global Meetup by providing information support.
We cooperate with universities and laboratories that have grown up inside universities. Among the visitors of IT Global Meetup and global meetings there is a certain percentage of students that we strictly control so that Piter United remains a community of professionals.
At the moment we are negotiating with the state about supporting the initiative.
We want to further develop the initiative at the same pace, to hold global meetings three times a year. It is good if there are communities in the city that cover the full cycle of software development and operation: from marketing to software delivery to the consumer. Now there is a shortage of a number of communities: mobile development, databases, several languages ​​(C / C ++, Java), IT marketing, etc. Also, there are already thoughts about communities at the interface between IT and subject areas, such as "IT in medicine", "IT in education", etc.
We are planning to hold the next meetings on more spacious venues so that we do not have to choose which communities will fit this time and which will not. So that you can comfortably place all the communities at the event and not close the registration a week before (fearing that the site will burst from the influx of participants) =)
I really want to create new formats that involve all participants in the discussion, exchange of opinions and experience, and get away from the usual “one speaks and the others listen in silence.” We even have an idea to organize free moderation / facilitation Turing for discussions. So that activists and all interested community members can acquire this skill and be able to conduct round tables and professional discussions.
For all activists, Piter United is a hobby, not a professional activity. Each of us is an IT specialist and a member of a number of communities. Communities are a tool for strong companies and mature professionals. They broaden their professional horizons, allow them to see the market and get acquainted with companies, show themselves as a specialist and find like-minded people, get a decent dose of motivation in difficult moments of their professional activities. We invite all active IT professionals to join the initiative, participate in communities and meetings. Our doors are open!
***
Recall that the nearest IT Global Meetup will be held this coming Saturday, November 28th. In the IT HR section, IT recruiter iChar Victoria Sedova will speak. Her theme is “Why candidates do not pass a trial period”. We will be glad to meet you!
More photos from IT Global Meetup # 5 here: photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMs1hlvsBETKv06uf09SwaEmuyZ4nuiQ1NXSAdER1HUzPDBEffmBcmIvjHDlZiHaw?key=Q21DDDthmMoweTrHeratHehrhtrAtrAtrAtjAhjjHDlZiHaw ?
Piter United: the beginning
The launch of the Piter United initiative inspired us (me and Nikolai Ryzhikov) with two interesting events that we were able to attend in 2012 and 2013. The first of these is IT Jam 2012 , which was held in Kiev that year. Once there, we imbued with a very interesting format and atmosphere. The event was held in a large building on two floors. Both floors were large open space, divided into many islands. Some of the islands were organized by companies, some by the IT communities of Ukraine. The atmosphere of continuous communication reigned in space, people circulated from island to island, communicated, painted something on flipcharts, asked each other questions and argued! In general, enjoy the pleasure of communicating with each other.
The second inspiring event was Ulcamp 2013 , which is regularly held in Ulyanovsk on the banks of the Volga. The event is held outside the city, in a tent camp. In the camp, in the forest and on the beach, barcamps are organized, i.e. communication spaces equipped with flip charts. Anyone can submit a topic for a speech at the barcamp; for this, a special place is given with boards on which you can indicate the time, place and topic of the speech. Ulcamp is organized by the urban IT community in Ulnovsk. Which is created by the forces of IT companies in the city. There we seriously and thought about the strength and benefits of the community, seeing it on a living example.
In 2013, both of these events formed a single concept ... And we moved on to practical actions!
At that time there were already several IT communities in the city: the SPb Ruby User Group, the DevOps, Linux, UX communities, testers, managers. We gathered all the activists together at one meeting, discussed the idea and launched the Piter United initiative. The main goal of Piter United is to create a favorable ecosystem inside the city for the emergence and development of IT communities. The main principles of Piter United are publicity, self-organization, and all this should be free. We want any IT specialist in the city to find a community of interest, become its participant and attend regular meetings.
As part of Piter United, three times a year, the IT Global Meetup is held - a meeting of the IT communities of St. Petersburg. Its main goal is to acquaint IT-communities among themselves, to be a launching pad for new communities and to stimulate cross-community activities. Each community, in addition to participating in meetings, holds regular (mostly monthly) meetings. Each of them has an online platform where they raise important questions for the participants, announce the upcoming meetings and exchange ideas, materials and links. IT Global Meetup is, as the name implies, a global event that sticks together local communities into a single IT party of St. Petersburg.
')
First IT Global Meetup: How It Was
The first IT Global Meetup was held in December 2013. It was attended by 9 IT communities. The event was attended by about 80 people. In those days, we had no organizing experience, the mitap turned out to be small and intimate, but it was already organized on the principle of islands, i.e., communication took place on the islands, each community had its own island and program. Having coped with the first event, we set ourselves a goal: to do each subsequent mithp better than the previous one. I dare to suggest that we succeed: now 750+ IT specialists are gathering at meetings. And there is a strong growth potential, the question rests on the site, because Our format requires a lot of space!
Looking back, we see that we have grown a lot. Learned to involve IT companies in the initiative. We organized the first mitap on our own investments, but even then we had both food and flipcharts =)
Since the time of the first IT Global Meetup communities, it has become exactly three times more: their number has grown from 9 to 27. The initiative works, people organize communities and attract colleagues to them.
Progress is noticeable both in equipment, and in a choice of a platform, and in a format of actions. If earlier the islands were collected and diverged on a whim, now there is a single time grid at IT Global Meetup. We have achieved synchronicity in the life of the islands: at different ends of the site, the speakers begin and end to perform at the same time. Thus, participants in the event can plan who and when they would like to listen.
We learned how to do informational support, branding. At every global St. Petersburg rally there are t-shirts for speakers, press walls, and gifts for active participants.
But the most important thing is, probably, loyalty to oneself. We manage to keep the brand and attract IT specialists to the meetings, remaining an event for professionals with an interesting format aimed at communicating and sharing experience.
Difficulties
For some reason, it is difficult for many to realize / explain that Piter United is a non-profit initiative, the main focus of which is the professional development of its participants and the exchange of experience. Such explanations have to be conducted both at the level of communication with companies, and during personal conversations with representatives of communities or potential representatives.
Another difficulty for us as the organizers of IT Global Meetup is the lack of active participants willing to help ... Alas, it’s so common that in any community only 5% of the total number of participants take the initiative. We really do not have enough drivers, and we are working on it. We try, with the help of formats of mitaps, explanations and general atmosphere, to involve people in discussions, to kindle a fire of activity in them. We always try to convey to community members that they will benefit more if they are active: ask questions, meet, join in the discussion, argue and make mistakes.
Piter United promotes the principles of self-organization. In the community, all members have equal rights and opportunities. Interesting and usefulness of the community depends on each of its members. Everyone can suggest a new topic for discussion, speak and participate in the organization of the community meeting.
About introversion of IT-specialists
The notion of IT professionals as introverts in stretched sweaters has little to do with reality. The profile of the programmer, in principle, has changed a lot in recent years. Now I see young people at our events - open and proactive. Maybe 10 years ago everything was different, but now IT-specialists are not like silent hermits. Although, of course, in any field there is always a certain percentage of uncommunicative people =)
About support from
We strive to involve IT companies in the initiative, get acquainted with companies, talk about Piter United and its events. Many become our partners and provide platforms for local and global meetings. Currently, there are about 20 IT companies among our stable partners. They also help us promote IT Global Meetup by providing information support.
We cooperate with universities and laboratories that have grown up inside universities. Among the visitors of IT Global Meetup and global meetings there is a certain percentage of students that we strictly control so that Piter United remains a community of professionals.
At the moment we are negotiating with the state about supporting the initiative.
About future plans
We want to further develop the initiative at the same pace, to hold global meetings three times a year. It is good if there are communities in the city that cover the full cycle of software development and operation: from marketing to software delivery to the consumer. Now there is a shortage of a number of communities: mobile development, databases, several languages ​​(C / C ++, Java), IT marketing, etc. Also, there are already thoughts about communities at the interface between IT and subject areas, such as "IT in medicine", "IT in education", etc.
We are planning to hold the next meetings on more spacious venues so that we do not have to choose which communities will fit this time and which will not. So that you can comfortably place all the communities at the event and not close the registration a week before (fearing that the site will burst from the influx of participants) =)
I really want to create new formats that involve all participants in the discussion, exchange of opinions and experience, and get away from the usual “one speaks and the others listen in silence.” We even have an idea to organize free moderation / facilitation Turing for discussions. So that activists and all interested community members can acquire this skill and be able to conduct round tables and professional discussions.
Community benefits
For all activists, Piter United is a hobby, not a professional activity. Each of us is an IT specialist and a member of a number of communities. Communities are a tool for strong companies and mature professionals. They broaden their professional horizons, allow them to see the market and get acquainted with companies, show themselves as a specialist and find like-minded people, get a decent dose of motivation in difficult moments of their professional activities. We invite all active IT professionals to join the initiative, participate in communities and meetings. Our doors are open!
***
Recall that the nearest IT Global Meetup will be held this coming Saturday, November 28th. In the IT HR section, IT recruiter iChar Victoria Sedova will speak. Her theme is “Why candidates do not pass a trial period”. We will be glad to meet you!
More photos from IT Global Meetup # 5 here: photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMs1hlvsBETKv06uf09SwaEmuyZ4nuiQ1NXSAdER1HUzPDBEffmBcmIvjHDlZiHaw?key=Q21DDDthmMoweTrHeratHehrhtrAtrAtrAtjAhjjHDlZiHaw ?
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/296616/
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