C3UG March 2017 Update: Event!, Post-Connect Buzz and More
Dear C3UG,
We are coming off the great excitement at IBM Connect 2017. Put on your seat belts. It is going to be an amazing year. We are excited to share:
- C3UG at IBM Connect in San Francisco - great times were had and great content was heard.
- Planning our Next Event - April 27th, 2017
- C3UG Plans and Strategy - a small group, termed the C3UG Core Team, have been meeting regularly to develop plans and strategy for this year. We begin to share those plans and the strategy.
As a little hint of what's to come: It's going to get cognitive around here :)
C3UG at IBM Connect:
The IBM Connect conference (formerly LotusSphere) was in San Francisco, February 20-23. It was a great event that those of us who were there will be sharing at our next meeting. The brand made huge strides in both showing IBM's investments in next generation digital work experiences backed by IBM's market leading cognitive computing capabilities, powered by IBM Watson. At the same time, the brand made committments to its long time customers for the ongoing support of the vital IBM platforms those customers use to run their respective businesses.
C3UG proudly represented Canada at the Worldwide User Group Alliance Pedestal
Canadian IBM Champion Graham Acres on the big screen at IBM Connect opening general session with an impactful quote. https://twitter.com/gacres99
Canadian IBM Champion Colin Breckles on the big screen at the IBM Connect opening general session. https://twitter.com/cbreckles
Ann-Marie Darrough: Director, Offering Management, IBM Watson Work. Giving a dynamite presentation at the opening general session. She is a fellow Canadian and we are excited to see her in this role. https://twitter.com/amdarrough
OUR NEXT EVENT is April 27th, 2017!
We’ve set the date for the next C3UG event: April 27, 2017. The format will be similar to last time. You should expect more amazing presentations which will be supercharged with what we all witnessed at IBM Connect.
They will feature our unique commentary. We analyze the new developments and adapt them to our market in Canada. In our discussions, we have reiterated that it is important that the content you see is realistic, affordable, and practical to implement in your businesses, or your customers' businesses.
Register Now on the Upcoming Events page. Mark your Calendars for April 27th, 2017.
Call for Abstracts
We are opening the call for abstracts. You can submit an abstract Here
Abstract submissions are due by April 5th, 2017.
C3UG Structure and the year ahead:
Role Based Teams: We want to strike a good balance of giving people a chance to do things they’re interested in, play to natural strengths, and define roles with a range of commitment levels (because none of us are getting paid to do this, after all!). As such, we have defined a few teams.
Please take a look below for more details, and volunteer for a team or a specific position by emailing info@c3ug.ca.
If your city isn't included already and you want a local face to face meeting, also communicate that to us.
See you all in our next C3UG Meeting!
C3UG Organization
The C3UG consists of the C3UG Extended Team (who are the organizers), and Members At Large.
The C3UG Extended Team
The extended team is made up of 5 teams with defined responsibilities and mandates. All positions are filled on a volunteer basis, and generally require a 6-month commitment to the role unless otherwise specified. After 6 months you can stay on, or move to another team/role, or go back to being a Member at Large as you like. C3UG Extended Team Members are part of a C3UG Team or Sub-Team, or hold a defined position. Team Members have access to our Connections Cloud community where meeting minutes, Ideation Blogs, etc. are posted.
Members at Large
Members at large are those who have signed up to the C3UG mailing list.
The following teams are defined:
C3UG Core Team
This team represents the leadership of C3UG and are the ultimate decision makers on most things. At least 1 core team member should be a part of each sub-team (although not necessarily leading) to provide continuity and support.
Responsibilities:
Review abstracts and make final selection of topics for our events (based on Ideation Blog results and other factors)
Determine overall processes and governance of C3UG, including C3UG charter, policies, etc.
Current Members:
Graham Acres (Brytek Systems), Colin Breckles (Castlebreck Inc.), Angie Caruso (IBM), Scott Mitchell (IBM), Vivienne Suen (IBM)
Communications Team
This team is responsible for all C3UG communications, both internally within the user group community and externally to the general public.
Responsibilities:
Communication related to our events: announcements, call for abstracts, invitations, post-event messages, etc.
Manage event surveys: write and publish post-even survey, collect results and report back to C3UG Team.
Other communication vehicles as required
The Communications team also has 2 specialized sub-teams and roles:
Web Team: maintains the C3UG website. Ideally the webmaster duty should be shared between 2 people (so that there is always a backup).
Social Media Team: responsible for posting to our social media channels (LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
C3UG Community Manager: Manage Connections Cloud community – clean up membership as people rotate in and out of roles.
Current Members:
Colin Breckles, Scott Mitchell (webmaster).
Finance & Operations
This team manages all C3UG finances (budget, disbursements, etc.) and operational aspects. This team may NOT have any IBMers on it, as it is not permitted for IBM to transfer funds internally for user group activity.
Responsibilities:
Annual budget and financial planning
Manage payment of expenses (web hosting, etc.), as well as funding provided by IBM and other sponsors
Report back to sponsors and other stakeholders on our operations
Manage our bank account (when and if we get one)
Current Members:
Graham Acres
Logistics Team
This team manages our events, both the biannual cross-country webcasts as well as any one-off webinars, local networking events, etc. that we may plan. This team is probably best led by an IBMer who holds the position throughout the year to provide continuity from one cross-country event to the next. Otherwise, event volunteers are recruited for each event.
Responsibilities:
Event Preparation: reserve livecast locations, make catering arrangements, etc.
Event Site Manager: a designated person for each event location who can deal with any problems that arise, make arrangement with security, etc. If the site is an IBM location, the Event Site Manager should be an IBMer.
Speaker Management: communicate with speakers on preparing for their presentation, connectivity test, etc.
Onsite and day-of logistics: greet and direct people as they arrive, onsite A/V management, room setup and clean up as required.
Manage and update event checklists and give feedback to the C3UG Team on how to improve processes next time around
Current Members:
Angie Caruso
Membership Team
We ask you as a member at large to help build our community in Canada by bringing a friend or colleague to our events, by directing people to our web site and reposting our content on social media.
Membership is the lifeblood of our user group; we promise our members to bring you interesting and relevant content, valuable networking opportunities and fun events both online and in your respective community. We also promise to protect your privacy and not share your info with any outside parties. This team leads our outreach with other organizations, and with our members.
Responsibilities:
Maintain membership list, and membership policies
Form alliances/partnerships with other organizations. These could be other user groups, or other organizations who may want to partner with or sponsor us.
Recruit new members and partners
Current Members:
Vivienne Suen