Maybe you have a side project you are working on but need motivation to keep going. Maybe you are planning to write some code on side to learn a new language or technology. Or, maybe you want to learn programming, just coz’ it is fun. We are here for you.

The goal of this meet up is to develop a support group for software enthusiast trying build / learn something cool outside their professional work environment. Even though side projects are supposed to be fun and educational, having some sort of framework to these meetings will be useful. Here is what I propose -

1. Have a GOAL: As technology enthusiasts, we have too many ideas. In my experience most side projects do not amount to anything concrete coz’ we did not have specific goals or accomplishment guide lines. Also, since we are not able devote too much time for these labor of love, it will be productive to know what we want to achieve. We will define concrete goals before we start anything new.

2. Weekly Review: We will have weekly meetings, in a coffee shop, bar, whatever. We will talk about what we have achieved in the past week, how much progress we have made. Most of us are familiar with Stand-up meetings. This is an elaborate version of Stand-ups. We won’t be standing though. I am hoping this will be a no pressure meeting. How much progress we make on our work is completely up to us. Some weeks we might not be able to make any progress at all, and that it is ok. These are side projects after all. Hopefully these meetings will help us stay on track even when progress is slow.

3. Monthly Review: A monthly review (dinner at an awesome local restaurant maybe) just to kind of wrap up a month. The point here is to celebrate small successes, evaluate things, commit to changes if they are not working and move on.

This meetup is an experiment really. I am starting this meetup to give some structure to my curiosity and passion for technology.

It will be nice to find like-minded people, who are willing to have fun, learn and share ideas with peers.

See you soon!

Meet new friends groups near Okemos, MI