- Who are you and what do you organize?
-
My name is Aaron Feng and I'm a Principal Software Engineer for a financial risk management company in Philadelphia called Algorithmics. I like to think of myself as a language geek with a strong preference for functional programming languages.
When I'm not hacking, I organize a few groups in Philly including Philadelphia functional programming Philly Lambda, Philadelphia Amazon Web Services PhillyAWS, and sometimes Philadelphia Startup Hackathons.
- Why did you become an organizer?
-
I never set out to be an organizer, it just happened that way. I moved to Philly in 2005, and was looking for a place to hang out with like minded people. A friend told me about Philly Lambda, but the group seemed to be dormant after the first meeting due to lack of locations to host it. I offered my office as a hosting spot and started to organize all the meetings from that point. Organizing Philly Lambda opened additional opportunities to organize other groups.
- What challenges have you faced along the way that have made it difficult to keep going?
-
Trying to have a regular meeting schedule, about once a month. It is very easy to skip a meeting or two, before you know it, the group is dead. On the flip side, I don't want to have a meeting just for the sake of needing to fill a schedule. The meetings have to be of a certain caliber for people to come back every month. Continuously recruiting people for upcoming presentations can be very time consuming, especially when coordinating schedules with out-of-town speakers.
- What has been the biggest reward for your efforts?
-
People finding the groups as beneficial and being willing to come out. I'm always interested in meeting like-minded people and learning from others. I hope I have created an environment for people to share their ideas and experiences amongst the community.
- Any tips for first time organizers?
-
Having a consistent meeting location that is easy for everyone to get to can go a long way. Sometimes the best hosting place is where you work. Your company will thank you during hiring time.
Keeping the quality of the meetings high gives an easy incentive for people to come back. Don't be afraid to step outside of group's theme for some presentation as long as people are interested.