For the third year in a row the November Drupal Meetup has deviated from the traditional presentation and Q&A follow-up for a night of Drupal-related games. I think it's now safe to call this event annual.
Drupal Games originally started in response to the low attendance seen in November because of the Thanksgiving break. This year's fourth Tuesday (DBUG Night) fell on the week after Thanksgiving Break. Still, we decided to stick with that long 3 year tradition and host Drupal games for a larger crowd.
I for one am glad we did. Drupal Games was a blast. Lively sessions of Drupal of Fortune (think Wheel of Fortune without Vanna, or Pat, or a wheel... and with Drupal terms and the playful use of HTTP status codes), written from scratch by Scott, and Play, Draw or Die brought out the competitive nature of Drupal enthusiasts. Alliances were forged, the true colors of certain Drupal community members were revealed, and the victorious received coveted prizes including a perfume cowboy statue, Sting (the wrestler) card and placard, and a ceramic butterfly girl statue.
While the educational value of drawing a representation of Poormans Cron is questionable, I've been thinking about the value of incorporating participatory elements into Drupal Meetups. The reality is that many of us attend Drupal Meetups for the social aspect. Because we DBUG participants vary widely in areas of expertise, professions, and our relationship to Drupal, it can be difficult to host presentations that are relevant to such an audience. I know personally that while I always walk away from Meetups with something new I learned, I also attend the events to network with people, catch up with old friends and make new ones. And while people are free to socialize after the event, many of us opt to head home at 8:30.
Building off the success of Drupal Games, I wonder what the impact on Meetups would be if we continued to experiment with the typical format. Breaking into teams was a good way to talk a bit more to others in attendance than the normal go around of intros. Perhaps instead of coordinating two presenters for a session, we wrangle together four facilitators, each one working with a different aspect of Drupal theming. People could then choose the aspect of theming they are most interested in.
From my previous experience as an educator I know that more cooperative and interactive formats of learning are generally more effective methods of sharing information. Would breaking from the Meetup mold more often help build the local Drupal community and impart knowledge in more meaningful ways? Or is the tried and true method worth sticking to and we save the deviations from this format for the holidays? Would playing with other structures bring new people in, and retain those who are interested in Drupal? Would it totally freak out the introverts?
These are questions rattling around in my brain since my team pulled off an epic victory. I look forward to hearing what other DBUGers think as well as Drupal enthusiasts around the globe. What do meetups look like in Boston, Colorado Springs, Austin, and elsewhere? I'm curious. Drop a comment here, or bring it up on IRC in #drupal-colorado.