[IGDA_indies] newbies, and organizational politics

[Jason Della Rocca]

>The message is basically as I said, plans with few to no dependencies are 
>more powerful than plans with lotsa dependencies.

Well, I'd say it slightly differently: plans where you sit around and 
depend on others to do stuff for you are not as powerful as plans where you 
get up contribute.

;)


>maybe you should pick up one on NPOs.

Oh ya, I've been reading up on NPO stuff. Read these in the past few months:

- Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization
- The Complete Guide to Nonprofit Management
- Common Interest Common Good
- Enterprising Nonprofits
- BoardSource Committee Series

Next up are the BoardSource Governance Series and Mission Based Marketing. 
And, that's all on top of stuff like Cluetrain Manifesto, Smart Mobs, 
Tipping Point, Focus, Positioning, etc.



>don't think you'd get away with charging for the content, and making it
>less available would decrease its relevance to the industry.  In other

Right, exactly. And, that's why we give away stuff for free and are general 
open to non-members, etc.

However, if no one because a member (and paid their dues) then the IGDA 
would not exist... But yes, the challenge is compelling people to join... 
And, this is done by the value of the IGDA's ability to fulfill its mission 
and provide things that only members can benefit from (ie, exclusives)...


>that says a lot about where the IGDA stands on the 'building community'
>front.  The networking stuff is simply not a value add yet.

Don't judge the IGDA based on one chapter. Just because you are not happy 
with how Sputnik runs itself, doesn't mean that all chapters are similar 
run. Rather than complain you should get involved. Offer to find a new 
location that's not overrun by students; suggest topics of interest to 
indies, etc...

As a counter example, the Montreal chapter is hugely successful, providing 
a vibrant hub for local developers to connect, share ideas, and even get 
some business done. We grew from 20 members 3 years ago to 500+ now (and 
five Studio Affiliates).

Like I've said before, the IGDA provides the tools and guidelines to run a 
chapter. It is up to developers to use them to get stuff done.


>So what can the IGDA do to build communities, other than encourage
>people to build communities?

Encouragement is one big aspect. Access to a global network is another.

We just started a chapter in Brisbane, Australia. I had been talking with a 
local developer who said they really like to help build a sense of local 
community. I queried the IGDA database and pulled up 250 names in Brisbane. 
I emailed them with info on what a chapter was and how it would be great to 
get one going in Brisbane, detailing the work involved and pointing to our 
guidelines for starting/running a chapters. Within a day, a dozen 
volunteers from local studios volunteered to get things rolling. Within a 
week, they had their first organizational meeting, within a month they had 
their first chapter meeting with a few dozen local developers. Now, they 
are planning their second meeting and future calendar of events/meetings.

 From each being isolated in their own cubicles, they now having the 
fledgling of a local development community. Could this have happened 
without the IGDA? Sure. WOULD is have happened with the IGDA? Probably not.

Anyway, was hoping not to get into another huge debate. Sorry to have taken 
up everyone else's bandwidth.

Jason

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jason Della Rocca
Program Director
International Game Developers Association

t: +1-514-426-1162
f: +1-514-426-1201
Montreal, Canada
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.igda.org/blogs/realitypanic/

"Do or do not. There is no try."
- Yoda