Community Meeting 20190425

Attendees: JM, SG, JP, ZZ

Review of/actions from last meeting

SG to contact Jason to find out where the electricity meter is and if we can access it

SG to create posters for upcoming events

Recent Events

Gadget Show filming went well

Upcoming Events

ZZ and JP sent out emails regarding Makefest and the Fabric District Festival.

For FDF, Maker Day will be part of it, and there will be a workshop run on the Sunday.

For Makefest, we're running the breakfast and after party. The email has asked for contributors. Neil Morrin has given someone who is running a hackers and security festival at the Docks, and has asked if they could share the after party. JP will speak to Caroline about whether she is happy with that, and send out more info for the community.

JP has had an enquiry about running an event here in DoES from a German girl called Lauren.

Use of Space

Should we set deadlines for equipment being used or fixed before we accept that they're not going to be, and get rid to free up space?

SG has suggested that, if things are broken or unusable, rather than allowing them to sit there for years doing nothing, we put a schedule on them being thrown (unless they are being worked on). The obvious example is the vacuum former, which has been out of action for years, and blew everything up when it was previously 'fixed', but can't be got rid of because people say they want to make it work.

It was decided that this was a reasonable course of action, with a time limit of three months placed on equipment before a decision is made on whether or not to throw things. ACTION - SG to communicate this new policy to the community after people have a period to raise objections.

Finances

Appears to show we made a vast profit as we've finally billed Sale Sharks for 6 month room hire but in truth we're awaiting payment on that one. Continuing to mostly tick over, slightly higher expenses but also a higher income month with a run on mailboxes.

https://github.com/DoESLiverpool/somebody-should/wiki/Financials201903

Promotion

SG spoke about the difficulties in promoting DoES and how bad we are at it, but also his frustration with various media outlets in not even interacting with us when we reach out. JP suggested Radio Merseyside, which isn't something we've tried before. SG once again spoke about posters and flyers, but that we're relying on people's kindness to get that done. ACTION - SG to create a story for the media

ZZ suggested doing some competitor analysis, and SG will email Maeve to find out how she's getting on with that. ZZ spoke about finding out who else is in the same sphere as us, and following their social media feeds to see what they are doing. ACTION - SG to email Maeve

SG suggested speaking to laser users regarding whether or not they might be able to offer support with designing flyers and posters, as they obviously have design skills that we have never tapped into before. ACTION - SG to contact regular laser users

AOB

JM brought up the birthday, and has suggested July 13th as a date as it ties in with Maker Day, and is in the right area for our usual birthday party. This is being pencilled in pending people approving. We can advertise it at Makefest at the end of June - where we should also try to make it clear that we offer more than just a workshop, but emphasising the co-working side too.

JP wondered whether a register might help to keep tabs on IoT devices in DoES so that things aren't accidentally switched off or on. ZZ suggested that this may not be necessary as it's just a case of people being aware of what they're doing, no different to with other equipment in the space, and JM pointed out that it would just end up being out of date and not correctly kept up. ZZ noted that, with more of DoES’ infrastructure (eg: 3D printers, laser cutters) being migrated to MQTT servers and Sonoffs, there’s a danger that people could unintentionally mess with kit while other people are using it. JM wondered whether separate networks might be an answer.

Confirm time & date of next meeting

1pm Thursday 16th May