[lugm.org] Giving us the means to push for more events

[Loganaden Velvindron]

Hi guys,
For our next exec meetups, I would like to include another topic for discussion, and get an action item.
I think that we should consider charging people who would like to adhere as members, and have different memberships. e.g Rs 100 for students, and Rs 300 for pros/month, and Rs 5k/month for companies that rely on Open Source Software for their revenues/operation.

The benefit would be:
1) Students can get access to latest research areas like for e.g bufferbloat. Normally, If a student had to pay for a trip to the IETF to attend those tech talks, it would have been something like Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000. Here, for say, Rs 100, we can provide them the same knowledge at a much reduced price.
2) Pros are often immersed into the day to day, and given that most companies do not really invest in Continuous Learning/training programmes. I think that companies are having trouble moving to more lucrative markets due --in part -- to the lack of capabilities. So, I think that a Professional should consider the monthly investment (Rs 300) as a way to get insight into latest skills, at a relatively low price. Please note that we are not competing against Local companies doing Linux and Open Source training. 

3) Companies are definitely relying on Linux & Open Source Software. By sponsoring say Rs 4000/5000, they will grab some PR as those events are broadcasted on the whole Internet. Aside it being a way for them to get more visibility on the world-wide market and the Local one, it is also a way to hire potential employees that will bring value to their enterprises, in terms of services that they can sell to their clients. There are a lot of overlapping between (2) and (3).
What are we going to do with the collected money ?- Buy necessary equipment to avoid relying on hosting venue equipment which may have issues. (happened in the past).
- Give USB sticks and printed DVDs for live demos during presetations.- Print banners needed during events such as ROuter fest/Install Fest/etc ...- Print t-shirts.- Print lanyars.- In the long term, I hope to see us being able to pay for booths, and demo equipments such as 1-2 laptops, and 4-5 RPis for various demos, and possibly being able to pay for our venues once we get a stable funding base.


Are there more reasons that I forgot to mention ? Feel free to comment.

Kind regards,//LoganC-x-C-c
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