* We don't set a hard and fast date (although we try to keep the time and place regular). NYSEC does a "second Tuesday of the month" thing; there's more security people in NYC, but our attendance is often 2x theirs. What we do instead is a mailing list and a website, and we poll the group members about what the best date is. 8 months in, we switched from Thursdays to Wednesdays, for instance, and got a significant boost in attendance.
* We publicize. Why wouldn't we? Sure, you want good people there, but the idea that there even is a "group filter" is a deterrant to newcomers. And what's more important than a group filter is attendance.
I actually don't think showing up and meeting only two people makes it a good experience for a newcomer; I think it ensures that newcomer isn't coming back next time. Better to skip a month or two than risk new people having that experience.
i should add that its important to determine what the people who start the group want from it in the first place... ever been to a tech cocktail, silicon prairie social, or social media camp event? The lack of quality interaction that exists there is one of the reasons we choose not to go crazy with publicizing
second tuesday of the month or whatever meets the consistency principle, note that you didn't switch until the event was established
the number of people needed to make it worthwhile depends entirely on the frequency with which you have the event
* We don't set a hard and fast date (although we try to keep the time and place regular). NYSEC does a "second Tuesday of the month" thing; there's more security people in NYC, but our attendance is often 2x theirs. What we do instead is a mailing list and a website, and we poll the group members about what the best date is. 8 months in, we switched from Thursdays to Wednesdays, for instance, and got a significant boost in attendance.
* We publicize. Why wouldn't we? Sure, you want good people there, but the idea that there even is a "group filter" is a deterrant to newcomers. And what's more important than a group filter is attendance.
I actually don't think showing up and meeting only two people makes it a good experience for a newcomer; I think it ensures that newcomer isn't coming back next time. Better to skip a month or two than risk new people having that experience.