Transcript Generating Income and Improving Communications

Initiative for
Strengthening Sections,
through Expanded
Communications and Revenue:
-- for Medium to Large Sections
Paul Wesling, IEEE Life Fellow
Past Communications Director,
IEEE SF Bay Area Council
Past Editor, e-GRID nsltr
and GRID.pdf Magazine
San Francisco Section
Oakland/East Bay Section
Santa Clara Valley Section
San Francisco Bay Area Council, IEEE
The IEEE GRID Magazine
Origin of this 2015 Initiative
S.F. Bay Area Council, serving Silicon Valley:
– Three Sections (SF, OEB, SCV)
– 17,000 IEEE members plus 15,000 non-members
– 48 chapters/groups (+30%); ~25 meetings/month
– Revenue of ~$70k/year; Expenses of $38k/year
– The surplus funds events, officer training, Sections
Our GRID Magazine was started in 1953
– Printed as a monthly magazine until 1998
– Now Web, eNotice, ListServ, Calendar, blog, Apps
We can now teach other Sections how to do it
The Program
We will review your current communications:
– Size; structure; chapters/groups
– Entrepreneurial philosophy (vs “caretaker”)
– Gather ideas, for consideration
– Plan to do it a few steps at a time, 2-3 years
– Help guide selection of your editor
– Getting you started with revenue generation
– Implement what works in your locale
Full set of ~80 online tutorials, step-by-step
at learn.e-grid.net
The End Result, for These Sections
Develop a powerful publicity utility/service:
– As a monthly PDF – the Magazine
– As a twice-a-month email to Members & others
As a website (events come up in Google searches)
– As a web log (blog) and RSS feed - Google indexing
(<30 minutes – www.e-grid.net/BayAreaTech)
– As a Google Calendar that people can integrate
into their own Calendar
– As iOS and Android Apps, for needs of younger
engineers (look for “IEEE GRID” in App/Play Stores)
– Aimed at both Members and non-Members (to
encourage non-members to attend, get involved)
Growth, for your Section
While USA IEEE membership is declining:
– Our non-member ListServ Dlist is increasing:
<1,000 (2004), 8,000 (2011), 15,000 (2014)
-- 5% CAGR
– Adding 3,000 each year (non-members)
– From ASME, ACM, unaffiliated engineers
– Drawn by the services that we provide
to the profession in our locale
Where is the Money?
Major Sources (results from SFBAC GRID: 2010)
– IEEE Conferences (18)
US$ 17 225 (24%)
– Non-IEEE Conferences (19)
32 875 (46%)
– University/Extension Classes (3) 6 000 ( 8.5%)
– Employment Ads (2)
1 400 ( 2%)
– Chapter Seminars, Wkshops (4)
5 000 ( 7%)
– “Marketplace” (9)
4 900 ( 7%)
– Misc (7)
3 625 ( 5%)
TOTAL, for 2010: $ 71 035
Of 37 conferences, 29 were “local” and 8 were
out-of-area: San Diego, Anaheim, Beijing,
Portland, Dallas, Boston
What can your Section Offer?
You are the electrotechnology
franchise for your geo area
Key to developing a community, loyalty,
readership is having content:
– Several Chapter Meetings each month
– Maybe Section technical seminars, etc
– Frequent free Webinars from SPECTRUM,
CS, ComSoc and more
– Local IEEE MeetUp groups; forming new
Chapters
Region 6 Initiative for 2015
Being funded by Region 6, for use worldwide
On-site Workshops last year (2014):
for Dallas, Orange County Sections
Plan to expand to two more Sections in 2015
For detailed information, attend one of my
Tutorials on Saturday (11 AM or 1 PM)
Your Take-Away
Is your Section the type that would benefit?
– The VISION – can you do this locally?
– What RESOURCES do you already have?
– Are you ENTREPRENEURIAL or caretakers?
– Do you have (can you find) a CHAMPION
who can lead this, and maybe be your Editor?
To get started: Review with your Section team,
to assess readiness
– Then contact our S.F./Silicon Valley Office:
Paul Wesling
[email protected] +1-408-320-1105