How To Find Ruby User Groups
Ruby User Groups (RUGs, for short) are typically informal organizations put together to encourage Ruby developers with certain areas to get together, share ideas, and, often, to have some fun. If you're lacking for inspiration or want to get to know some Rubyists within certain parts of the world (or just around the corner, if you're lucky), heading to a Ruby User Groups' meeting can open a lot of doors. But how can you find them?
RubyUserGroups.org
RubyUserGroups.org is a new site by Joe Pym and Karl Doody (who run the West Midlands RUG) that presents you with a map (centered on your current location) with all of the local Ruby user groups located. If you're starting a RUG or your favorite one isn't listed, you can sign up an add it. There's also a giant list on the front page of all of the RUGs worldwide if you'd rather scroll through. There are RUGs as far afield as Tunisia, Cambodia and Madagascar!
Ruby.Meetup.com
Ruby.Meetup.com lists 104 RUGs, and the benefit of using Meetup.com is that many of them use the site to co-ordinate their events, so you find out when the next meetup is occurring, etc. Meetup's indexing of previous attendees also gives us an insight into the most popular RUGs: San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, East Bay, and NYC coming in top with 700-2000 registered followers apiece.
Rubyists.EU - European Rubyists Unite!
Rubyists.EU is an attempt to unite European Rubyists. It's a well designed site and as well as showing all of the known European RUGs on a map, there are FaceBook, LinkedIn, and Twitter feeds to keep track of, as well as an IRC channel and mailing list.
March 9, 2010 at 4:02 pm
I've been trying to get a Ruby group together in Lincoln, NE for awhile now, but it seems like the bulk of coders in our area are stuck in .net or php. Where are all the Lincoln/Omaha Rubyists??
March 10, 2010 at 9:33 am
Hey Bryan,
That's one of the things we hoped to do with our RubyUserGroups site! Our idea was, that if you want to sign up, you appear on the map, so you can see if there's a concentration of Rubyist's in your area, with no RUG, and contact them to start one. It does kinda rely on people knowing we are there though. :-)
Also, have you tried Meetup? For us at least, it was invaluable in helping to find members and getting things organized, as it notifies any users in the area that have terms such as 'ruby' set in their preferences. I think you could quite happily get a RUG off the ground by creating it on Meetup, finding a room, setting a date, and giving the first talk yourself.
March 10, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Hi Joe, I just added myself and the Lincoln Ruby Brigade. I'll give Meetup a shot, and @fiercerobot, is getting a Lincoln Startup Drinks group together, so that should help to get something stirred up as well.
March 16, 2010 at 6:39 am
Don't forget http://rubybrigade.org/, our runner up in the first Rails Rumble. The sites actually been running unmodified since that competition, and people are still adding user groups.