GeoNet presence at the 2016 User Conference

[TimothyHales]

The past 2 years we have had a booth at the UC. Last year we had two presentations on getting your questions answered and using GeoNet. There was not an official GeoNet meet up per se although I ran into many of our members at the Developer Meetup. I am planning out this year's UC. What would you like to see in regards to GeoNet and the UC? I can't guarantee I'll be able to fulfill every idea, but I am open to any idea you may have. Thanks!

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

GeoNet meetup with Beer on tap! 

Chris Donohue, GISP

[AdrianWelsh]

I agree with Chris! And why not a GeoNet dedicated museum for the Balboa Park thing!

In reality, is Esri having a hard time promoting the GeoNet? Or are people getting the hang of where to ask questions? Could there be a way to help showcase the GeoNet more in order for it to get more usage?

I recall one year where Esri personnel wore some extra "flair" around their nametag that said something like "ask me about cloud services" or so. Maybe there can be something similiar like "Did you ask your question on GeoNet first?"

[TimothyHales]

The community continues to grow with users and content. Within the last year we have added almost 60,000 new registered users and 16,000 discussions. People are figuring out where to post; however, we are continuing to improve the user experience.

There are a variety of marketing strategies to promote the community, and flair is a good option. I am exploring opportunities to answer questions, hear feedback, educate users, and put faces to screen names.

[DanPatterson_Retired]

too late I suppose to start an 'avatar' contest or place 'banner' contest, just to generate some artistic flair beyond the I ❤️ GIS stuff ... (except Xander can't enter, cause he is too good at them)

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

So if I understand this correctly, the goal is to promote awareness of GeoNet beyond the current group of troublemakers contributors. 

With that in mind (on a more serious note), here's some brainstorming:

One idea - and I don't know if this is already done - would be to have GeoNet listed in the ESRI User Conference packets one gets when attending.  For example, towards the end of the "book" that ESRI has provided in the past UC's there are listings towards the back in the post-conference section for things like "get recordings of presentations".  This area would be a good location to plug GeoNet as an opportunity to get ones questions answered.  After all, one big reason why people go to the Users Conferce is to get questions answered; one of the appeals of GeoNet is that is available all year, to everyone, night and day, to get ones questions answered.

Another opportunity to generate interest and thus promote awareness would be a contest approach, as suggested by Dan Patterson .  I know personally when I'm at the UC I always do the satellite imagery contest where one identifies where in the world the images were taken.  Maybe something similar that grabs people's attention and thus makes them aware of GeoNet?

A third idea - to grab people's attention, here's some ideas for print approaches:

• A poster with "These were the top 10 questions last year on GeoNet.  Find the answers to these and more on GeoNet".  Somewhat reminiscent of the "Top 10" enhancements to ArcGIS that used to be part of the UC Opening Session, but in a print form.  Just the questions, as a teaser.
• A map of the World with "Here's the locations of GeoNet Contributors who can answer your questions.  Come be a part of it".  (If you really want to be risque, you could intentionally put Earth in a non-standard projection to grab people's unconscious attention as they note the distortion).

Chris Donohue, GISP

[TimothyHales]

Chris, thank you for this valuable input! These are some great ideas! Some of these we have already been discussing and others are new possibilities that we have yet to consider. I will take these back to my team to see what all we can incorporate. Thanks again!

[RebeccaStrauch__GISP]

To continue on Chris' thoughts on geonet contest....maybe a scavenger hunt for q&a in geonet...although "scoring" the check list items would be a challenge maybe.

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

You probably already thought of this, but here are two more dimensions of the challenge:

1. At the Users Conference, trying to promote GeoNet will essentially be "competing" with all the other things going on.  Let's face it, the UC can be pretty overwhelming, there is so much going on, it can be mind-boggling.  So the challenge will be to promote GeoNet in a way that makes an impression on people and that they remember it while they are simultaneously being bombarded by all the other (cool) stuff.
2. Secondary Selling points:
   • GeoNet is free.  I mention this as some folks may assume GeoNet is the same as Customer Support, has fee/cost, or think it requires a Maintenance plan to use.
   • Available to all levels of GIS users.  Some folks may assume GeoNet is just for hardcore users and are intimidated from using it.
   • Available to all types of GIS users.  Some may assume it is just for one flavor of ESRI software.
   • Contributors are mainly users.  This is an important point, as the advice received from users oftentimes contains tidbits of information that help other users resolve problems that concern the "pragmatic/practical" issues one hits in "real life" besides the purely technical side.

Chris Donohue, GISP

[curtvprice]

Bling. We must have bling. And flair.