General Category > General Discussion
Clubs restarting?
Twisted Trees:
--- Quote from: BrianH on June 30, 2020, 09:01:42 AM ---the gist of this thread appears to be based on the assumption that demos are the main....or only... reason to be in a club and that oldns like me WANT to be tech savvy in order to experience one. I personally joined a club in order to see and meet a wider circle of mates with a shared interest in woody matters. I feel no envy whatsoever for folks who feel the need for Zoom in their woodyturning lives.
Am I alone on this side of the coin? I doubt it.
Brian
--- End quote ---
While I agree with you 100% the gathering in a draughty hall is what we want to get back to, I would go further and say if we could see an end to this say by September, I would be against taking up a tech alternative.
BUT this may not have an end in any of out lifetimes, those who already have the internet and a smart phone can join in, but it will be very unsatisfactory. Televisions for 5 or more years now have had the ability to display your phone screen on them, instantly making the zoom meeting prospect while not great at least a lot better.
This information and more needs to be shared so that we don't lose members like interesting blanks that get kicked under the workbench, obviously the end goal is to get back to putting out uncomfortable seats in draughty church halls, but to arrive there when / if ever it is possible we need to share knowledge not on mediums such as facebook and websites, those seeing that will not need the information, but in print to tell those not into the internet how to maintain contact and keep those interesting blanks on the shelf where we can see them.
Bill21:
--- Quote from: bodrighywood on June 30, 2020, 10:28:34 AM ---There is surely room for both. Remote demos etc open up a whole new area of possibilities that are otherwise not possible. Especially true for small clubs where cost os a problem. Also don't forget that the two are not incompatible and with a bit of experience having remote demos in a club setting (after lockdown) are also another possibility.
Pete
--- End quote ---
Agreed Pete. I see no reason to not have both live and streamed demo’s. Sadly I don’t believe it will happen at my club as there isn’t the interest to do so.
David Buskell:
Lots of interesting comments and thoughts in this thread.
We have had an interactive remote demo (IRD) to our club venue, in fact three of them. The virus situation made us and the demonstrators realise we could beam "direct to home" and this is what we did for our last IRD.
But, with a difference! we had 5 clubs in the UK and 2 guests from South Africa involved on the one demo. Minor glitches to start but in the end 123 people enjoyed 3 hours of woodturning from Hawaii.
The 5 clubs have now started to talk to each other and the South Africans are considering using IRD's themselves.
There are many options: film your in house demos and beam them to members who cannot attend for one.
As for information, do check out www.lucidwoodturners.com which, with over 600 members is the repository for all things relating to IRD's.
Although we started using IRD's in 2017, the UK remained behind the curve until the mid 2019's when we had more demos and other clubs came along to see what it was all about. Covid-19 has speeded up any clubs plans to use IRD's.
There are other video conferencing platforms available other than Zoom.
Just remember video conferencing technology is over 20 years old, been used in education for at least 15 years, so woodturning is late coming to the party.
It's now become part of the mix and our club events managers should consider the balance between live demos and IRD,s within their budget constraints.
You can run House Notices, Raffle, Show Table all within the Zoom meeting. Have the demo and then throw the mic open to members to chat to the demonstrator.
David
David Buskell:
Having read back through this thread, I would agree that a lot of club members only come along to the draughty hall for a chat and socialize. Some of the members we have, don't have lathes, they just enjoy the craic!
This (the social bit) is not an issue with the new situation. Zoom (or whatever facilty you use) enables chat and socialization amongst the participants and is actively encouraged by some of the internet clubs and demonstrators.
Do remember that this is not streaming (Facebook, YouTube or whatever) so you can get instant contact with the group or a demonstrator.
In the Woodturning Zoom club UK, we have a 1/2 to 3/4 hour space allocated for chat within groups. One night I was a bit quiet and the club chairman called me out to comment on something. I could do that instantly by clicking on my "unmute" button.
I guess the main thing is to try all these new opportunities out and see if you like them If not, nothing lost.
Schurchy:
Hi
I'm the IT Manager for the company I work in so know exactly what technology can do for us. During lockdown I was supporting 26 remote workers enabling them to continue working from home. As a family we were (and still are) using Zoom to keep in touch on a pre-scheduled basis and Yes even to cousins down under in Oz who we seldom otherwise see. HOWEVER !!! Would I want Zoom to take over how I see my parents from now on? Definitely not and as far as I'm concerned the same goes for my turning club. Yes there are some benefits to Zoom but on the whole I would reckon that the majority of members attend more for the social interaction than I dare say for the demo's.
I do think there is a compromise to be had though. At our club we have pretty much an equal split of pro demo's, member demo's and hands on evenings along with quarterly competitions and monthly chairman's challenges. I don't have a problem at all with the idea of perhaps one or two Zoom (or other platform) style evenings to bring in demonstrators that would otherwise be too far to travel for. These could either be to the home or if available, projected at the club meeting place. You could also incorporate joint meetings with other clubs?
Just my two pennies worth
Steve
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