These are questions for any transhumanist or physical immortalist club inside and outside the USA that I originally asked on Transhumanists.org.
To other clubs and groups:
* How are things going?
* Do you have local, in-person meetings?
* How many attendees?
* What format do you follow, topics do you discuss, etc.?
* How do you market your club?
* How could other clubs help you out?
* How could you help out other clubs?
* What advice do you have for other clubs? For people wanting to start other clubs?
* Your own questions?
Here is my attempt to answer my own questions with findings from our Tucson h+ club.
* How are things going?
Very well! Lots of members, greater diversity, new friendships, tons of discussion, good fun.
* Do you have local, in-person meetings?
Yes. We meet every Friday at 4 PM at the University of Arizona campus.
* How many attendees?
We are up to 20 regular attendees, with new people showing up at probably every meeting this semester. Some come back week after week, some come every few weeks, and others are not seen again.
* What format do you follow, topics do you discuss, etc.?
Right now we have a show-and-tell, open discussion format, with some upcoming formal presentations. I want to experiment with an hour of short presentations followed by an hour of show-and-tell, open discussion.
* How do you market your club?
Flyers have been useful, but most of our new members found out about us because we attended UA's club fair in September. We are attending a Family Weekend club fair next month and will attend the Spring semester club fair. Also, we have new members from the Tucson community who found us via web searches or our "Tucson Transhumanism Meetup Group" on Meetup.com.
* How could other clubs help you out?
I am very interested in hearing about other formats and topics covered by other clubs, their own marketing tips, and possible visits between communities!
* How could you help out other clubs?
We provide templates of our flyers and posters for use by other clubs. Our sites provide some reference material, and I would be happy to answer questions. I'm sure there is much more we could do, but I'm not exactly sure what.
* What advice do you have for other clubs? For people wanting to start other clubs?
Find one other person in your area and then go for it. You will likely be surprised by all the "closet" transhumanists. Don't worry about being big from the beginning. Just find someone to have an occasional lunch with, for example. If you don't have leadership or good organization skills, don't worry about it. Do what you can, find one other person who might be better at these, or just take your time and learn what needs to be done.
While we are at a University setting, coffee shops, bookstores, and other locations also provide community meeting places. If you meet some interesting people and grow comfortable with them, you might host in your own home.
Meetings don't have to be formal; you can also hold movie nights (bad science fiction is perfect for starting interesting discussions about transhumanism), book clubs, or just meet for coffee. See where it takes you.
Larger groups are great, but there are different considerations. We went from 5 to 7 members at meetings to 20 members, and I definitely notice different dynamics. For example, in the larger group it is easier for discussion to get side-tracked and for people to splinter into side conversations. I am hoping to experiment with a new format to address some of these issues.
Finally, be creative! What other clubs do might not be the best fit for your own club. Remember that transhumanism is more than just science and technology. Art, social science, business, and other domains of human activity are very important to the transhumanist movement.
