Bahamas Software Development User Group, we hardly knew ye.

It’s been just over a year since I started the short-lived group but alas! It is no more. In this post-mortem, we discuss What Went Wrong by providing smug pieces of advice fueled by 20/20 hindsight.

Know what you’re getting into

As much as you’d like to keep the process lean, there is always work to be done. Initially, you may be required to give the majority of the presentation. There may be sponsors to solicit, presenters to organize, and government officials to appease when you try to explain that that box of lasciviously-shaped USB keys is for an upcoming “code camp”.

Get help

If you want to follow the Ozark Symphony Orchestra around on its whirlwind tour of Athens, Prague, Vienna, and Paris,  you’ll need someone to fill in for you. A group run by a single person isn’t a group.

Be prepared for skepticism

Okay, this one surprised me when I made up my list. And since I recognize the perils of having unwavering optimism, it shouldn’t have. Many people I talked to came up with half a dozen reasons why it wouldn’t work: people are too secretive, it’s just another marketing tool for Company X, I work all day so why would I bother coming out in the evening.

The culmination of this was when one person accused me of using the group as a front to bring my “cronies” in to steal jobs from Bahamians and threatened to call the immigration department on me. Which is odd since I don’t work for a local company. Short version: some people will always look at what you aren’t doing rather than what you are.

Be flexible

I started the group as a .NET-specific one. In the group’s death throes, I broadened the scope to software development in general to account for the small size of the population and the wide variety of skills and interests. Many people are web designers who have had to learn programming to meet customer demands. And a session titled “Integrating Sharepoint with BizTalk” probably won’t have much relevance.

Know your public

This was, I believe, the one that effectively killed the group. I’ll have a follow-up post on it with more specifics when I’m able to keep my frustration at bay and can talk about it diplomatically.

In the end, whatever external factors exist, the primary reason the group didn’t work is because I didn’t have the fortitude to see it through. Maybe it was arrogance, maybe it was naiveté. Probably a bit of both. I wish this was only the first time I started something without anything more than good intentions. I doubt I’m the only one that starts things like this with an optimistic “let’s see what happens” without giving much thought into the work involved but it’s still kind of embarrassing that I folded up effectively because I didn’t feel like putting in the effort anymore.

I’d call it a lesson learned but we all know better…

Kyle the Unimproved

A couple of things have got protectionism on my mind. It comes up surprisingly often because the Bahamas seems to be, by and large, a protectionism nation. That is based solely on personal observation, not on any sort of fact-checking. So I'll assume everyone out there knows the difference between valid journalism and wild blog-induced accusations based on rumours.

Protectionism is the restriction of trade and industries by imposing regulations and tariffs to protect local companies and local interests. A few industries are already protected here. Lawyers, for example, must be Bahamian as do real estate agents, I think. And rumour has it, the IT industry is under consideration for the same treatment.

Some of this is understandable, given the country's small population, proximity to the US, and political history. And with the recent economic downturn, it gets even harder to discuss the issue without emotions running high.

In any case, whether or not that's true is not something I can talk intelligently about. I am, after all, a foreigner here myself so I don't know that I could be an unbiased judge. I take some comfort in the fact that I am living and spending money here, but working for companies in the US and Canada.

In any case, one of my goals with the BahaNET user group, which is my current outlet for organizing the software development industry here, is in direct response to this protectionist opinion and it applies anywhere, not just here.

To wit: If you want to make sure your job doesn't go to anyone else (local or foreign**), then be better at it than anyone else. Don't give the company a reason to look elsewhere and they won't do it.

This seems to be lost on many people. The natural inclination when someone else gets a job you were after (or that you had) is that they did something underhanded to get it. Instead of thinking, "Maybe I need to upgrade my skills," it's easier to assume that someone has ulterior motives and is working against you so that you can maintain the status quo.

The decision to hire someone is usually pretty easy when comparing two people. The basic metric is: which one has more skill than the other? If the difference is obvious, then so is the decision. It's only when the candidates are relatively equal in skill level that other factors come into play.

It's naive to assume this is always the case, of course. Some companies are more political than others. But it certainly tips the odds in your favour if you are good at what you do.

That's why it's encouraging to see the same people coming out month after month to the BahaNET meetings to see what else is out there and to connect with other developers. Regardless of their actual skill level, it tells me that these people are willing to put some effort into making themselves better. So that when it comes to hiring them versus, say, a Canadian with similar skill level for which you'd need to buy an annual work permit, it's a no-brainer.

** Keep in mind that when I refer to a local or foreigner, I'm talking about status, not physical proximity. The "local vs. remote" thing is a whole different issue which I mention to pre-empt any accusations of hypocrisy based on previous posts on working remotely.

Kyle the Unprotected

What's the first thing you think of when I say "Bahamas in February"? If you said "code", then you're my target audience for this post.

First, a recap of the BahaNET meeting last Thursday night. We finally hit double-digit attendance for the first time which is very exciting, even if the number includes yours truly. A midway surge of three people added 40% to the numbers to bring us to the coveted "ten people". It was very exciting. Especially considering the topic was version control.

But that's not what I came here to talk about. Something that's been nagging in the back of my head for some time now is the possibility of an event in the Bahamas, hopefully next February or thereabouts. I don't want to call it a code camp just yet because I'm not sure that's what I want to do. A code camp seems local in scope and I'm still trying to figure out if we have the user base to justify it.

Another option is to make it more summit-y. I.e. invite people from around the world for a nice little software development love-in. What can we offer that other conferences don't? Well, nothing from the professional development side of things. But just the same, I think we'd have a decent turn-out for some reason. I've had a *lot* of interest in this option. Not sure how much of that will translate to actual plane tickets being booked but it's encouraging nonetheless.

There is a downside to the latter option that I think is pretty important. We would lose the local focus. I think there is still work to be done within the country before we start inviting software heavyweights down here to talk about functional programming and DDDD.

Which leads me to another option, and I swear I had this in mind before Kaizen came out. Instead of a code camp where there is presentation after presentation, I'd like to hold two days (minimum) of practical workshops. A workshop would be four hours long and ideally, we'd have at least two or three "tracks", with at least one of them geared very much toward beginners. At least on the first morning.

I believe this would offer the best of both worlds. The local development community could benefit from some hands-on training and the global community could pass on their knowledge in between margaritas on the beach.

I do have a medium- to long-term plan for the industry in the Bahamas. Realistically, a full day of 75 minute presentations doesn't fit in with that goal right now. And as much as I would love to invite the world to the Bahamas for Caribbean TechFest so we can debate the pros and cons of IronRuby, that isn't going to help the fledgling software industry in my adopted homeland.

I've been talking with some people rather vaguely about some of this already for some time and I suppose this is simply a way to try to crystallize things in a semi-permanent format. I'd be eternally grateful to anyone who can provide constructive feedback and/or advice on any of this as February is not quite as far away as I would hope.

Kyle the Planned

Quick note to announce that Hurricanes Hanna and Ike haven't dampened our resolve! BahaNET is meeting this Thursday, hopefully at the usual place but I haven't quite verified yet.

Discussion topic will be source control. Specifically, how to set it up, maintain it, and use it effectively. It's a topic that is often overlooked but can become very cumbersome very quickly when not done properly. I'd tell you war stories but I'm guessing I can't top yours.

There will also be some interesting side topics so if you're in the area, it'll be a good one to attend.

Hope to see you all there.

I've become rather acutely aware that my content has been lacking of late in the technical department. But I do have a couple of community announcements to make that are time-based so I'll compromise a bit and combine them into a single post. Then I'll take a hiatus until I have something more generically useful to say.

First off: Next BahaNET meeting is tonight at the usual digs, IPBS House. And based on past experience: When I say Moseley Lane is right after the entrance/exit to Harbour Bay off Shirley Street, I mean it's RIGHT after. As in about three feet. You can basically make a U-turn from the Harbour Bay exit on to Moseley Lane. Don't miss it.

The topic will be: connecting a website to a database. We'll discuss basic CRUD operations and yes, we will be dragging and dropping for better or for worse. You have to know your audience. Take comfort in the fact that I'll attach a bunch of codicils as I'm presenting. Hopefully, I'll be able to demonstrate the Dynamic Data thing as well, assuming I have time to look into it.

Next announcement: Donald Belcham and I recorded an episode of .NET Rocks earlier this week and through the magic of technology, it is already available. The topic, as you may have guessed, is Brownfield development. Elapsed time 'twixt the initial e-mail and the finished product was about ten days, which is pretty amazing. Even if Carl refused my request to digitally enhance my voice so that it sounds like Humphrey Bogart. ("Of all the apps in all the contracts in all the world, she had to refactor mine.")

And to top it all off, Derik Whittaker will be releasing the first in my series of Brownfield casts tomorrow at www.dimecasts.net. First one is on setting up your version control structure. There are many more to come and feedback is welcome.

Kyle the Supersaturated

Need to be more on the ball with announcing community events that I'm hosting.

The Bahamas .NET User Group had its second meeting on May 28 and it was another success. Running a user group is an odd kind of thing. There is more work than you imagined when you had the initial idea and you often get to the point where you wonder if it's worth it. Then the meeting starts and goes by in a blur and when you're driving home, you're wishing you could meet every week instead of monthly. It's a rush that is almost as good as...well, let's not get carried away. It's a good feeling is all.

The group was seven strong, not including me. That's one more than last time, and that includes six newcomers.

The topic was Building Websites in ASP.NET. The group was small enough, and the topic dear enough to my heart, that I could, and did, veer off in directions I didn't anticipate. At one point, I dove into the life cycle of an HTTP request, something I haven't stopped to think about in many a full moon.

Still working on getting things to run smoothly. The e-mail I sent to the group reminding them of the date actually contained the wrong date. So between that and the last minute venue change of the last one, it looks like the third one will hopefully be the charm.

The good news: I recorded the session. The bad news: The air conditioning didn't work and someone took mercy on me partway through by turning on the fan. A seemingly benign act of philanthropy but the fan happened to be directly over the microphone. Who knew air made that much noise when it moved?

The final half hour is nigh-incomprehensible so I had to mute the entire thing and add a soundtrack instead. My apologies for that. Guess you're never to old to learn.

Part 1 (47 minutes - 40MB - WMV)

Part 2 (44 minutes - 37MB - WMV)

Silverlight version may come later when I figure out how to encode them into files smaller than 185Mb each.

NEXT MEETING IS TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED FOR Thursday, June 26 at 6:00 at IPBS House

The topic is Connecting Web Applications to a Database but there is still room for discussion on that if there is enough interest in something else. And if you have any other suggestions or want to help out yourself, you know where to reach me.

The most encouraging part of the last meeting: One attendee asked if we could meet more than once a month.

Kyle the Adrenalized

NOTE: This post is about a day and a half late. I could claim that I wanted the event to sink in first but the reality is I was trying to get a handle back on things after a very hectic week. Part of it was a short but very successful trip to NYC. So dense was the wife's and daughter's shopping-to-waking-hours ratio that I'll be looking for sponsors for our next trip (anyone from Visa and/or American Girl in my readership?). Closest I got to purchasing anything of value was walking by a Best Buy after closing and laughing at a fellow who tried to sell me a router for $120, which was over half off the ticket price.

But that's not what I came to babble about today.

Encouraged and invigorated. That's what I felt right after the first BahaNET meeting and what I still feel now two days later. Attendance, including myself and Dave Noderer, was a whopping seven people. Experience ranged from an IT Pro looking to get into programming, to a game programmer (watch for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for the Wii this Xmas), to a young lady acting as the sole .NET programmer at a local bank.

It was a very interactive meeting with everyone showing genuine interest in solving not only the problems I lamented last time but a few others. Everyone was active in the discussion, especially at the end. And I got the sense that from these seven people, we'll have a good base from which to grow.

The main problem I see is simply getting people to see the value of such a group. As such, this was something we discussed for some time. We veered into some unfamiliar territory for me as we talked about some practical ideas as well as some more...ummm...let's say "long term" plans (like a robotics competition).

There was much talk on how to change attitudes in the country. This, by far, is why I foresee any real change taking several years. In my last post, I talked about people who have no interest in "talking computers" after working on them all day. But as was pointed out at the meeting, that shouldn't be the focus initially. So I'll be tweaking things more toward the social aspects of the gatherings.

But even with the small group, one of the major benefits of regular meetings like this came up several times. Namely, people learned things that they may not have known before. There was tremendous interest in DotNetNuke as a possible platform for creating websites (which is a common business model in the Bahamas), which some of the attendees had never heard of. This was not the only example of side conversation enlightenment by any stretch either.

All in all, I believe those that attended will be back and will bring friends. And I got what I wanted out of it: a sense of how to proceed for the benefit of everyone.

The final pleasant surprise came when I handed out prizes. People were offered a choice of items and not a single XBox game was claimed. Instead, people took Visual Studio licenses, a book on SQL Server programming, and a copy of Communication Server.

We even discussed the next meeting: May 30 at the same location (IPBS House). Topic will be: Creating a Website in ASP.NET. See you there!

Kyle the Re-animated

Bahamas .NET User Group's first meeting is tonight and I'm using my little pundit here to document some pre-game thoughts for posterity. So that I can compare notes to the post-game show.

If I were to be honest with myself, I'd admit that the lead-up to this has been more frustrating than exhilirating. I simply have no clue what is going to happen tonight, but not entirely in a good way.

I've sent out several e-mails to people and organizations that might want to attend. (That's not including the mail-outs to the people that were nice enough to register for the group. That's been the only concrete evidence of any kind that people are interested in attending.) With one exception, all of these e-mails have remained unanswered.

The exception was from someone who said no one at the organization was interested because they work with computers all day and they have no interest in doing it in the evening as well. A common enough response, albeit a somewhat misinformed one. The assumption is that they have better things to do with their time than learn about software development. Fair enough. It remains up to me to encourage the social aspects of the group rather than the professional ones. Frankly, I'm just happy I got a response because it means I now have an actionable item on my to-do list.

Part of the anxiety comes with not knowing how many people to expect (which is a symptom of the unanswered e-mails in some respect). The only confirmed attendees I have are myself and Dave Noderer. More on him later. And neither of us are exactly qualified to discuss the nature of software development as it applies to the Bahamas.

A couple of other general attitudes I've encountered. One was summed up succintly by someone who has lived and worked here most of his life: Bahamians aren't good enough for Bahamians. The problem being Bahamians, while a very proud group, do not have confidence in their fellow citizens to pull through on things like this. Unfortunately, even in my limited experience, there is evidence supporting this line of thought. One of my goals with this group though was to reverse it. Or prove it wrong.

The second attitude I've come across is an overwhelming sense of protectionism in one's intellectual property. Bahamians seem to be overly secretive about their ideas for fear that someone else will steal them and make money from them. This doesn't really lend itself to open discussions about software techniques. Again, a problem I've recognized and have grandiose plans to counter.

I know there are some Bahamians reading this, most of whom don't actually work in the Bahamas anymore. When I first started planning the group, I was excited about the possibilities. I still am. The country remains an untapped resource with unique potential. Realizing it will be, by my estimate, a multi-year process. But it'll be a fun process.

Back to Dave Noderer. He represents a group of people that has shown unwavering support and encouragement for the initiative. Namely, the outsiders. That is, people from other groups, Microsoft, INETA, various sponsors, even colleagues and passing acquaintances. I have received nothing but praise and inspiration from them. Granted, a few of them are probably thinking ahead at attending a possible code camp in the Bahamas...

Dave, in particular, has been nothing short of stellar in his support, providing me with tips on managing, passing on info on sponsors, and even flying into the country for the night just to attend the first meeting. It's because of people like him and others like him that I've even stuck it out this far.

Depending on how things go tonight, I have a couple of back-up plans on how to tweak the direction of the group. Try to my nature, I remain optimistic. Optimistic that there are enough like-minded individuals to sustain the group in some form. Optimistic that the issues I've come across are behavioral rather than cultural.

And optimistic that Code Camp in Paradise will happen in early 2009.

Kyle the Rose-Coloured

Quick announcement/reminder today. The inaugural meeting for the Bahamas .NET User Group is in two days. Thanks to IPBS for allowing us to use their office to host it. They are located on Moseley Lane.

You can get to it by going west on Shirley Street and turning right on to Moseley Lane right after the entrance to Harbour Bay. And I mean RIGHT after the entrance, like about ten feet after so don't miss it.

It's a one-way street going north, too so you can't get to it from Bay Street. If you are coming from the west, you can turn into Harbour Bay, head to Shirley Street, then make a U-turn on to it.

Festivities start at 6:00pm and will end whenever we run out of things to say. It will be a round-table discussion on the nature of software development in the Bahamas.

Thanks to our sponsors for their support, especially the local businesses who see some potential in our little gang:

• IPBS
• Providence Technology Group
• FlaDotNet
• INETA
• Microsoft Latin America
• JetBrains
• Manning
• Telerik
• Red-Gate

Come for the free food and prizes, stay for the stimulating conversation.

Kyle the Marketeer