As the blocks roll on, your community will evolve. New faces will join, others will drift away but the guiding principle should remain the same: develope the Bitcoin ecosystem and strengthen the bonds between members.
There are many projects and initiatives that can be implemented. This chapter offers a non-exhaustive list of ideas that can be carried out within a community or during a meetup. Feel free to choose the ones that inspire you and even contribute your own ideas to this course by making a "Pull Request" on GitHub.
Before diving in, let's revisit a point mentioned earlier.
When you organize a Bitcoin meetup, you meet new people. Social interaction is essential and beer (or alcohol in general) can help create a festive atmosphere. But it's worth keeping in mind:
- Alcohol impairs cognitive abilities like thinking and comprehension, which can make it harder for participants to follow serious discussions or presentations.
- Alcohol can also become a comfort ritual: every month, you share your "Bitcoin moment" with friends over a drink. While that's a great way to connect, is drinking beer really the main goal of your meetup? Or would you rather exchange research, learn from others, and help newcomers discover Bitcoin?
Everyone has their own preferences, convictions and personality. This isn't about judging one meetup over another. Still, while it's often over a beer that we talk about changing the world, revolutions don't start, or grow, that way.
The key is simply to be aware of it.