[Virtual online chapter - Master thread]

dandan14 · Post by **dandan14** » Thu Nov 14, 2013 1:34 pm

[Thread updated, see below. --admin LadyGeek]

So one of the responsibilities in my new job is going to be to manage our virtual user groups. We had a meeting yesterday using webex. We had 100+ people in the conference and I recorded the audio and slides for those who couldn't join.

It got me thinking about the potential for a bogleheads virtual group. Have we ever discussed that here?
There are tons of people on the forum who don't have local groups and who haven't made the pilgrimage to the yearly meeting. There are some fairly inexpensive tools out there, but it might make sense to ask people to pitch in a dollar at the "door" to cover costs.

What do folks here think about a quarterly virtual meeting? We could talk with Taylor or Mel on the forum and see if we could get it officially publicized. It would make it even easier to get high caliber speakers -- since they'd have a large audience.

Thoughts?

Dan

Riprap · Post by **Riprap** » Thu Nov 14, 2013 1:39 pm

FWIW, I would love to participate in a panel discussion, keynote address or any other notable event at the annual Boglehead's Conference via web conference.

I nominate you to organize it!

livesoft · Post by **livesoft** » Thu Nov 14, 2013 1:57 pm

Since we do webex stuff at work all the time, it would be too much like being at work.

Just make sure you have clear rules about "raising your hand" and the moderator calls on people and after the person has finished speaking that they say "Back to you, Dan, I'm done."

dandan14 · Post by **dandan14** » Thu Nov 14, 2013 2:06 pm

livesoft wrote:Since we do webex stuff at work all the time, it would be too much like being at work.

Just make sure you have clear rules about "raising your hand" and the moderator calls on people and after the person has finished speaking that they say "Back to you, Dan, I'm done."

Yeah...I think we could moderate that pretty easily by muting all lines except the speaker and moderator. Then we could open up for a Q&A time.
I'm thinking 3-4 times a year would give us enough time to get a boglehead speaker for each event without being over burdensome.

Sidney · Post by **Sidney** » Thu Nov 14, 2013 2:09 pm

livesoft wrote:Since we do webex stuff at work all the time, it would be too much like being at work.

Maybe there is a time save here. Schedule the calls quarterly when most of the funds have their distribution. The title of the call can be "Why did fund XYZ drop so much today?"

Steve Thorpe · Post by **Steve Thorpe** » Sun Dec 22, 2013 5:05 pm

Hi Dan,

I would certainly love to participate - very nice idea!

Steve

TimeRunner · Post by **TimeRunner** » Sat Feb 15, 2014 6:18 pm

Maybe Vanguard, Fido, or TDAmeritrade would sponsor the meeting, if that's kosher. Perhaps someone here on the forum has an inside track to that?

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Sun Mar 12, 2017 2:06 pm

Anybody know of groups that broadcast boglehead meetings online or if there is a group that does online talks exclusively? For those of us that are in a less boglehead-populated area.

Good Listener · Post by **Good Listener** » Sun Mar 12, 2017 6:41 pm

GREAT IDEA. We need something like that.

DartThrower · Post by **DartThrower** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 1:48 pm

Ditto. The technology is cheap or free and relatively easy to use which is very Bogleheadish.

Besides... Ladygeek doesn't have enough to do.

Will do good · Post by **Will do good** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 2:00 pm

What a good idea. OP wants to be the fist host?

Durzo · Post by **Durzo** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 2:06 pm

This is an awesome idea. I really hope this takes off; I will make sure to attend if this happens. We could do a monthly/bi-weekly broadcast type of thing. Each time we have an agenda to cover certain topics.

It would probably be best if a senior well known member set it up. However, if no one is interested I'd be happy to set it up for us.

gkaplan · Post by **gkaplan** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:43 pm

Is this a webcast we're talking about here? I would prefer a podcast or an on-demand broadcast.

MitchL · Post by **MitchL** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:45 pm

Could also stream the annual Boglehead conference...

DEZ1 · Post by **DEZ1** » Thu Mar 16, 2017 8:53 pm

Great idea

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 9:24 am

Durzo wrote:This is an awesome idea. I really hope this takes off; I will make sure to attend if this happens. We could do a monthly/bi-weekly broadcast type of thing. Each time we have an agenda to cover certain topics.

It would probably be best if a senior well known member set it up. However, if no one is interested I'd be happy to set it up for us.

Wow surprised there is so much interest! Well yes I think this would be great, I'd agree w/ Durzo that a senior member would be better to host or at least moderate the discussion/topics. I think podcast would be nice as well but I was looking for something more interactive and also I think podcasts would take a while to make.
-I feel like this is something that could be done weekly or at least monthly (and ppl attend when they can), especially given how much time some senior members spend posting on here.

-Durzo if you wanted to take point that would be great, what software/website would you use? I'm not too familiar with a platform that would allow for something like slides (if that's needed).

DartThrower · Post by **DartThrower** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 4:09 pm

I know an organization that has had good success with Zoom.

https://zoom.us/

And then of course there's skype, gotomeeting and webex. I'm sure there are many forum members with expertise in these and possibly others.

sschullo · Post by **sschullo** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 4:39 pm

DartThrower wrote:I know an organization that has had good success with Zoom.

https://zoom.us/

And then of course there's skype, gotomeeting and webex. I'm sure there are many forum members with expertise in these and possibly others.

Zoom is great. Used it with my shrink aka life coach.

ny_rn · Post by **ny_rn** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 4:44 pm

Great idea. If funds are needed to host this monthly, I'm sure we can all chip in a few dollars to cover costs. We can use our "fun money."

freedom5555 · Post by **freedom5555** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 5:50 pm

[Thread merged into here, see below. --admin LadyGeek]

I found a post from a couple years ago viewtopic.php?t=126449 about tying to start virtual BH meetings.
Maybe they can merge.

freedom5555 · Post by **freedom5555** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 5:53 pm

A new post has started about virtual BH meetings.
viewtopic.php?t=213547

Post by **Mel Lindauer** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 6:06 pm

Would there be interest in a Virtual Local Chapter? Who would be the coordinator and who would handle the technical end?

Remember that the word "Bogleheads" is a registered trademark/service mark and cannot be used without permission.

I'll need to hear more from those who propose to run this operation and will need definite assurance that this will follow the Boglehead philosophy and not be used in any commercial way.

Post by **LadyGeek** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 6:52 pm

freedom5555 wrote:[Thread merged into here, see below. --admin LadyGeek]

I found a post from a couple years ago viewtopic.php?t=126449 about tying to start virtual BH meetings.
Maybe they can merge.

Done. I also retitled the thread for clarity.

dandan14 - If you want to change the thread title further, just edit the Subject: line in Post #1.

DartThrower wrote:Ditto. The technology is cheap or free and relatively easy to use which is very Bogleheadish.

Besides... Ladygeek doesn't have enough to do.

Tell me about it. Actually, you can - we're both members of the Bogleheads Philly Local Chapter. (DartThrower is the chapter founder.)

If this becomes a local chapter, we'll add it to the blog and wiki:

- Bogleheads® local chapters | Financial Page (blog)
- Bogleheads® local chapters - Bogleheads (wiki)

dandan14 · Post by **dandan14** » Fri Mar 17, 2017 7:27 pm

Wow, my 4 year old post got some new life today!

Since there seems to be some interest, I would be interested in working on this.

I use webex daily for work, but that's not something I want to pay for. Others mentioned free tools. What are the best free tools for webex-like web conferences?

dan

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 9:47 am

dandan14 wrote:Wow, my 4 year old post got some new life today!

Since there seems to be some interest, I would be interested in working on this.

I use webex daily for work, but that's not something I want to pay for. Others mentioned free tools. What are the best free tools for webex-like web conferences?

dan

Mel Lindauer wrote:Would there be interest in a Virtual Local Chapter? Who would be the coordinator and who would handle the technical end?

Remember that the word "Bogleheads" is a registered trademark/service mark and cannot be used without permission.

I'll need to hear more from those who propose to run this operation and will need definite assurance that this will follow the Boglehead philosophy and not be used in any commercial way.

-I think there is enough interest for a Virtual Online Chapter from a least a few people. I think a couple people (dandan, durzo) would be willing to coordinate/handle technical side and I could help as well. Looking at the platforms suggested, zoom is probably the best initial platform as it's free and supports up to 50 people. The one downside is an auto-cutoff at 40 min but this could just be used as a break. Skype is another option but supports 25 people.
-It will follow Boglehead philosophy, we aren't planning to use it commerically.
-Would be very helpful if we had a more senior Boglehead member (Mel? Would look good on your resume

) for the actual meeting content. They could probably provide you with more information regarding the actual content. I'll try PMing a few of them to see if they have any interest.
-Was thinking that we could meeting weekly, bimonthly, or monthly depending on level of interest and moderator schedule.

Good Listener · Post by **Good Listener** » Sat Mar 18, 2017 1:39 pm

I will participate if you can get it going. I would think every 2 or 3 months would be a decent starting place.

Post by **Mel Lindauer** » Sun Mar 19, 2017 1:51 pm

lazylarry wrote:
dandan14 wrote:Wow, my 4 year old post got some new life today!

Since there seems to be some interest, I would be interested in working on this.

I use webex daily for work, but that's not something I want to pay for. Others mentioned free tools. What are the best free tools for webex-like web conferences?

dan

Mel Lindauer wrote:Would there be interest in a Virtual Local Chapter? Who would be the coordinator and who would handle the technical end?

Remember that the word "Bogleheads" is a registered trademark/service mark and cannot be used without permission.

I'll need to hear more from those who propose to run this operation and will need definite assurance that this will follow the Boglehead philosophy and not be used in any commercial way.
-I think there is enough interest for a Virtual Online Chapter from a least a few people. I think a couple people (dandan, durzo) would be willing to coordinate/handle technical side and I could help as well. Looking at the platforms suggested, zoom is probably the best initial platform as it's free and supports up to 50 people. The one downside is an auto-cutoff at 40 min but this could just be used as a break. Skype is another option but supports 25 people.
-It will follow Boglehead philosophy, we aren't planning to use it commerically.
-Would be very helpful if we had a more senior Boglehead member (Mel? Would look good on your resume ) for the actual meeting content. They could probably provide you with more information regarding the actual content. I'll try PMing a few of them to see if they have any interest.
-Was thinking that we could meeting weekly, bimonthly, or monthly depending on level of interest and moderator schedule.

I've got more than enough on my plate and am way too busy to commit to anything else at this time. Besides, my resume already takes up way too many pages.

However, if you can get the technical side taken care of, I'm currently working with a high-profile senior member who would agree to be the moderator of the online meetings if everything worked out right. He could also get well-known guests to make presentations and do Q&As with the attendees at the various online meetings.

dandan14 · Post by **dandan14** » Mon Mar 20, 2017 8:02 pm

If we want to do this right, I suggest that we use business-grade tools -- either gotomeeting/gotowebinar or webex.
Doing this on the cheap is likely going to result in frustration.

Decent tools would be about $600/yr to host up to 100 people. (Similar pricing for webex and goto.)

Good Listener · Post by **Good Listener** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 6:32 pm

dandan14 wrote:If we want to do this right, I suggest that we use business-grade tools -- either gotomeeting/gotowebinar or webex.
Doing this on the cheap is likely going to result in frustration.

Decent tools would be about $600/yr to host up to 100 people. (Similar pricing for webex and goto.)

I think whoever will set it up can indicate the cost and it would be required to raise that amount to proceed. Somehow I'm sure a way to specifically donate to it can be set up on the site. Then progress can be tracked and reported. Compared to a live meeting there would be no transportation or food costs so people will contribute. I bet the funds could be raised in a day or two.

BanditKing · Post by **BanditKing** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:51 pm

WebEx or Gotomeeting might be willing to donate the time in exchange for a prominent mention given that we have a customer base that in many cases are decision makers, especially if it's only quarterly or even monthly. Definitely want to use a more-commercial product though that doesn't have hard-caps on particpants, and can be recorded for later viewing and archiving.

We use WebEx at my work. It's fine and has decent tools to manage participants.

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:03 pm

dandan14 wrote:If we want to do this right, I suggest that we use business-grade tools -- either gotomeeting/gotowebinar or webex.
Doing this on the cheap is likely going to result in frustration.

Decent tools would be about $600/yr to host up to 100 people. (Similar pricing for webex and goto.)

Good Listener wrote:
dandan14 wrote:If we want to do this right, I suggest that we use business-grade tools -- either gotomeeting/gotowebinar or webex.
Doing this on the cheap is likely going to result in frustration.

Decent tools would be about $600/yr to host up to 100 people. (Similar pricing for webex and goto.)
I think whoever will set it up can indicate the cost and it would be required to raise that amount to proceed. Somehow I'm sure a way to specifically donate to it can be set up on the site. Then progress can be tracked and reported. Compared to a live meeting there would be no transportation or food costs so people will contribute. I bet the funds could be raised in a day or two.

I mean zoom is free for 40 minutes, we'd just need to restart it after that time (and could just consider that a 40 min break). Zoom is considered business-grade. I tested it and it seems relatively simple and straightforward. There are links that people could use, and even call-ins if you're on the road.

I don't know that we have more than 5-10ppl at this time, and also I don't know how many people would be willing to pay unless it was $5-10/yr. Also what do we do if people don't pay? You have to pay ahead of time usually for those services, so that would be wasted money for the hoster and I'm not quite that rich (yet)

. If this grows, then definitely I hear ya. Or if you guys want to pay for it or raise money or negotiate with other hosting services, obviously fine by me as well.

Regardless, Mel, is there any chance we could at least start an email group for people who are interested?

Good Listener · Post by **Good Listener** » Wed Mar 22, 2017 4:37 pm

WebEx works great. And if they will donate it for a prominent mention why not?

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Sat May 27, 2017 10:49 am

I've been busy, but finally have time to revive this. Anybody still interested? I will make a list and start the group if it is ok with the admins. Will use Zoom. If anybody else wants to organize this (as long as they actually do that) that's fine by me.

BanditKing · Post by **BanditKing** » Sat May 27, 2017 8:26 pm

I'm still interested. Not able to organize, however, at this time.

Osprey · Post by **Osprey** » Sun May 28, 2017 5:03 am

I am interested in a virtual group, great idea for those of us not near local chapters!

Cruise · Post by **Cruise** » Sun May 28, 2017 12:21 pm

Osprey wrote:I am interested in a virtual group, great idea for those of us not near local chapters!

+1

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Thu Jun 01, 2017 5:02 pm

Great!

So far following folks have indicated interest. Will pm folks since I know everyone doesn't check this thread, but I think going forward may be best to email "virtualbogleheads@gmail.com" if anyone is interested and we will add you. Also will set up a first video meeting on Zoom for June or July, I figure the best way is to see who can attend which days/times via doodle (and if a host is available then). In terms of topics, hopefully someone else more experienced can present but we have powerpoints which the Boston chapter kindly lent to us which we could go over.

Cruise
Osprey
BanditKing
Good Listener
dandan14
DEZ1
Durzo
DartThrower
Will do good
ny_rn

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Thu Jun 08, 2017 7:56 pm

Alright so we had 6 people who were interested - and all able to make date of June 21st at 8pm EST on the Zoom platform. So we will plan for then. If you are still interested, please email me as it is harder for me to individually message people on this forum. Likewise, even if you have already replied to the poll, please email (virtualbogleheads@gmail.com) if that would be ok with you, such that I can just send out one email (with all members bcc'd).

Regardless however, I will send out an email/forum message in about a week on the instructions for using Zoom for those less familiar and a reminder. I will post whenever we decide to have meetings but anyone can email me if they are interested.

-One member brought up funding such that there is not a cutoff for Zoom (it times out at 40 minutes and we will have a brief intermission then). That's fine by me, but the practical side is probably more difficult, though I'm happy for anyone to take that over. You can do that and tell me (I could even help you set up crowdfunding a/c) or it can be a surprise.

FiveK · Post by **FiveK** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 9:58 pm

lazylarry wrote:Alright so we had 6 people who were interested - and all able to make date of June 21st at 8pm EST on the Zoom platform.

Worked great - thanks lazylarry for coordinating.

coffeecup333 · Post by **coffeecup333** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:14 pm

Just discovered this and seems I missed the first meeting. Would love to join.
Are there any resources that could be shared from tonight's meeting? Thanks for the great idea!

Osprey · Post by **Osprey** » Wed Jun 21, 2017 10:41 pm

Just discovered this and seems I missed the first meeting. Would love to join.
Are there any resources that could be shared from tonight's meeting? Thanks for the great idea!

Please let me know when the next meeting is.

Elsebet · Post by **Elsebet** » Thu Jun 22, 2017 3:14 pm

I too would like to participate in the next one and subscribed to this topic.

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Sat Jun 24, 2017 1:40 pm

Hi all,

Thank you for the interest and we did have a nice first meeting with five participants, with many others expressing interest but unable to make it! We introduced our level of knowledge of financial knowledge and also topics for future meetings. We will try to make meetings on Wednesdays at 8pm, and I will post meeting times on this forum for all to join. In a few days, I'll send a poll to those who have indicated interest to me, for the next meeting time and also topics for next meeting. I'll also add a google doc with the minutes from the last meeting. If you have indicated interest by PM,email, or posting here, I will contact you with this information.

If you are interested in participating in the group, I would really prefer PM's with your email address so that I can send bulk emails to everyone at once rather than PMing individually. Or you can email me at virtualbogleheads@gmail.com.

Moderators, can we add this Online chapter to the official boglehead chapter list?

Thanks,
lazylarry

Post by **LadyGeek** » Sat Jun 24, 2017 3:23 pm

Hi,

First, I retitled the thread, which is now in the wiki: Bogleheads® local chapters

Also, the blog: Bogleheads® local chapters | Financial Page

If you want anything changed, let me know.

We could add a blog section for the online chapter, which can also be used for meeting minutes. Here's an example: Sacramento Area Bogleheads Meeting Summary (November 12, 2016)

PM Barry Barnitz or myself if you want to set something up.

Mel Lindauer takes care of the master chapter list.

Update: Mel Lindauer is working on it.

Post by **Mel Lindauer** » Sat Jun 24, 2017 7:05 pm

OK, it's official. The new Virtual Online Chapter and contact info will be added to the Bogleheads Local Chapter Map as Chapter #73.

Contact info that will be added:

Contact name - Larry
Contact email - virtualbogleheads@gmail.com

Good luck to our newest Chapter.

DartThrower · Post by **DartThrower** » Sun Jun 25, 2017 5:54 am

lazylarry,

Thanks for putting in the work to get this off the ground. You're going to need a new name!

Lieutenant.Columbo · Post by **Lieutenant.Columbo** » Sun Jun 25, 2017 12:58 pm

I'm interested. I am sending an email now requesting to be added to the email list; excellent idea!

Lieutenant.Columbo · Post by **Lieutenant.Columbo** » Sun Jun 25, 2017 7:17 pm

I think this online chapter is qualitatively different from the other in-person chapters.
It may actually be interesting to a very large number of BH members who might not learn about it because they never go to the "Local Chapters..." subforum. I suggest the moderators consider:
1. also posting (at least temporarily) this Topic simultaneously in the other subforums
2. somehow (sticky, PM, etc) make all members aware of this Online Chapter and direct them to this Topic if interested
L.C

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:27 am

Our next meeting will be on July 26th at 8pm EST, with the topic of asset allocation. If you are interested in joining the meeting, please email me at virtualbogleheads@gmail.com. If you have already contacted me, you should have received an email and please let me know if there were any issues.

Hope to see everyone there!

lazylarry · Post by **lazylarry** » Sat Aug 05, 2017 3:31 pm

Just wanted to let anyone interested in attending virtual bogleheads group (more info in the local groups section on this forum), that our next meeting will be about Tilting and will be on 8/23 at 8pm EST. We will have a quick 10-25 min presentation and then open questions afterwards. If you are interested, please email me at virtualbogleheads@gmail.com