Rocky Mountain Rock Stars: As RMAIIG turns two, Dan Murray discusses the importance of community-building
It was on March 6, 2023 - two years ago this week - that Dan Murray started a new group on Meetup - the Rocky Mountain AI Interest Group. He hadn't done any immediate promotion of the group, so he was happily surprised the next morning to discover that 11 people had already signed up. That was an early indicator, a small, but positive sign that made him think he might be onto something.
And when there were 298 RSVPs for the first meeting, held online on April 11, he felt even more strongly that he might be on the right track. Of course, online meetings are one thing, but the proof would be in the real-life pudding. So, when 100 people showed up for the first in-person meeting on June 13, 2023, Murray knew that RMAIIG was successfully tapping into the zeitgeist.
When talking about what caused him to start RMAIIG, Murray says he sensed that this moment was very similar to the early days of the World Wide Web, when he started the "Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group" in January of 1994. Ultimately, as the Web exploded in popularity, RMIUG grow into a valued part of the Front Range community, where it continued into the early 2000s.
As Murray says, "I've long believed that if you want something, you should create it for other people, and then you'll have it, too."
He goes on to say that his #1 goal with RMAIIG has been to build a community where there's a place for everyone: enthusiasts, educators, investors, students, researchers, and ultimately, anyone who just wants to learn more about AI.
In the not-quite two years since that first meeting, RMAIIG has grown to over 2,400 members on Meetup, and its meetings have averaged 150 attendees for the past year, often forced to leave many on a waitlist.
For this reason, the group recently moved from the 150-seat venue at the University of Colorado Boulder's ATLAS building to the 200+ seat amphitheater in the Aerospace Engineering Sciences Building on CU's East Campus.
RMAIIG can now boast of 10 publicly promoted subgroups that meet separately to focus on specific interests. These groups concentrate on AI-related topics ranging from education to engineering, and from entrepreneurship to ethics, in addition to ones dedicated to the legal profession, marketing, product management, and women in AI. To date, two satellite subgroups have been formed, in the cities of Denver and Fort Collins.
Despite all the work managing such a large operation, Murray says he's having a blast running the group. He's quick to point out that RMAIIG's success is not because of him, but that it springs from the active engagement of the local AI community and the passion and commitment of all the volunteers who have dedicated many hours to making the group what it is today.
One look at Murray's activity on LinkedIn is proof that he doesn't just talk the talk. He truly walks the community walk, celebrating the successes of everyone in his network, and more than happy to shift the spotlight away from himself and direct it toward others who were involved in planning or managing an event.
From the endless time Murray gives to those who ask for "just a few minutes," to his personal, long-held commitment to mentoring and teaching others throughout the greater community, Murray truly epitomizes the mantra of the Give First philosophy.
In the bigger picture, doesn't all this make sense? After all, many Coloradans who've worked on either the East Coast or in Silicon Valley are struck by how different the vibe is here in the Rocky Mountains. It's not quite as crazed, and the focus of many people here is on finding a balance of work, play, and overall wellness, including treating others well. Is it any wonder that the RMAIIG community is so often lauded for being both unusually welcoming and surprisingly supportive?
Maybe there's something to the Rocky Mountain Way, after all.
The writer of this article is a member of RMAIIG's Executive Committee.