• Speakers submit session abstracts publicly online
• Vendors can be speakers, too (anybody can submit a talk on anything – your own open source project, paid project, Microsoft can apply, hardware vendors, etc.)
• Readers can leave comments on the abstracts to help the author clarify and improve them
• Everybody votes for the abstracts they’d like to see most
• When voting closes, the top 10 speakers/abstracts for next month are picked
• Sessions are held online in an easy-to-watch platform
• A live co-host helps the session go smoothly by posing questions from Q&A and Twitter, helping with technical glitches, and filling in for drop-outs
• Recordings are posted on YouTube, in our podcast & apps, and transcribed
• Speakers can build up an online presence with great SEO so their work isn’t lost (and replace content they’re no longer proud of over time)
• Speakers can’t present in back-to-back events (to encourage variety)
• Over time, we organize content so that readers can navigate through a learning path with seniority levels

GroupBy was started by Brent Ozar. In February 2019 GroupBy announced that it will remain a free, volunteer-run event, staffed with SQL Community volunteers. (Read more)