Local software developer and member of the NodeKC user group has written a nice post about an alternative to the traditional format of user group meetings.  You can read his post here:http://www.scottsmerchek.com/area-users-groups-a-collaborative-approach

I hope we continue to see innovation in user group meetings, including the increasingly popular hackathons and the meetings with a format of 5 10-minute presentations instead of the single 1 hour presentation.  I don't think anything is wrong with the standard format, but there is room for lots more.