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Are user groups dead?
Nov. 17th, 2008 04:23 pmScanning and reading through the old newsletters for the Dayton DECUS LUG brought back a lot of old memories, mostly good. I remember the times we got together, the presentations we sat through, the food we ate (we miss the seafood chimichangas at Casa Lupita), and the conversations we had -- some lasting for hours until we had to go home.
Attendance in our little group used to be in the hundreds (at least that was the size of our mailings), even though no more than 20 showed up for meetings. Then Digital got bought out by Compaq,which got bought out by HP. DECUS evolved into Encompass, which evolved into Connect. Now there's about 6-7 of us that get together once a month for dinner and conversation. All of us are current or former system administrators and system programmers who like to "talk shop" after hours.
Now, most people -- including myself -- get most of their tips and help through online forums, blogs, and the like. This has me wondering: are user groups dead? Or have they gone dormant? Or do they still exist in an online form?
Dayton's DMA has undergone a similar transformation, from what I know. Even though I haven't been active with that group in years, I'm guessing their turnout for meetings is very small compared to what it's been years ago. I got tired of the constant product marketing, and the dog-and-pony shows, so I stopped attending.
Attendance in our little group used to be in the hundreds (at least that was the size of our mailings), even though no more than 20 showed up for meetings. Then Digital got bought out by Compaq,which got bought out by HP. DECUS evolved into Encompass, which evolved into Connect. Now there's about 6-7 of us that get together once a month for dinner and conversation. All of us are current or former system administrators and system programmers who like to "talk shop" after hours.
Now, most people -- including myself -- get most of their tips and help through online forums, blogs, and the like. This has me wondering: are user groups dead? Or have they gone dormant? Or do they still exist in an online form?
Dayton's DMA has undergone a similar transformation, from what I know. Even though I haven't been active with that group in years, I'm guessing their turnout for meetings is very small compared to what it's been years ago. I got tired of the constant product marketing, and the dog-and-pony shows, so I stopped attending.
