27 Apr 06 Get to know your local user groups

For almost every programming language, software, platform, operating system you will also find a local user group where you can find out more for yourself.

A little time spent with user groups can improve your skills. Take for example the possibility of reducing costs by learing how to use Open Source software, or perhaps you can find new ways to serve your clients and customers.

User groups are really for anybody interested in technology. if your skill background is different from the group, its still an opportunity to share your own knowledge, and you add diversity to the group. Think about going to a user group for something you might want to know more about.

User groups arent just for experts; they consist of regular people, and this is important to understand. They are the grassroots organizations for modern technologies, and they help put a human face to technology.

User groups provide an unprecedented opportunity for networking and learning in the field. You can get exposure and information from first hand users you may never get from learning on your own. Regular meetings feature talks by association members or invited guests, and the groups all have websites which post forum discussions and job postings. Groups even occaisonally organize larger events and conferences. Its a great opportunity to see how the field of technology works from the inside.

User groups operate with minimal overhead. Meetings are free to attend, and sometimes there are even courtesy offerings of pizza and soft drinks. Membership is optional. But still what is really surprising is that most user groups are fairly small, even though the opportunities for networking, knowledge and participation are excellent. Maybe these organizations just need a little more publicity to increase their attendance numbers.

The best way to support these groups is by going to meetings because you can help share the awareness of these groups with your colleagues. User groups have become the bulwark in promoting Open Source technologies, which otherwise dont have marketing and advertising budgets that major technology corporations have. It can help you get ahead in your profession - and you can enjoy a good slice of pizza while you are at it.

If only groups were a bit more aware of each other, they could become a greater force and option for the public to get what they want and need from technology.

To start you off, here’s a partial list of groups for Vancouver area. Spread the word!

PHP: Vancouver PHP Users Association http://vancouver.php.net
Linux: Vancouver Linux User Group (VANLUG) http://www.vanlug.bc.ca
XML: Vancouver XML Developers Association http://www.vanx.org/
freeBSD: http://www.vanbug.org
Python / Zope : http://www.vanpyz.org
Java: http://www.openroad.ca/vanjug
.NET: http://www/netbc.ca
Macintosh: Hosted by Apple Canada http://www.mactag.org
Perl: Vancouver Perl Mongers http://vancouver.pm.org
Microsoft: http://www.vantug.com
Information Processing: Canadian Information Processing Society http://local.cips.ca/vancouver/
Graphic Design: SIGGRAPH http://www.vancouver.siggraph.org/
Game Design: http://www.igda.org/vancouver/
Software Developers: Vancouver Software Developers Network (VANDEV) http://softwaredev.meetup.com/17/
Software QA: Vancouver Software Quality Assurance Group http://vanq.org/
GIS: Vancouver GIS Users Group http://www.vancouvergis.org/
Bioinformatics: VanBUG: Vancouver Bioinformatics User Group http://www.vanbug.org/
Useability: The Vancouver User Experience Group (VanUE) http://vanue.com/
Wired Woman: http://www.wiredwoman.com/mc/page.do?sitePageId=2952
Engineers: IEEE Computer Society, Vancouver Chapter http://www.kruchten.com/IEEE/