Community Service in the name of technology: Talking with PC User Group Leaders at Consumer Electronics Show
About 300 user group leaders from the Association of Personal Computer User Groups are in Las Vegas for the association's annual conference coinciding with the Consumer Electronics Show.
Microsoft Product Manager Aaron Coldiron, who runs the Mindshare user group support program, organized a luncheon with presentations, questions and answers covering Microsoft software and Web properties.
I spent time talking with several computing enthusiasts like Sherry Zorzi of the Cajun Clickers Computer Club in Baton Rouge, LA. Sherry hosts a call-in radio show offering tech help to people in the Baton Rouge area. Most of the user group leaders seemed to agree that reaching out to the public is an important goal for their groups. Some of the ways they're reaching out and attracting new members is by offering public workshops on how to buy or upgrade a new computer system. Getting expert advice on what technology to buy and how to set it up can save anyone a lot of money and time. Some user groups also hold "Tune Up Day" events, in which their members help anyone from the public perform PC maintenance and repair for a bargain fee, which also includes membership in the user group.
An interesting thing about the user groups is the demographic makeup. There are a lot of members in their retirement years. There is a potential bonus in this for working age and younger computer enthusiasts.
Remember all those really cool home computing projects you intend to master? For me, it's the DVD scrapbook of my son's first years. But you can't find time because the porch needs painted, the kids have soccer, and the boss wants another batch of paperwork by Friday?
Well, a lot of user group members, apparently, don't have kids or bosses anymore. They have time to figure out how to use the software, or put together the PC and the home network, and they're eager to share their information. All you have to do is go to a user group meeting and ask them.
-Chris Norred, tech editor
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