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Additional Contacts
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Quick Checklist for Forming a New NT User Group
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Windows NT Engineering Association of Silicon Valley
September 23, 1996
CONTACT: Karl Beckstrand (408) 452-0537
WINDOWS NT ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION TO LAUNCH IN
SILICON VALLEY
San Jose -- Next to consumer use, a good indicator
of a product's success in the marketplace is the number of organizations,
products and services that develop around that product.
Beginning Oct. 8, the South Bay Area will have a
new organization focused on Microsoft's networking products, the
Windows NT Engineering Association of Silicon Valley (NTEA).
Members of the new association will meet monthly
to exchange ideas, get exposure to new technologies, and find
out about career opportunities.
Corporate NTEA sponsors will provide members with
instruction in the latest networking technology, as well as free
and discounted products and services, according to Michael Masterson,
co-founder and president of the NTEA.
Offerings to NTEA members include discounted training
and certification testing services provided by Teknowlogy Education
Centers and by Masters Institute, free job opportunities and career
assistance provided by PC Personnel, and discounted Internet access
provided by BEST Internet Communications. Other sponsors include
Symantec and Digital Equipment Corp.
In addition to formal learning opportunities, the
NTEA will encourage person-to-person networking among LAN/WAN
engineers, administrators, and so on. "It'll give members
a way to assist one another in developing technical competence.
Technology is changing too fast to go it alone," says Masterson.
"I think that members will draw on each others'
experience," says Rachel Taylor, a Windows NT system administrator,
who works in San Jose. "Before attempting a major upgrade,
a member can talk to others who've already done it."
The NTEA's first meeting will be Tuesday, Oct. 8
from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Bill Wood of Microsoft will present the
new features in Windows NT 4.0 and corporate sponsors will be
introduced. There is no charge to attend the first meeting. Membership
fees are $20 per year. Non-members will pay $5 per meeting.
All meetings will be held the second Tuesday of each
month at the Santa Clara County Office of Education building (former
DataQuest headquarters), 1290 Ridder Park Drive, on the corner
of Brokaw Road, one block east of the Brokaw exit from highway
880 in San Jose.
Meetings will focus on the design, set-up and troubleshooting
of servers and services, system administration, and software development
issues, according to Masterson. Topics will range from Inter-
and Intranet issues, to network security, to website creation
and management.
"We will also observe and report on the computer
industry and financial trends, business opportunities, and relevant
legislation to help members in their careers," says Raymond
Lee, the association's vice president.
The NTEA is a non-profit, unincorporated association
that operates for the benefit of its members. The NTEA may be
reached at (408)437-8803.
Two other Windows NT groups meet in the Bay Area,
one at UC Berkeley (510-528-9895) and the other at Microsoft's
office in Foster City (415-571-7737).
Quad-Cities User Group Bylaws
Sample of application to join an existing user group
Join the
Capital PC User Group
You can join by mail. Fill out the application form below and send it along
with payment to:
Capital PC User Group, Inc.
51 Monroe Street
Plaza East 2
Rockville, MD 20850
Payment is by check or credit card (Mastercard or VISA). Purchase orders are
not accepted.
Annual dues are $35 (2 years $65, 3 years $90).
International dues are $50 per year.
Please be patient. Your membership starts with the first newsletter mailed
to you. It may take 4-6 weeks before you are included on the mailing list or
receive your membership identification card. You may participate immediately
in all the user group activities. For general information, call
301-762-9372.
------------------- Membership Application ---------------------
Name: _________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________
City/State: ___________________________________ Zip: __________
Phone: (H) ____________________________________________________
(Area Code)
Phone: (W) ____________________________________________________
(Area Code)
_
|_| Please do not include my name in the Capital PC User Group
Directory.
_ _
|_| New |_| Renewal
Please make check payable to Capital PC User Group.
If paying by credit card:
_ _
Card number: _______________________ |_| Mastercard |_| VISA
Expiration date: ___________ Signature: _______________________
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Rollie Cole and Larry Shaw, Pacific Northwest PC User Group,
Seattle, Washington
1. Be Appreciative
The best commercial transactions are those in which both sides
gain. Vendors have an interest in good relations with user groups
and users. A vendor’s willingness to address you is not totally
out of the goodness of its heart. At the same time, your group
has asked the vendor, or agreed to let it address you, because
you and your group expect to gain. Recognize the value you get
and work with the vendor to maximize it. Even if all you want
is someone to listen to your frustration, you can at least appreciate
the vendor representative who appears as your target. Of course,
we who believe the “don’t get mad, get even” rule
will want to determine the approach most likely to lead to change.
2. Be Courteous
As frustrated as you may be, "Have you stopped beating your
kids?" style questions do not always lead to the best responses
(i.e., those most likely to inform or lead to change). At minimum
ask "What good reason do you have for still beating your
kids?" Questions that imply the speaker or his or her company
is stupid, insensitive, venal, or all three usually get negative
responses. They often disrupt the program and reduce the benefit
to the user group. Our group has had our best luck with the questions
of the "Why did you do this or that?" style.
3. Be Helpful
Those speakers who have addressed user groups (and survived!)
know and follow rules such as we have set out above. However,
even speakers otherwise experienced may be new to user groups.
Have your program chair explain such things when arranging the
speech. You could even give them a copy of this article. The speaker
can then design the right appropriate talk for your group. You
should also tell them what you can about the location, the backgrounds
of your members, and other basic information.
4. Be Cooperative
Your speaker may have traveled a good distance at company expense
to be with you. He or she may not have local support and staff.
If you can help them make arrangements for equipment, accommodations,
or the like, do so. If you must adjust the normal schedule of
your meeting to accommodate travel plans, do so.
5. Be a Good Host
Make a personal effort to make your speaker comfortable. If possible,
meet with the speaker before the meeting. You may, for instance,
offer to meet with them over dinner. Bring along some of your
user group officers or related SIG leaders to build rapport before
the meeting.
6. Be Attentive
There is nothing so disruptive as a second or third conversation
going on during a presentation. If you aren’t paying attention
to the speaker, at least sit quietly or leave.
7. Stick to the Subject
Ask questions that apply to subjects under discussion during a
formal presentation. By keeping to the subject, the speaker will
be able to cover his material more efficiently. That will allow
more time for tangential questions or other topics at the end
of the appearance. Leading the conversation off on a side track
robs everyone of a chance to learn.
8. Be There
Do all you can to provide a good crowd for the speaker. A company
representative visiting a user group is doing so to meet with
users. The more users there are, the happier the vendor will be
and the more likely to repeat the experience with other users.
9. Avoid Greed
Most vendors are happy to provide product or other items for door
prizes or giveaway at your meetings. Many will provide review
copies in advance so you can have an article in your newsletter
before the meeting. But the decision should be theirs. Don’t
demand that the vendor provide copies of their product as a price
of admission to your group. The role of the user group is to provide
a platform for communication, not to provide a platform for free
distribution of software, unless the vendor chooses to do so voluntarily.
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