Just a short post today about how important it is to attend various user group events.
Yesterday I was at the Wisconsin VMware User Group (VMUG for short) meeting as an attendee. It was a great event that covered a lot of information on the upcoming vSphere version 6.0 release, various sponsors spoke about their products, and at the end of the event users were invited to request help from other users. I learned about the VMware Eval Experience that is available through the VMUG Advantage program which might just derail some of the plans that I had for the home lab (that will probably be the subject of a future post). There was also an excellent segment that brought attention to the good work being done at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission and how attendees can help the 1,500 homeless people that use and need the MRM’s resources.
I also belong to the Central Lake County Linux Club and recently joined the Windy City Linux Users Group. Linux User Groups (LUGs for short) are great, because just like VMUGs they are the ideal place to meet and network with fellow technology enthusiasts. You never know what useful tip or trick you will learn from a fellow techie!
So if you are new to IT, or even if you are an old pro, pick a technology that you enjoy and find a user group focused on that technology. Most are free to attend and join, and I have yet to attend a user group that I did not enjoy participating in.