In my first blog, I’d discussed New Year’s Resolutions, and for 2023, my resolution is to share more often.
From my own experience, one of the best resources of sharing
was the Oracle User Groups.
I was fortunate enough to present at three user groups last
year in Scotland, Ireland, and the UK, and it got me thinking about why you
should consider attending a user group and what you might get out of it.
With in-person conferences slowly coming back after the
pandemic, this year could be your opportunity to go along.
1. Gain insights from other users
A brief scan of the agenda, and you will notice there are lots
of talks possible to attend, so whether your background is a DBA, Analytics,
Applications, there will be talks that might pique your interest.
The make-up of the audience provides a great variety, but
ultimately, you’ll be speaking with people with similar interests in the same
technology, which is perfect for networking.
Primarily, the user group is aimed at users – the beauty of
that is you’ll get an honest opinion, you’ll find out about the problems they
have faced. You may also find that problem you’ve been working on for months
now, someone else has been through that pain already and has a solution that
they’re more than happy to talk you through.
As well as users, you will also likely have product owners/developers
in attendance, so you can speak with the people who are responsible for the
products you use daily. Which is the perfect opportunity to share any struggles
you may be having, or recommendations to enhance the product in future releases.
2. An opportunity to share your own experiences
This is not necessarily limited to you hosting a talk or
presentation, although this is great, even taking part in a Q&A after a
presentation can be thought-provoking and useful for you.
There are many opportunities to network, so as well finding
answers to some questions you may have yourself, you can also use this
opportunity to share your experiences with others.
3. Networking
The opportunity to network is probably the best reason to
attend a user group out of them all. Given the challenges of the last couple of
years with a lot of virtual conferences (if any at all) it is great to have in-person
conferences back.
The user groups provide you with an opportunity to meet and
interact with old and new personal and professional contacts. Having attended
user groups for several years and more recently presenting at conferences, I’m
grateful to have met so many new people and you’ll find being fellow users of
the same technology, they are helpful, friendly, and willing to share
knowledge.
If you've decided to give a user group a go this year, I'd love to know which one you're attending and were.
I'm hoping to make it to Scotland, Ireland, and UK Oracle User Groups this year, so if you're attending, make sure you come and say hi!
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