As the end of February has passed so has my IBM i User Groups month. During the month of February I reach out to you, the readers of this website, and ask for help to find new IBM i User Groups websites and social media accounts to add to my user groups page.
This year, with your help, I was able to add the following websites to the list:
- Common Slovensko (Slovakia)
- Georgia IBM Power Systems User Group Meetup which appears to have replaced the IBM i Tech Community of Atlanta
- Delaware Valley Computer User Group which is now found at a new URL
And the following social media accounts too:
- IBM Midrange User Group of Middle Tennessee (Tennessee, USA) LinkedIn: here
- MAGIC (Virginia, USA) Twitter: here
- NEST (New Jersey, USA) Twitter: here
- TUG (Toronto, Canada) Twitter: here
As February is over it does not mean that I am finished looking for new user groups, etc. If you know of any that are not on the list please contact me at any time with their information and I will add them.
User groups are a wonderful resource to learn about IBM i. Don't hesitate to check which one is nearest to you, reach out to them, and attend a meeting. We can all learn from each other to make us better IBM i people.
Hello:
ReplyDeleteAs a retired "RPG" programmer I'm going to throw in my two cents. I was a programmer in north-east OH. Specifically, the Akron, Cleveland area. During it's hey day, prior to Y2K there we're two user groups in the area. Akron (smaller) and Cleveland (larger). Programmers, managers, etc. would go to these meetings to get tips, make contacts, and socialize. (heck - even the Cleveland IBM office would give presentations! Heavily attended) Then the Akron group closed (very low attendance) and then around 2005, the Cleveland group closed (same low attendance). I believe that most IBM shops are running on cruise control or going to other platforms.
I was a contract programmer and my last four clients either went to a PC based solution or went to a SAP solution. I believe the reasons were cost, or viewing the iseries as antiquated, or simply the realization that the pool of RPG programmers was shrinking (retirement or death) Also, very few schools teach "RPG". And, if they did, no student looking for a lifetime career, would take the courses.
It was a good career for me. Rode it right into retirement.
So why the lack of interest? Probably most shops are run by old timers not interested in new info. Just waiting to retire.
Don Kimball