Why Users Groups?

Here are a few words about the value of user groups from industry leaders:

Adobe
"The User Group community plays an important role in educating computer users and reaching out to those who are new to technology. They are ideal testers of new products and serve as one of the most credible sources for product recommendations within their communities. Their feedback over the years have helped Adobe build industry-leading products. Adobe is committed to supporting the User Group community and maintaining long-term relationships with them."
Dr. Charles M. Geschke, President and Co-Chairman of the Board Adobe Systems Incorporated

 

Channel Tactics
"Every since I attended the "Home Brew Computer Club'' meetings in Palo Alto in the 70's, I recognized that User Groups were one of the most important engines driving our industry."
Bruce Fredrickson, CEO, Channel Tactics

 

Corel Corporation
"User groups have been invaluable to us at Corel. The talent and insight of these dedicated users continues to provide us with opportunities to accurately test market our products, making them stronger and more competitive."
Dr. Michael Cowpland, President and CEO of Corel Corporation.

 

MGI
"MGI Software recognizes the important role that computer User Groups play in creating a dynamic and enthusiastic following for quality products such as ours. Our User Group support program is dedicated to developing mutually beneficial, long-term relationships with user group members."
Anthony DeCristofaro, President and CEO, MGI Software Corp
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Micrografx
"User groups are always among the first. They recognized that word processing, spreadsheets and relational database software not only eliminated much of the drudgery of the basic office routines that they'd been performing the same old way forever, but radically accelerated and expanded their productivity by giving them entirely new ways of solving problems in writing and editing, filing and cross-referencing, and process management and forecasting," "Moreover, these users know that PCs can actually make these ho-hum tasks fun again. And the advent of the graphical user interfaces (GUIs) boosted software functionality into an entirely new dimension. GUIs also brought the full benefits of the PC to professions like engineering and architecture, while desktop publishing applications revolutionized graphic   design, typography and printing literally overnight. Throughout this revolution, user groups have encouraged all of us -- users, partners and competitors to remember to put the fun in functionality!"
Doug Richard, President and CEO of Micrografx.

 

Microsoft
"There will remain in the PC industry for decades a need to pass on certain 'folklore' and 'common law' about technical matters that cannot be transmitted any other way than person-to -person. It is 'information at your fingertips' in the most personal sense, and user groups are the best forum in which it can occur."
Bill Gates, CEO, Microsoft Corporation

 

PowerQuest
"When software developers come out with a new product, they naturally want to spread the word. And one of the most effective ways is to contact user groups, User groups are highly focused and eager to learn," says Taylor. "They're early adopters – willing to try new technology, new products. And they're very vocal, so we get immediate feedback."
Clark Taylor, Vice-president of marketing for PowerQuest Corp

 

Symantec Corporation
"The Association of PC User Groups is the catalyst for bringing together a diverse collection of bright, talented and enthusiastic people who form these groups worldwide. The way I see it, the success of the PC software industry depends in a large part on user groups as a means of moving us all productively forward."
Gordon Eubanks, (a the time) President and CEO. Symantec Corporation