I have to confess, I joined my local Adobe user group with the most altruistic of motives. My husband, an Adobe Community Expert, saw the need in our area for an Adobe User Group, and I wanted to support him in that. In addition, I have long been an enthusiastic member of the user community myself, and it occurred to me that this might lead to an opportunity to give some presentations that could help others. And can you blame me? Our house is filled with Adobe schwag, I was doubtful that the Adobe users in our area would be able to offer advanced presentations that are really going to advance my skill set, and, in 6 years of contracting, I'd never once needed to hire a subcontractor.

Within two weeks, though, my motivations took a decidedly selfish turn.  A long time contracting client needed some PHP work done, and I didn't have time to do it.   I thought back to that first meeting and the new members, mostly students from local community colleges, that had introduced themselves.  One of the students stood out in my mind, because he said that, in addition to going to school, he also had a job coding php. So, within hours of determining the requirement for a php developer, I had one on the job. He did a nice job at a reasonable rate.

My intention to give presentations to help the group members learn in general became subtly changed.  I realized that, by giving the right presentations, I could shape a pool of available labor that knew the things I needed them to know, and I could identify the members who seemed to understand the material the best. I could then use these minions to take over the world.  Did I say that out loud?

By the second meeting, our schwag package had not yet arrived from Adobe, so I realized this would be a great opportunity to get rid of pens, usb drives, Adobe branded bottles, key rings, and even a Captivate watch without feeling guilty.  This user group thing was great!

If you've been following this blog, you realize that a couple of weeks ago, I realized I needed to order an O'Reilly book, which I have yet to do due to life's interventions. O'Reilly offers a substantial discount for Adobe User Group members, and they're one of several companies that do so.  That's great, but I think the benefits of just being part of a group of avid software users are the most compelling.

One of the things I can't figure out is why we seem to have a shortage of members who are interested in tapping into and mentoring this amazing group of people that has come together around the nucleus of a user group.  I know that the Mississippi Gulf Coast has a tremendous need for such people, and somehow the places that need them don't know about them! 

If there is a User Group in your area, be selfish.  Join.

Read more from Amy Blankenship.