The Users Groups so popular in the 70’s through the early 90’s have been dying a slow death since the early days of the internet. User Groups provided a place for people to get together, develop friendships, get answers to questions, learn about new products, and generally build a community. The internet started depleting that community by making it increasingly easy to get answers on the internet. It was also easier to find new products and Google made it easier to find just about anything.

As the 90’s progressed, attendance at user groups dwindled, and people starting building less and less community. We’ve now faced 15 years of what stock analysts would call a “market correction” and, as one user group organizer has said, we are at the bottom of the wave looking at the top. What that means is that we are about to get really, really wet, and that’s a good thing. This is, indeed, exactly what WestLAMUG aims to capitalize on.

No, we don’t intend to make money. That’s not what a users groups is about. We of WestLAMUG intend to bring the Mac Users Group back to West LA where currently there is none. Over the next few months we, meaning I, will be working to get the WestLAMUG going. I’ll also be working with other user groups in West LA to build a congruent user group, so we’ll be starting with members right away.

My initial attempts will involve locating a place to regularly hold this event. Our aim is to find a location which we do not have to pay for, so we can avoid charging dues or other fees which are barriers to membership.

Look to this page for additional information as soon as I generate it!