User Groups: Meet and learn with your peers
User Group Partners International .NET Association (INETA) INETA provides structured peer-based organizational, educational, and promotional support to the growing worldwide community of Microsoft .NET user groups.  Culminis Culminis represents the culmination of ideas, aspirations, and needs of IT Professionals. Mindshare User Group Support Program Mindshare is Microsoft's program to support PC user groups and help build their enthusiasm about Microsoft technology. |
User groups are typically independently run, volunteer groups that meet on a regular basis to discuss and share information on a variety of technical topics. Participation in a user group is an excellent, inexpensive way to receive technical content, education and to meet with your peers to get more out of the Microsoft platforms, products, technologies, and resources which you are interested in.
User Group Resources
User group resources fall into the following categories:
| • | Finding and registering user groups and events |
| • | In-person meetings and tours |
| • | Finding funding for your user group events |
| • | Finding a sponsor for your user group events |
| • | Finding a speaker for your user group events |
| • | User Group Event Content |
| • | Product discounts, reviews, and demos |
| • | Online services and newsletters |
| • | For more information about engaging with User Groups, please be sure to visit our User Group User Guide. |
For support for your particular audience of interest please refer to the information below.
Audience: Developers
Microsoft has partnered with USER GROUP SUPPORT SERVICES. UGSS has one mission: to support Developer and IT Professional User Groups worldwide in their success! User Group Support Services is not intended to be your final destination or your only destination. Get extra $ for your events, Get People at your Events, and Get great stuff to show! Click here to learn more!
| • | To register your user group or to see what other user group resources are available, please visit the INETA Web site and click the region to which your country belongs. |
| • | To explore additional user group resources available through INETA, please visit the INETA Web site. |
| • | Explore UGSS further! Register Now to enjoy the benefits! |
The Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS) is an independent, not-for-profit association, dedicated to supporting, educating, and promoting the Microsoft SQL Server community. From local user groups and special interest groups (SIGs) to webcasts and the annual PASS Summit—the largest gathering of SQL Server professionals in the world—PASS enables knowledge sharing, in-depth learning, access to the Microsoft SQL Server team, and the ability to influence the direction of SQL Server technologies.
For more information and your free membership, visit www.sqlpass.org.
Audience: IT Professionals
Culminis is an international not-for-profit organization chartered with supporting the successful growth, development, technical education, community service, and influence of Information Technology (IT) User Groups and Associations interested in IT products and solutions. Microsoft has partnered with Culminis to expand online support for IT Professional focused User Groups through USER GROUP SUPPORT SERVICES. UGSS has one mission: to support Developer and IT Professional User Groups worldwide in their success! User Group Support Services is not intended to be your final destination or your only destination. Get extra $ for your events, Get People at your Events, and Get great stuff to show! Click HERE to learn more!
| • | To find an ITPRO User Group in your area, apply for your user group to become a Culminis Member Organization, or to learn more about other available services, please visit the Culminis web site. |
| • | If you are looking for a set of support services to help you manage your offline user group act ivies AND have direct access to content built specifically for your events, connect your user group to Culminis to take advantage of the core services offered as a result of membership. The Culminis CORE Services are: |
1. Community Development: Facilitates the growth of existing and new professional IT User Groups and associations.
2. Event Support: Apply for UGSS funding and find other resources to help User Group leaders stage and promote events.
3. Relationship Mapping: Provide an interactive database in order to match leaders with the content and human resources they need to maintain and grow their groups. Microsoft Product Teams have partnered with User Group Support Services to provide demos, discussion presentations and other content that is specific to helping you hold successful meetings and events. Access to secured assets from the Culminis site requires the user to be registered on MS Connect and to have accepted the Terms of Use.
4. Level 5 Participation (L5P): L5P tracks engagement with both Culminis and the community as a whole and rewards user groups accordingly.
5. The VOICE: The VOICE is a monthly BLOG publication designed to literally be “the voice” of the User Group Community. In addition to conversation and discussions on relevant topics, The VOICE also contains reports on surveys carried out on behalf of our solution providers together with statistical data on the User Groups and their interests and activities.
Audience: Consumers, Mac Users, Pocket PC Enthusiasts
Mindshare connects you, as a user group leader or group member, to the best resources for learning and presenting on various Microsoft technologies. Whether your interest is software or hardware, online services or networking, operating systems or applications, the Mindshare User Group Experience connects you to resources that are relevant and worth sharing. To access a set of robust online services to help you manage your offline user group activities as well as get direct access to content built specifically for your events, register on Mindshare today!
MSN Computer and Internet User Groups
MSN provides an online presence for many user groups. Visit MSN Computer and Internet User Groups to browse a wide variety of user groups you can join, or sign up to create an online meeting place for your own user group.
Audience: All
Eventful is a third-party site that enables the community to list events that are happening all over the world. User Groups from all locations and disciplines can enter their meetings and events into Eventful which will expose your events to a growing audience. Best of all, Eventful exposes their calendars in RSS so you can add these calendars to your favorite RSS reader (like http://www.live.com). This link is the direct link to current MS User Group meetings entered in Eventful and tagged with the “MSUserGroup” tag. For more information on how to enter your events and make sure they show up in this feed, visit this site.
