NZ's love for user groups tops Australia's
A few days ago, the Telecom Users Association of New Zealand (TUANZ) appointed a new boss — former Computerworld editor Paul Brislen, an old colleague of mine.
Brislen has just left Vodafone and replaced the much-loved and respected Ernie Newman, who has led the influential lobby group for a decade or so. The appointment of the journo-turned PR guy attracted quite a few headlines and made the blogs as well.
This contrasts with what I have been told about Australians: you don't seem to care much for user groups. Is that so?
In the decade or so of covering ICT, I have learned to seek out and prioritise the views of the "end user".
I came across the NZ Computer Society, as well as groups advocating open source and others who use big brands like SAP.
On my travels across New Zealand interviewing IT bosses, I would ask them about how they kept up-to-date with latest technology and so on. They would reply that they were part of user groups, be it for the type of software they used, for IT managers or CIOs working in specific areas such as local government.
The New Zealand ICT community may be small but it is a well-connected lot, where even those based in the provinces still like to connect to the centre.
Probably that is it. Even though New Zealand has a dispersed ICT community, its user groups and end users can still easily connect due to the relative small size of the country. Even Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island, is little more than an hour away by plane from Auckland.
Contrast that with the cost and distance of flying all the way from Perth to Sydney.
New Zealanders might also have more to complain about and it's better to bleat together.
Just prior to TUANZ announcing its new boss, the lobby group was staging a major conference for the rural sector, just one of many events this high-profile body organises.
OK, ICT Minister Steven Joyce couldn't physically make it this time, but a wide variety of leading figures from the ICT sector were present.
I am sure Paul Brislen will always have the ear of Steven Joyce, his Labour opponent Clare Curren, along with all the telco and ISP bosses Brislen will have got to know in his years at Vodafone and Computerworld.
Perhaps the small population of New Zealand helps this as well. Everybody in ICT knows everybody, along with the issues they face.
And this facilitates the co-operation of "user groups", along with their importance.