Keeping the Connection

by Evan Caille, President of PTC/USER 

Back at work after the 2005 PTC/USER World Event in Orlando (in between catching up on all my emails), I began to reflect on what I learned at the conference and the new connections formed with fellow users. Suffice it to say that I came away with a wealth of information and tips on Pro/ENGINEER and Windchill that will help the users at my company both today and tomorrow. In my conversations with other attendees, I learned that they too came away with new key knowledge. And that’s really what the conference is all about—an opportunity to become more informed and to apply that knowledge to maximize the benefit we get from the tools we employ.  

But connecting with the community of PTC product users can happen not just during the three days of conference, but throughout the year. Through the power of information-rich web portals and the collaboration made possible by web conferences, we are now able to share information worldwide. We are no longer limited by time and travel constraints. While there is still no substitute for face-to-face interaction, this ongoing connectedness through virtual interaction is tremendously valuable.

Communities of all types have benefited from the Internet. A recent USA Today article (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-06-01-technology-communities_x.htm?csp=34) describes how new communities are forming online and supplanting many of the traditional gatherings. Individuals are in fact becoming more connected, albeit virtually. Traditional organizations are also benefiting from the ability to communicate electronically rather than by the often tedious (and ineffective) method of trying to reach every individual by telephone. Just think about how we seamlessly use the Internet to schedule the many activities of PTC/USER.

The USA Today article also mentions Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (http://www.bowlingalone.com/), which a colleague shared with me in 2001. At the time, I was involved in a professional group that was seeing membership decline, and we were wrestling with the issue of people disengaging from traditional associations. It opened my eyes to the fact that unless an organization constantly adapts itself to changes in the social, technological, and economic environment, it is at risk of  becoming marginalized in the lives of its members.

When I began my term as PTC/USER President last year, I wanted to ensure that I, and my fellow board members, put a high priority on adapting to the changing information needs of our user community. To that end, PTC/USER is actively engaged with PTC in exploring ways to  (1) increase the value of membership in our organization, and (2) connect users around the world in a strong global community. In support of these two activities, PTC/USER and PTC will soon be surveying a cross-section of PTC customers to understand how to best serve evolving needs. If you receive one of these surveys, I encourage you to respond so that we can get your important feedback. In addition, I am also pursuing a dialogue with the leaders of the European and Japanese conferences to discuss how to leverage the strengths of each of our organizations.

I see our adoption of Internet technology as a positive harbinger for strengthening the bonds among PTC product users around the world. As we all continue to push the technological envelope, sharing our knowledge both in person and online is all part of building our community.

Evan Caille works at HP in Houston, TX. He can be reached via e-mail at evan@ptcuser.org.