Get involved with your community

My journey started in early 2017 when I was looking for an Azure user group to attend to try and learn more about the Cloud Platform, I found groups in London but being based in Glasgow, Scotland that wasn't an ideal situation for me. So after much research and soul searching I started up the Glasgow Azure User Group, and from little acorns the group has grown into a thriving and energetic community that's just had its 10th meetup.

In 2017 after compeering some Glasgow Azure User Group events I finally plucked up the courage to become a speaker myself. My first speaking event was at a Glasgow TechUG event in August 2017, although the experience was scary and nerve wracking I found I got a lot of energy from it and loved it!! Since then I have spoken at three user groups, two conferences, delivered an online webinar and even spoke in front of two classrooms full of teenagers at a STEM event!

Running the user group, attending other user groups and speaking at events has taught me a lot both personally and professionally. Naturally I am an introvert and speaking in front of a room full of peers or attending events where I don't know anyone does scare me. My introvert personality has at times stopped me attending events or getting the full experience at events. However, there have been many times over the last 2 years where I have put on my extrovert hat and went out there and fully owned who I am and got knee deep in the community. And it's been a hugely beneficial experience for me. New doors have been opened to me, I've learnt a lot and I've met some truly wonderful people, some I now call friends.

Each time I attend a user group or conference event I find I always walk away having learned at least one new thing, if not more. Last week I attended a user group and came away with knowledge of the “Azure AD password protection” preview service which I hadn’t heard of before. Other times I’ve walked away with a list of names of people I should be following on Twitter to keep abreast of certain technologies. I can’t ever recall walking away from an event and not having found it valuable. (These events can also be a great opportunity to collect new stickers or swag as well! 😉)

Whether you attend an event as an attendee or as a speaker I would say get out there, attend your local user group event learn new things and meet new people. And don’t be shy to attend groups that cover off technology you aren’t familiar with, you never know what you will learn or who you will meet!

Your local community is a hub of great knowledge and people. If you’ve never looked at what is happening in your area set yourself that goal for 2019, fire up your favourite search engine, search for a user group/meetup in your area, commit to attending their next event and see where the adventure takes you!