Interex's death is bad for HP users Coincidentally, the same day that I posted the article on HP's sense of purpose, the Interex user group suddenly closed its doors and said it was cancelling its HP World conference. HP World had long been the one place that HP users could gather and share/support/network/commiserate about common issues. Now their only option is the HP Technology Forum, an event produced and, no doubt, tightly controlled by HP itself.

Independent user groups are a dying breed, and that's bad for the tech industry. The Common and Share groups for IBM users are dramatically smaller than they used to be. The International Oracle Users Group has feuded with Oracle, which would just as soon stamp it out. Encompass (formerly DECUS) is now working hand-in-glove with HP, presumably to insure its own continued existence. ASUG, which is the independent SAP user group, is financially healthy, but uncomfortably chummy with SAP, in my opinion.

In their heyday, independent user groups provided a needed forum for users to band together and share their common concerns with a vendor. Open-forum meetings with vendor executives could be boisterous and even rowdy affairs with users shouting down vendor reps over areas of disagreement. But much of this activism has now moved online and the industry shift to commodity platforms has lessened the "lock-in" factor that once made users so passionate about their platforms. It's a shame that there isn't a more active independent movement in the Windows world to represent the users who are locked in to that platform. Give Microsoft credit for never allowing an independent user group to get off the ground.

There is a need for these kinds of gatherings, even in the commoditized technology world. There are still a lot of legacy platforms out there, and newsgroup postings are no replacement for the chance to get in a vendor's face and make one's opinions known. Common still does a pretty good job of maintaining its independence, in my view. But most groups have aligned themselves closely with vendors in the interests of survival. Sadly, HP users now have one less place to turn when they want to make their feelings known. And it's sad for HP, too, in a way. A strong, independent user group is a sign of a vendor's continued relevance in the industry, and one can argue that Interex's failure is a blow to HP's profile as a significant industry force.  ¶ 10:50 AM