Getting the Word Out

Today I hope to provide you with another view from the inside of the IOUG. As part of my job of being the IOUG President is to represent the user community in the Press. This means discussing numerous topics and how they impact the users of Oracle technology. I get to do a few of these each month and with the approach of the IOUG Forum at COLLABORATE 09 event, the pace increases.

Recently I have been talking about security, business intelligence, the economic downturn and its impact and the upcoming event. Generally in these interviews we have talked about the current risk that organizations are exposed to due to a lack of database and application security. We have talked about how BI is one if the technologies that organization’s can use to lower costs by identifying issues before they become problems and identify trends in advance of the competition. A recent IDC report showed that BI spending in the next year would be one of the few that will see an increase. I have discussed how people in user groups a generally more skilled and more effective employees and ultimately at a time of economic turmoil you need to be the best you can be, in order to stay in front of the competitors for your job. Finally we discuss the upcoming Collaborate event. We talk about the benefits and the value that attendees will get from being part of the conference. This is where you need to be to learn from the best and be the best Oracle technology professional you can be.

Generally, the press is looking for a new angle, so that they can tell a new and better story. I have to be agile and ensure that we keep to the message to represent the community in a meaningful way while continuing to promote the group to continue it’s growth.
If you get the chance to talk to the press some day, I would encourage you to take the opportunity. The key is talk about what you know, and don’t guess. You either know or you don’t, the press can turn a guess into something else, so keep to what you know.