The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Member No. 40,000 — from Sydney Ray Beatty |
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This month we welcomed our 40,000th member to Melb PC, a mother of two from Sydney. This just goes to show how much the group has grown in the past 20 years. Our balance of men to women is rapidly changing. There is still a preponderance of men, but the difference is not so great. Where once only 10% of members were female, the girls have advanced to 25% and the numbers are growing fast.
Until last month, Judy Greenwood was a councillor with Randwick City Council representing — as her name suggests — the Greens. She works as a researcher in chemical engineering at Sydney University where there are plenty of Web links, even super computers. But for her home, she had to go ISP shopping like everyone else.
"I was looking for an e-mail provider and I realised you were a User Group, people working together to create the service. I liked that - I thought it would be cool to be part of that," said Judy.
As a girl with five brothers, four of them working in the computer industry, she was not about to take pot luck. Judy found out about us in Computer Choice magazine, where we were rated the top service in the country. Then she investigated our Web site. "When I read about all the things you do, it sounded like a such a good group, I wanted to support it."
A big change at Melb PC is that the geographical boundaries of Melbourne town are well and truly broken. Being in Sydney will not be a handicap for Judy's Internet use. From her home in Bondi Junction, connection with Melb PC is just the price of a local call, as it is in Melbourne. These days, in fact, almost anywhere in Australia you can use Melb PC Internet at a local call rate. The only drawback is that Dial Help and iHelp calls will have to be at STD rates, so an interstate member is better off seeking their help by e-mail.
The 40,000th member is a great achievement for Melb PC. Of course not everyone who joined has stayed - but we still have 11,000, which is an outstanding retention rate over 20 years. It puts the onus on each of us to welcome new members and take a pride in our group.
Welcome to Melb PC, Judy.
Reprinted from the June 2004 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
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