Having the right pair of shoes may ultimately mean more than the high-minded platitudes that drive industry trade shows.

Author's Note: Starting Sunday, users and vendors working with IBM technologies will be attending the year's largest annual industry event. I was thinking about how the annual meeting—and user group—have changed over the years, so I went back and retrieved an article I wrote in 2007 leading up to the conference. There were similarities with how things are today, but there have been some changes in COMMON's focus. I decided to use the prior article as a framework to elucidate those differences, since there is an amusing story that goes with it.

The upcoming COMMON conference May 1–4 will have five days of classes and labs, but the Expo portion ends on Tuesday after only three days.

The reason for this is that vendors' feet will hurt so badly after standing on them for nearly three days straight that a fourth day would send most to the hospital to repair their broken arches. If vendors wore better shoes, instead of ones that looked sharp and gave the impression they were successful, the expo session would be extended, and everyone would go home with more leads. A shoe, a shoe, my kingdom for a shoe!

Once I was at a business convention in New Orleans in May when a storm put the entire city under a foot of water. I couldn't understand why the locals took off their leather shoes and continued walking around the flooded streets in their bare feet. It seemed odd to me that they should be holding their shoes in their hands, apparently out of harm's way, until mine fell apart when the glue dissolved. Who has the courage to turn in an expense sheet with a receipt for a new pair of shoes?

Sometimes we get so excited about what is going on at a convention that we forget what the higher purpose is, so I thought I would include a few reminders from one of the most amazing and unique organizations I have ever encountered. Here is how the group answers these "common" questions.

COMMON's Vision, Mission, and Goals in 2007

What is COMMON?

COMMON acts as the networking community, industry advocate, and leading education provider for System i (AS/400, iSeries, and System i5) users in North America. Experts from around the world and IBM deliver COMMON education on leading-edge System i technologies such as SQL, WebSphere, RPG IV, DB2 for i5/OS, Java, Lotus Domino/Workplace, and many other technical topics.

What is the group's mission?

•           Foster development and growth of IT professionals who will manage and support the computing systems of the future

•           Underwrite educational projects and programs that increase cutting-edge technology skills and provide a clearer understanding of future IT challenges

•           Provide training to those preparing to enter the information technology field and to educators who provide the learning experience

What are the goals and objectives?

•           Encourage the utilization of funds for education, research, and scholarship

•           Provide educational services and programs to support the midrange user community

•           Foster the development/improvement of curricula in IT and IT management

•           Foster the standards of competence and promote excellence in IT midrange education

•           Expand the visions and goals of COMMON

Why should I join COMMON?

COMMON provides direct access to other IBM midrange users, developers, and related third-party solution providers to obtain current, relevant technical knowledge and best practices, and to benefit from a collective voice on future product direction.

Why attend a COMMON conference?

By attending a COMMON conference, you'll gain tailored knowledge and insights directly from IBM developers, expert technologists, and industry leaders to best leverage your company's investment in IBM midrange technologies.

COMMON Vision, Mission, and Goals in 2011

What is COMMON?

COMMON is the world's largest community of IBM midrange users, providing information, education, and networking among users, IBM, and related third-party solution providers.

What is the group's vision, mission, and strategy?

COMMON is and intends to continue to be the recognized leader and industry source for advocacy, community, and education in business computing.

It's an organization of business computing professionals who:

• Foster  leadership in the business computing  industry and provide advocacy on business computing issues
• Deliver technical, application, and professional development education
• Facilitate networking and build community

What are the goals and objectives?

• Be the leading global voice for individuals and organizations interested in IBM-related technology
• Be a primary education provider of information technology and related professional skills
• Be intrinsic to professional growth and organizational success
• Be a conduit that effectively fosters timely information-sharing via multiple communication vehicles
• Be the most effective catalyst for transforming technology requirements into solutions.

COMMON Membership

As a member of COMMON, you are part of the world's largest community of IBM Power Systems users and solution providers. Through this community, you have invaluable opportunities to network and learn best practices from peers, industry experts, and IBM. You are part of the collective voice to IBM and other solution providers that resonates through the larger IT community as the voice of expert authority on Power Systems and related technologies.

The exclusive "COMMON...Customized" education model provides you with numerous choices to stay up to date on leading-edge Power Systems–related education (traditional conference, in-depth workshop, Web-based education, and more).

Well, the tone is somewhat different today from what it was back then, and some would say it is more "professional," while others might say more "competitive." In any case, the message thread that runs through the group's mission is one of progress, community, and personal achievement.

We all knew this stuff anyway, right? But were we smart enough to bring a comfortable pair of shoes?

as/400, os/400, iseries, system i, i5/os, ibm i, power systems, 6.1, 7.1, V7, V6R1

Chris Smith was the Senior News Editor at MC Press Online from 2007 to 2012 and was responsible for the news content on the company's Web site. Chris has been writing about the IBM midrange industry since 1992 when he signed on with Duke Communications as West Coast Editor of News 3X/400. With a bachelor's from the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in English and minored in Journalism, and a master's in Journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Chris later studied computer programming and AS/400 operations at Long Beach City College. An award-winning writer with two Maggie Awards, four business books, and a collection of poetry to his credit, Chris began his newspaper career as a reporter in northern California, later worked as night city editor for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and went on to edit a national cable television trade magazine. He was Communications Manager for McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Long Beach, Calif., before it merged with Boeing, and oversaw implementation of the company's first IBM desktop publishing system there. An editor for MC Press Online since 2007, Chris has authored some 300 articles on a broad range of topics surrounding the IBM midrange platform that have appeared in the company's eight industry-leading newsletters. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..