"It may sound a bit twee, but I don't think its just about learning from others; I think also that a real desire to help others has emerged."

During the tech recovery, industry pundits claimed membership to user groups was falling because IT professionals were sourcing more of their information online.

But Phil Kernick, president of the System Administrators Guild of Australia (Sage-au), said Google only beats user groups as a source of information if "you can phrase your question perfectly".

"Google is an adjunct to user groups, it certainly hasn't replaced us," Kernick said.

"Do a Google search and you get 500,00 responses to one question, but no answer."