Mac Corner: The user group proposition   

By Larry Grinnell, Palm Beach Phoenix Apple Users Group

Okay, now you have a brand-spanking new Mac. Maybe you had your old files moved from your PC to your Mac by the nice folks at the Apple Store, or maybe not. You’ve purchased a suite of applications to help you run your business, probably things like Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, or the Adobe Creative Suite of applications.

Now what?

Do you really know how to use your new computer? Do you know how to use your new applications? The differences between Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows and Microsoft office 2008 for Macintosh are many. There are subtle differences between the Mac and Windows versions of QuickBooks. On the other hand, the differences between the Adobe Creative Suites for Windows vs. Mac are surprisingly few. That’s all well and good, but how do you find out about this? Do you pay for classes at your Apple Store? Do you look for online courses or those offered by local schools or businesses?

There’s one more option that is far too often ignored, while in most cases, it can be the most effective, both in time and money. That option is your local Apple user group. User groups are comprised of people like yourselves, people who want and need to know more about their choice of personal computers and their peripheral products. User groups include people from all walks of life, from rank amateurs to information technology professionals, and everyone in between. The common bond is a desire to know more about their computers and for those with a little more knowledge, to share it with others.

Back in the days when there were no Apple Stores, local dealer support was minimal, and the internet didn’t exist outside of the military and academia, user groups were one place where users could go and learn more about their computers for the cost of annual membership.

Some user groups were legendary. Groups like the Berkeley Macintosh User Group with their quarterly newsletter that ran hundreds of pages, to the Washington Apple PI which had a paid office staff, and countless other very successful groups, who spread the word, and received top-notch support from Apple Computer through their User Group Connection organization.

Now, in the new millennium, things have changed for the worse for user groups. Apple, in their obsessive need to control the total user experience, has virtually ceased support of user groups, preferring instead to use their own website, call centers, and strategically-placed stores to spread the word and support their users by means they can totally control. It’s hard to deny their continued success. Their sales numbers keep going up, up, up, as do their customer satisfaction numbers, so it’s not easy to say they’re wrong.

When it comes to supporting their user groups (Apple still maintains a small user group support function, but it’s a shadow of what it once was), I say they are very wrong indeed, and the failure of many of the venerable groups, I lay right at Apple’s door, as I do for their abandonment, with prejudice, of the independent dealer network that stayed with Apple when the end seemed far too near. But that’s another story for another time. Today, we’re talking about user groups.

While many older groups have gone the way of the dinosaur, a number of new groups are cropping up, working hard to prove Apple’s decision to abandon the user group community was a huge mistake. One such group, barely a year old, is the Palm Beach Phoenix Apple User Group: Phoenix, because it has risen from the ashes of an outdated Apple User Group concept and with a new approach proves that Apple isn’t just about Macintosh anymore.

In an effort to be relevant to all age groups, the PB Phoenix AUG meets twice a month: on the second Saturday each month from 1 to 4 p.m., and to attract more business professionals, it also meets on the forth Wednesday each month evenings, 6 to 8 p.m.. Check out their website, chock-full of useful and interesting content, at http://www.pbphoenix.org for the exact dates. They already have several special interest groups that support the iWork and iHome applications, the iPhone, and a new group that supports the Adobe Creative Suite applications.

These special interest groups, or SIGs, are self-led groups of individuals who get together at least once a month to learn more about the applications or devices of their preference. As the group grows, the hope is that more SIGs will be formed. The PB Phoenix AUG’s leadership has a solid vision of where they want this organization to be in the next year, two years, and even five years from now. Already with over 100 members, the PB Phoenix AUG is well on its way of meeting those aggressive goals because they are totally member oriented and catering to their needs. 

In the interest of full-disclosure, I am a member of the PB Phoenix AUG since its inception, who has asked me to write this weekly column — not as a commercial about their group (this column notwithstanding), but as a way to spread the word about the Macintosh computer and other products from Apple Inc. I welcome your feedback and hope to hear from you via the links at the end of this column.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Readers are welcome to comment on this or any Mac Corner columns by visiting the Palm Beach Phoenix blog as well as by writing the editor of Palm Beach Business.com.

Mac Corner runs every Wednesday only in Palm Beach Business.com. Click to read the previous column.

About Larry Grinnell: Larry has been working with Macintosh and Windows PCs for over 25 years and worked as a senior technical writer and IT support professional for a major midwest-based consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment manufacturer here in South Florida. His musings on a wide variety of topics from computers to jazz guitar to strange foreign cars from the 1950s can be viewed at the MyMac.com website. Click here to reach him by email.

Writers of this column are members of the Palm Beach Phoenix Apple User Group, a nonprofit organization for Apple Computing Device Users, recognized by Apple Inc., with the purpose of providing educational training and coaching to its members (students, professionals and seniors alike) in a cordial social environment. The club meets the second Saturday (1-4 p.m.) and fourth Wednesday (6-8 p.m.) of each month at the Fire Station #2, 4301 Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach (just two block south of Southern Boulevard). Click here to visit their website. Click here to reach them by email.