I've been internally debating this issue. I agree that the primary
role of a MUG is education and training. However, I worry that too many
MUG's become an eternal Mac for Beginners class. If users are not
beginners or longer term users learn enough, do they sometimes feel as if the
MUG is beneath them? As if they have "graduated" from attending the
MUG?
In the 80's and 90's, I watched as AOL positioned itself as the beginner's
Internet. I was one of the unpaid staff (read 'volunteers') working in the
Mac forums, and my wife was an employee at the company so I had a good seat for
the show.
AOL made conscious decisions to position the bar lower and lower.
Anything that was even remotely complicated became labeled as for "the computer
elite." I argued unsuccessfully -- as if any unpaid volunteer's opinion would
ever be seriously considered about anything -- that we had the resources to
address all levels of competency, but we, in our forums, declined
steadily into constant reviewing of the basics. I think that has
contributed to where AOL finds itself today. Their cachet became "the
Internet for Dummies." It just isn't cool to use AOL as an email
address.
Do we often find ourselves repeating this pattern in our local MUG?
So my question is this: How do we lift our members up in a MUG?
Make them more educated and confident about using their computers and at the
same time avoid the trap of always catering to the lowest common
denominator? I realize that everyone's audience is different as a speaker,
but how do we avoid endless classes on using iPhoto? Is this even
possible?
Wayne A. Walker
Web/Forum Admin
In a message dated 11/11/2006 3:44:12 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
email@hidden writes:
Our primary role is education and training and helping our MUG
members. The more people that buy (or are given Macs by their kids) the
more that we are working to aid these people make effective use of their
computer.