Art, illustration, and photography have been part of the user group community from the start. In Creative Pro groups, software-specific groups, and SIGs for photography or animation, professional skills are often emphasized. Still, sometimes your members just want to have fun, creating their own Memoji or an alter-ego that brings a smile. (more…)
Nicholas Pyers
Many groups do not meet from late December to early January, but there are things you can do while your group is on hiatus. Nicholas Pyers, leader and popular presenter from AppleUsers.org, offers thoughts on ways to thank those who have served your community in the past year and ways to plan ahead for an even better year ahead for your group and members.
http://www.appleusers.org/ugr/end-of-year-tasks-for-apple-user-group-leaders/
Taking his advice regarding thanking those who have made our user group experience better, we’d like to say thank you to Nicholas for his many articles over many years. We look forward to taking his advice on planning for the year to come and thank him for all of the expertise and wonderful resources he has provided over the years.
Nicholas Pyers is known for AppleUsers.org, the Apple Users Spotlight, his clever puzzles, and long-time championship of all things Mac.
Learn more at:
AWUGU Meeting Report about SIGs
by Tom Piper, Coordinator
This Apple World User Group University online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on November 21, 2022, via Zoom. We had 30 participants for the topic of AUG Special Interest Groups. The 78-minute video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/8DmbTgPw3Cc (unlisted on YouTube).
This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. Doug Smith, Chair of the Apple User Group Advisory Board (AUGAB) provided backup support during the call.
The first segment was a presentation by Steve Welsh (The Oregon MacPioneers User Group) describing the many aspects of and opportunities for SIGs. Many questions and comments followed. His Tips for Success were welcomed by many as excellent ways to build SIGs in Apple User Groups.
Next was a discussion by Susan Jensen (President, Apple Users’ Society of Melbourne [AUSOM]) about their extensive set of all-day Saturday Special Interest Groups in hourly break-out rooms. Many questions and responses were then exchanged, and thanks provided for describing their wide array of SIG opportunities.
Did you know that your Apple Watch can help you retrace your steps? It is a quirky feature that your members might enjoy learning about and using. In fact, it is pretty simple if you have an Apple Watch SE with watchOS 9 or later, or Apple Watch Series 6 or later: Turn on Backtrack in the Compass app when you start a walk or hike. When you are ready to return, tap Replace Steps and you will see an arrow that takes you back the path you used. It is pretty slick!
Looking for a fun meeting idea? Most people enjoy singing along to their favorite music in the car or shower, but Apple Music Sing brings a clever twist to engaging with your favorite songs using your iPhone, iPad, or new Apple TV 4K, with real-time lyrics and adjustable vocals, you can sing lead, backup, or even duets. Your members can even sing along.
Apple Music Sing will be available by the end of December, just in time for a January 2023 meeting.
Check it out.
apple user groups
The number of Apple User Groups worldwide is amazing, especially considering that many groups have been in existence for decades. Still, as new groups form, some groups cease to exist, often because key members retire or membership numbers drop. This article offers the the quick and simple, step-by-step process for delisting a group with the User Group Locator and the User Group Program.
Have your members asked about Freeform, the new free Apple app that helps users see, share, and collaborate on an infinite virtual whiteboard? Released on December 13, Apple includes the free app with the latest versions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. It can even be used while you are on a FaceTime call.
Freeform could make for a fun and interactive meeting activity.
Check it out!
Apple Support on YouTube – How to Use Freeform
Apple Press Release About Freeform
AWUGU Meeting Report about SIGs
by Tom Piper, Coordinator
This Apple World User Group University online gathering of Apple user group leaders was held at 5:00pm CDST, on November 21, 2022, via Zoom. We had 30 participants for the topic of “AUG Special Interest Groups” (see attached JPG image and PDF attendance list). The 78-minute video can be viewed at https://youtu.be/8DmbTgPw3Cc (unlisted on YouTube).
This session opened with my welcome, plus a quick review of the meeting protocols. Doug Smith, Chair of the Apple User Group Advisory Board (AUGAB) provided backup support during the call.
The first segment was a presentation by Steve Welsh (The Oregon MacPioneers User Group) describing the many aspects of and opportunities for SIGs (see attached PDF slideshow). Many questions and comments followed. His “Tips for Success” were welcomed by many as excellent ways to build SIGs in Apple User Groups.
Next was a discussion by Susan Jensen (President, Apple Users’ Society of Melbourne [AUSOM]) about their extensive set of all-day Saturday Special Interest Groups in hourly break-out rooms (see attached PDF schedule). Many questions and responses were then exchanged, and thanks provided for describing their wide array of SIG opportunities.
Of the 8 attendees whose AUGs hosted SIGs, some brief descriptions were provided to share the variety of ways that these topics were handled. More questions and comments followed describing tools and services others used.
This was followed by a description about AWUGU Feedback 2022 provided by Marie Boughenou (Hyper Pomme Paris) who illustrated many of our group’s topics over the past year and shared compliments about the process. Although she struggled with English (French is her first language), many thanked her for her observations and inspirations, and made numerous suggestions about online translators.
Additional questions were asked, comments made, experiences shared and suggestions offered by user group leaders with the following excellent links providing further information: (more…)
Randy Singer, leader of the 9.000+ member strong MacAttorney User Group, co-author of multiple editions of the award-winning and well-loved Macintosh Bible, author of the ABA’s The Macintosh Software Guide for the Law Office, writer of the MacAttorney Newsletter, and popular presenter, offers so many great resources for Mac users. the good news is that Randy offers links to many of his resources from a single page. Your members may be asking about when they should upgrade to the latest OS. Randy has the answers.
Upgrading To The Latest Macintosh OS by Randy Singer
Thanks again to Randy for being such a wonderful resource for the community of Apple users!
The 6,000+ member strong LA Creative Pro community recently announced that on site gatherings are back, with their next meeting on November 30 at the Gallery Theater in Hollywood. And, the meeting looks like another information-filled one. The program includes Product Specialist Shawn Carlson who will offer a look at Blackmagic Cloud and remote services with Resolve. He will be joined by lacpug favorite (and author of Final Cut Pro Power Tips) Larry Jordan showing the Super-Secret Power Tips Hidden in Apple Final Cut Pro.
Still not sure? Stump the Gurus and the World Famous Raffle will be part of the evening’s entertainment. Three years ago at lacpug it was just a prototype, now it’s used by more than 2000 students just in LA alone.
Learn, network, and have fun.
