mikel@cbmvax.commodore.com (Mike Levin - Ed Marketing) (06/01/90)
The following article is the President's Column from the June issue of the BLITTER, the Journal of the Philadelphia Amiga Users Group. All the ideas and opinions expressed herein are solely mine. In no regard does it represent any of Commodore's policy, attitudes or intentions. Are we unique in this universe? Is there other intelligent life out there? Do other Amiga user groups exist? Of course! Unfortunately, most of us have only the time and resources to be involved with just one or two. Considering how much we get out of just our own group, imagine what we're missing of other groups: guest speakers, tips, original software, newsletters! Wouldn't it be nice to hear the voice of all the groups? Maybe even collaborate so that we the users, have a collective voice that was one to be heard by the entire Amigaverse. All right; assuming that other user groups have stuff to offer beyond "more of the same," how do we get to it? A national users' group, you say? A newsletter exchange policy? An echoing B.B.S. network? Great ideas but hard to implement. Any one of these could easily mean a full-time job for someone. Maybe if there were an entrepreneur among us who could find a way to make it profitable, he/she will take it on full-time. I would also think that it is in Commodore's best interest and ability to assign someone to this task (as their primary job). What better way to harness the power of the legendary Commodore users? I believe that within us sleeps Commodore's biggest resource and one of the big advantages they still hold over the MS-DOS and Apple arenas. Barring a full-timer, a quick and easy system will have to be established that does not overly-rely on any single person. As excited as I am about the idea, I do not think I can coordinate the entire thing. Several resources lay at our disposal. Electronic bulletin board systems and networks lead the possibilities. CompuServe, BITNET, InterNet, People Link, UseNet, and GEnie are some examples. Local BBSs' (bulletin board services) are also effective. Many user groups even host BBSs' of their own like PAUG BBS (215) 632-8312) and Lower Bucks (215) 547-7009. Networks that send and repeat large banks of messages across the country already exist. The problems are that BBSing takes a large amount of time and is not as organized and lasting as printed media. It is one part of the puzzle. And that brings me to my next item. Our group produces a pretty dynamite newsletter. Dare I say that some of the writing rivals that which appears in commercial publications? Yes; I dare say. And, again; we are not unique. No sooner do I think that our group has reached some higher plateau than do I attend a show where the local group produces a newsletter that puts them in the same league. A newsletter exchange program is probably the best idea going. Two problems arise. First is coordination. Who exactly do we send it to and how do we get their addresses? Ideally, I would like to see it go to newsletter editor or the M.C. of every single Commodore users group. He/she are probably the only ones in the position to disseminate the information appearing in the newsletters. I urge all Commodore user groups that are not yet registered with Commodore to do so. The address appears later in the article. The second problem is that these mailings cost money. Most user groups probably don't have much. How do you really justify sending your newsletter out indiscriminately? Each one requires the cost of printing and postage. If we can definitely establish which groups have consistent and reliable mailings, I believe that a group like ours could bear the cost of mailing them newsletter if they were to do the same for us. We are of course leading to the grand-unified-theory. What if there were a single locale that was empowered and responsible to digest all the miscellaneous user group stuff and re-issue it as a national newsletter that goes to everyone! We could hit every Commodore user group, the Commodore dealers, the software developers and publishers, the Commodore executives, and key educators. It has some of the same flavor as the developer association established by Amiga World and the Turbo Silver guy. It is going to cost money because there is no other way. Advertising in the newsletter might be able to support it. I suggest the publication be minimum of bi-monthly (once every two months) and be produced in a traditional newsletter fashion; desk-top-publishing (nothing fancy). Technically, it is within a single individual's ability to produce. An entire day and a few people could yield the printing, folding, and mailing of the entire lot. And the whole thing is still just a part-time job! I speak from experience. So we've got some ideas, some leadership, and hopefully some motivation. There is one thing left. (The PAUG members reading this article in our own newsletter, don't think I'm putting the whole burden on us.) The volunteers. I would like nothing better than to adopt this project as my own, but to put it in one person's hands is to jeopardize the effort. I must get feed-back first. I want to hear the voice of the users I suggested earlier. Send me an issue of your users group newsletter. I'll start to assemble a list. Re-post this article on BBSs' if you got it electronically. Mail or E-Mail me with your comments. Please get involved or pass the word. It is a way to become active and even gain some notoriety for yourself. And to my own group, the Philadelphia Amiga User Group, great job on the articles! Keep 'em rolling in. Our address is: Philadelphia Amiga Users Group Post Office Box 21186 Philadelphia, PA 19154-0386 To register as an official Commodore User Group, write to: Commodore Business Machines 1200 Wilson Drive West Chester, PA 19380 attn: Nancy Snyder I can be reached as Mike Levin over the PAUG BBS mentioned earlier or over some of the inter-connected networks like InterNet as: mikel@cbmvax.commodore.com