The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group President's Update Lyn Goodall president@melbpc.org.au |
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Members who use our Web mail login will have experienced problems during the last month in accessing their mail. We apologise for any inconvenience and can report that all is well now. Thanks to the Internet Admin Team for all their work in restoring the service and making a few other changes you may have noticed.
We have for some time planned to revamp the old and tired Message of the Day (MOTD)
web page and we've now taken the opportunity to do so. You can see the results
at www.melbpc.org.au/isp/. The new
Melb PC Internet Services page aims to provide quick, easy-to-read access for
members. It will undoubtedly continue to be modified to make it easier for
members to access services and for the general public to be able to see what
services are on offer - encouraging them to join.
If you have any comments on the changes please contact me or the committee.
Interest Group conveners' meeting
Each year Melb PC provides the opportunity for conveners of our Interest Groups
to meet, discuss interest group issues and other topics associated with running
and managing Melb PC. The Conveners Meeting this year was held on Saturday 21st
June.
Conveners play a pivotal role in providing services to meet our members' needs.
They're the ones that get to hear firsthand about all the challenges we face as
computer users.
Their task is to manage the forums so that members can meet, share knowledge and
obtain answers to questions. Yet the group meetings provide so much more than
that. To some members the groups are a place to meet or make friends and the
meetings become more of a regular social event.
Last year Guidelines for Interest Group Conveners in the form of a manual were
developed to support the work of the conveners and the document also provides
information on how to grow the group and mernberahip in particular. This need to
grow membership through the groups was a focus of this year's meeting. Ideas
will be developed and prioritised to assist the groups to focus on this
important aspect of Melb PC community, life.
Talking Groups
Our Video Editing interest group has a very exciting project on the boil!
They've put together a small team and are creating and producing a promotional
Video/DVD that will be used to market the benefits of Melb PC membership. The
team consists of audio, visual, lighting, video and even make-up specialists and
the project will be a great learning tool for the whole group as we all go
through the vagaries of making the video.
It will be possible to use the DVD to promote Melb PC at guest speaker events
and to other organisations Such as local Councils. This is a great initiative
and really shows how an interest group can give new life to the Group as a
whole.
Committee news
We're very pleased to announce that we've filled the remaining casual vacancy on
the committee - Roger Davies recently attended a committee meeting to find out
how it all worked and has agreed to take up the role for the rest of the year.
Portfolio is yet to be determined. The AGM is a still a long way off, but we
already know that some committee members won't be standing again. If you have
Management, secretarial or committee skills and the energy to devote to
committee work, please contact me or John Swale to discuss your interest.
On a less-happy note, I've just received the resignation of Richard John who has
managed the iHeip Team for many years. Pressure of other commitments makes it
impossible for Richard to continue in this role. He'll still provide support for
the iHelp database that he developed some years ago to manage the many requests
that come in to the iHelp Team. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank
Richard for all the work he's done over the years, thank him for his offer to
continue helping the group and wish him all the best for the future. If you'd be
interested in assisting in the development of the iHelp Team, please contact me
to discuss.
Your committee welcomes the chance to provide you with more information (please
read
https://websec.melbpc.org.au/committee/
regularly for committee reports).
We also welcome all feedback -
president@melbpc.org.au or the office on (03) 9567 8000.
Reprinted from the July 2008 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
