“Sit here from morning to night, and you’d not only be thoroughly entertained, but pick up a good deal of information,” explained Chuck Joiner, chairman of Apple’s User Group Advisory Board.

What part of Macworld was Joiner describing? A secret area of the Apple booth? A special spot on the show floor? A TV turned to CNN somewhere in Moscone Center?

None of the above — he was talking about the User Group Lounge. Located near Moscone Center’s South Hall, the lounge played host to what Joiner describes as “a truly all-star cast” of presenters during the four days of Macworld San Francisco 2002.

“I don’t think we've had a single free hour,“ he explained. The lounge has featured such Macintosh community luminaries as Shawn King (who hosts The Mac Show Live), Rik Myslewski (editor-in-chief of Mac Addict), Chris Breen (Macworld magazine columnist), and David Pogue, the New York Times columnist who was particularly interested in addressing those who came to the user group lounge.

One Life, Defined by User Groups
“My Mac life began in the Yale Mac User Group in college,“ he explained before his session. “And, after I graduated, the New York Mac User Group was my first writing experience. It was the first time I ever reviewed things.”

“Then one day,” he continued, “the NY MUG newsletter editor sheepishly said to me, ‘You know, you should send your clips to Macworld or Mac User and see if you can get paid for this kind of thing.’ And the rest is history.”

During the hour he spent in the User Group Lounge, Pogue regaled Macworld attendees with amusing tales of his richly varied work history — he was a Broadway conductor before he became a writer about all things Macintosh — as well as tips and tricks for getting the most out of Mac OS X. (With his new book, “Mac OS X: The Missing Manual,” for sale on the show floor, Pogue was happy to sign copies for fans.)

“My People”
“I feel like these are my people,” Pogue responds when asked why he speaks before user groups. And speak he does. In 1999, he traveled to nearly 40 user groups around the country in exchange for nothing more than airfare. Only family obligations — he now has two small children — have forced him to cut back on speaking engagements.

“David’s always been a great friend of user groups,” Joiner adds. “He’s a natural fit with what we try to do with the lounge, which is to offer attendees a chance to get up close and personal with people who are normally on that stage ten feet up and forty feet away.”

In the lounge, Pogue stood before a seated audience in a cozy environment that didn’t require a microphone. As he discussed his Mac OS X tips and tricks, audience members sometimes chimed in with suggestions of their own, opening up a dialogue in which he was happy to participate.

“There’s no resource like user groups,” said Pogue. “The fact that it’s all done on a volunteer basis is so inspiring. There’s no cynicism. They just do it for the love of it.”

If you’d like to learn more about the Mac or have a desire to share what you’ve already learned with others, consider joining a local user group. You can find one in your area by using our user group locator.

— Brad Cook