![1988 User Group Advisory Council](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/1988_User_Group_Advisory_Council.jpg)
The Apple User Group Connection (AUGC) was established in 1985 by
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
and led by Apple employee
Ellen Petry Leanse
Ellen Petry Leanse (born Ellen Petry August 12, 1958) is an American author, businesswoman, educator, entrepreneur, and online community pioneer. Leanse has spent 35 years working with leaders at Apple, Google, Facebook, as an entrepreneur, and ...
. AUGC was formed in response to concerns from users in community user groups that, with release of the
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
, development for existing
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
and
Apple III
The Apple III (styled as apple ///) is a business-oriented personal computer produced by Apple Computer and released in 1980. Running the Apple SOS operating system, it was intended as the successor to the Apple II series, but was largely consi ...
computers was compromised. The idea was for Apple to share information with its user community directly, rather than through the more traditional support and distribution channels. The organization successfully encouraged Apple to pursue early internet technology such as
bulletin board system
A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as ...
s and
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical fou ...
.
History
![Apple User Group Connection Mug](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Apple_User_Group_Connection_Mug.jpg)
Eighteen months after the release of the
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
, owners of
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
and
Apple III
The Apple III (styled as apple ///) is a business-oriented personal computer produced by Apple Computer and released in 1980. Running the Apple SOS operating system, it was intended as the successor to the Apple II series, but was largely consi ...
personal computers expressed frustration with the limited development of new features for these products. Seeking a commitment to ongoing support of utilities and software, users contacted Apple, published complaints in computer publications, and spoke out at public events such as MacWorld and other trade shows to ask for a future path. Furthermore, as Macintosh users sought more direct means of learning about innovations and capabilities of the Mac and its software (in 1985, standards for customer support depended primarily on written/mailed correspondence) Macintosh users began ask Apple and software providers for faster access to technical and usability information, as well as upgrades. Apple CEO
John Sculley
John Sculley III (born April 6, 1939) is an American businessman, entrepreneur and investor in high-tech startups. Sculley was vice-president (1970–1977) and president of PepsiCo (1977–1983), until he became chief executive officer (CEO) ...
responded by creating a position for a "User Group Evangelist" charged with realigning Apple with its active user community through communication and identification of mutually-beneficial product development.
In September 1985,
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
established the Apple User Group Connection (AUGC) in response to input from users in community User Groups including
Boston Computer Society The Boston Computer Society (BCS) was an organization of personal computer users, based in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., that ran from 1977 to 1996. At one point, it was the largest such group in the world, with regular user group meetings, many pub ...
and
Berkeley Macintosh Users Group
The Berkeley Macintosh Users Group, or more commonly "BMUG", was the largest Macintosh User Group. It was founded in September 1984 by a group of UC Berkeley students including Reese Jones and Raines Cohen as a focal-point for the nascent Apple ...
, along with user communities within educational, science, and business organizations.
Ellen Petry Leanse, an Apple employee since November 1981, became Apple's first user evangelist in September 1985. Her charter was to address the frustration directed at Apple from the Apple II and Apple III installed base - individuals, business people, government officials and education leaders from around the world who had come to feel abandoned by Apple as it turned its attention to the Macintosh.
Accomplishments
Ellen Petry Leanse's work in the UGC guided her to establish Apple's first connection with users via the early roots of the web –
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical fou ...
,
The WELL
The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL, was launched in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annual income of $2 million. ...
,
Bulletin board system
A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as ...
s, etc. The idea was for Apple to share information with its user community as a direct channel, rather than through the more traditional support and distribution channels. It was groundbreaking work that pioneered much of what is possible and done today through social networks and other online communities. Leanse grew and ran the group through 1990 when she left Apple to focus on her personal life. Many of the early UGC contributors have gone on to be real creators and contributors in their own rights. NASA's
Dave Lavery
Dave Lavery (born May 28, 1959) is an American scientist and roboticist who is the Program Executive for Solar System Exploration at NASA Headquarters. He also is a member of the ''FIRST'' Executive Advisory Board, and is well-known among parti ...
, through his work with Apple User Groups within
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
and the
Jet Propulsion Lab
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States.
Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...
, was an active influencer of the User Group Connection's early progress.
The early days of Leanse's role aligned her with Apple's passionate user group community and gave her an eye-opening window into a new world: the early roots of the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...
. Through connected
BBS networks,
Arpa and
Darpanet,
The WELL
The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL, was launched in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annual income of $2 million. ...
,
Usenet
Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...
, and other systems, thousands of Apple users around the world were sharing information and support with each other and using their collective knowledge to make the most of their Apple systems. These pioneering users began to experiment with information-sharing through a few leads in this network, and quickly realized the power that this network had to speed product information, updates, and support to people, using much less effort than the standard method – the
U.S. Mail
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
– would have allowed.
AUGC produced promotional videos for Apple products.
In April 2012,
PandoDaily
PandoDaily, or simply Pando, was a web publication offering technology news, analysis, and commentary, with a focus on Silicon Valley and startup companies.
History
PandoDaily was started by former TechCrunch writer Sarah Lacy on January 16, 2012 ...
included Leanse as one of the top 5 tech marketers.
In the article she is attributed as being the pioneer of ''online community''.
In 2014 Leanse was a keynote speaker on the history of online communities at community management and education platform CMX Hub’s inaugural CMX Summit conference.
References
{{reflist
External links
The Story Of Ellen Leanse, Apple’s First User Evangelist
Apple Inc. user groups
Computer clubs
User groups
Science and technology in the San Francisco Bay Area
Organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area