COMPUTER LIFE AT MOUNTAIN MEADOWS: THE USERS GROUP, THREE YEARS OLD AND STILL CHANGING WITH THE TIMES
By Christine Menefee

When I moved to Mountain Meadows several years ago, I asked who was in charge of the computer users group here because I needed help and advice. Turned out nobody was, so I was "it"! I set up an email list for anybody who was interested in computers (at any level of expertise) and since then, we've had a common point of communication within MM for anything computer-related.

 What are we? We're a very informal interest group. No dues, no rules! Since most of us own and use computers, we typically communicate mostly through email and our online social networking site (the Ning—more on that later). Sometimes we present or sponsor a program, training session or practice lab. And even if you don't have a computer yet, you can come to a monthly in-person get-together, to find out more about them.

Why are we? We don't have an agenda to speak of except to be there for each other, although we did craft a "mission statement" declaring that the group is here to serve the entire MM community, and we do that in various ways. If you have a question, it's likely someone in the group can help, or at least steer you to outside help. We've presented several programs to the community on subjects ranging from new technologies to brain training. We experiment with social networking, and stand ready to serve the community as guinea pigs or researchers as needed, while we transition our community to serve new residents who require more computer connectivity, as recommended in the exciting new report from the Long Range Planning Committee.

Who are we? Our "members" have a wide range of expertise. Frank Marzocco is a sort of pioneer in the computer field— he built some of the first computers (from HeathKits!) He wrote some very early (and very simple) computer languages, but now finds the latest version of Windows as inexplicable as anybody does—that's life with computers! Some have had a career in computer-related fields; Marlene Teichert was an Apple representative, in education, and Meri Walker still works full time with computers (she tutors, and is currently pioneering a new form of "virtual meetings"). Some of us do freelance work, such as editing, or selling on eBay, using our computers. At the other end of the scale, other MM Computer Users (and this is probably the majority in the group) simply find them necessary, in today's world, for keeping in touch with family, whose younger members prefer Facebook to telephones. And some in the group are just beginning with computers—or don't even have a computer yet, but are interested in starting. To be in the CUG, no expertise is required. Probably for most of us, our interest is not in computers as such, but rather with what we can do with them. As for me, since 1 started the Users group, many people seem to think I'm an expert, or that I teach computers. Not at all. Computers were simply an inescapable part of my life for decades, because my work in public library information services took me from books to the Internet; and at the end I was working almost entirely online, coordinating staff and collections in geographically separated locations. But I'm not a mechanic, I just know how to drive the thing (and darn, but the controls keep changing!)

What are we doing with our computers? Increasingly, besides working, or just keeping in touch with families, I see people here pursuing their interests —tracing genealogy, following news, building digital family archives, finding medical information, expressing talents in graphics and art, and of course, writing. The group is a good way to keep up with changes in how to do what we want to do. Meri Walker's recent workshops in laptop computing were independent of the computer users group, but we did publicize them within the group and many of our members took the classes and participated in the Friday Forum that Meri later presented to the community.

What are we doing now? Social networking, practice labs, programs: we're in a period of transition. For over a year, we experimented with social networking (ultimately settling upon Ning as the vehicle we'd use for that) and learned a lot from the experience that will, we hope, help steer MM's long range planning regarding community computer communications. Ning is stopping its free service, and though we did a lot with it in the first months, in the end it proved to be way too complicated for our needs in any case. Now we're looking into smaller, leaner services for the little networking we need to do beyond what the MMOA site offers. Watch for news on that. Also, members have asked for more "labs" where we can get together informally and experiment with our laptops together, so watch for announcements in the Weekly Update. And we do keep talking about how we'd like to present some more programs for the community, to share what we are doing with other residents.

Thinking about getting a computer? If you are going to use a computer, you have to accept that change is the only constant, and be prepared to be flexible. Of course this is a fact of life anyway—as the poet Shelley wrote almost 200 years ago, about the world of nature around him, "naught may endure but mutability." Computers are only another manifestation of this universal truth-but one that figures very prominently in today's world.

Computers for health and happiness: In our population group, maintaining and stimulating brain health is a priority. As reported in New Scientist and elsewhere earlier this year, recent study of brain patterns and Internet use among the elderly revealed that simply surfing on the Internet did the most to build new neural pathways] Our group has been active in investigating and keeping up with this kind of information. So if your philosophy is puritanical and you require a productive purpose for anything you do, now you can lose the idea that computers are a waste of time: it's a proven fact that "playing" with a computer can be very good for your brain's health.

And yes, computers can be frustrating, but cultivating the right attitude about that is a challenge that can be met, and is probably good for you. If you do have a computer, you have to make a commitment to keep up with changes-but that can be fun, good for your brain, and, depending on what you decide to do with it, life-enhancing.

Finally, avoiding computers is another option-but that's a decision that should only be made with the full understanding that if you do opt out of internet life, you will be consciously deciding to sideline yourself from much of what is going on in the world. The other side of the coin, getting into Internet life, on the other hand, presents challenges and opens doors. It's your choice.