Dear Members,
Dear Friends,
A new year is with us again. 2007 has started. How time flies. Whoever said that time waits for no man is obviously more than correct.
2007 is a big year for us. Starting in 2007, we’ll be in what I call the “1+3+5 era”. This 1 year — 2007 — will be crucial for us, for it is when BeiMac will be turning 5. The next 3 years through to 2009 will also be crucial — we’ve the Olympics in 2008 and the Mac turning 25 in 2009. The final two years in the next 5 — 2010 and 2011 will also be important for us in the run-up to BeiMac’s 10th anniversary in 2012.
And yes, we’re planning ahead for the long run…
Looking back at the year that has left us — 2006 — we have some really good stats to deliver. We’ve busted1 the 100 threshold — 110 people celebrated2 with us our 4th anniversary on March 4, 2006. Attendance at all 2006 meetings has been massive — 430 people turned for our ten meetings in 2006.
We’ve made it to Macworld San Francisco 2006 representing Chinese user groups, and we’ve started some really great projects such as MacInChina, macinwiki, the video podcast and more member services. We’ve elected our first Union Executives Board and replenished3 BeiPod with more info and just a few more executives to keep the whole thing running smoothly4.
Looking ahead to 2007, we realize that this is a year of opportunity. To this end, we’ll be focusing a lot more on the newly-revitalized forums5, and we’ll bolster6 content on BeiMac, BeiPod and macinwiki. We also expect to be an active part of the Asia-Pacific Mac Union, the union we founded with friends both near and far.
We’ll be very active in Beijing and beyond. We expect to form more special interest groups and maybe even start a branch group somewhere else in China. We expect to form even more partnerships7 and alliances, and we also hope to form an even closer bond with those people who are selling Apples — retailers8 — and the makers9 of Apples themselves — Apple Computer.
2007 will also be a time when more and more resources in the BeiMac Union will be established and enriched. We understand we’ve a few projects that appear to be half-baked; we’ll cook something up great with them, rather than let them die in utter neglect or pull the plug on them.
We expect the whole group to stay true to its principle of forming a community, and hope to advance with the whole membership. We’ll remain true to our united spirit; we’ll unite more members and make even more progress — together, as a bonded10 body.
The membership still remains11 a core focus for our group. Rest assured that we’ll be doing all that we can for the entire membership. Our transparent12, open and democratic system of group government will continue for a long time. The membership will remain our dominating force in the group, and we’ll make sure that this group remains a group of Mac people, for Mac people, by Mac people.
On the world stage, we expect to be even more active. We expect to return to Macworld San Francisco in 2008 with a far bigger impact than our 2006 debut13. We also aim to take a far more active role in how this group interacts with the outside world. We realize that BeiMac is an important player in the world MUG community, and we’ll do everything to let more people get a gist14 of the People’s Republic of Macs that we’re making.
Closer to home, we’ve got two great shows coming up for you. First, on or around January 15, 2007, we’ll be showcasing our new and improved BeiPod and macinwiki projects, and we invite you to the fun. Second, and more importantly, we’ll be holding our 5th anniversary party at the Asia Hotel from 3 PM through to 7 PM on March 24, 2007. We invite every one of you to join us at the fun — which will include its fair share of “one more things”…
And as usual, we invite everyone to all BeiMac meetings in 2007 and beyond. We’ve done two BeiMac and BeiPod 4 U university meetups last year; the trend will continue throughout all of 2007 and beyond.
I’d like to thank all Executives, and give special mention to former Treasurer15 Ivy16 Makelin for her outstanding service as BeiMac Treasurer for the past 4 years. Her replacement18, Anne Zhu, is equally talented and I trust her to keep the books with the greatest care. Secretary Ketty Gao deserves a standing17 ovation19 for all she’s done to the group — she is a star diplomat20 and a true leader in the group. Cheng Ke and Jasper Song are also to be thanked for being “next-in-line” at the helm of BeiMac and BeiPod, respectively, and thanks also go out Secretary Gao Chunyu of the BeiPod group. Everlyne and Howard Hao are to be thanked for heading up the two commissions, and Liu Dax and Zhou Cai deserve a round of applause for heading up the forums on pingmin.org. Also, Allan Yong all the way up in Canada (returning to Beijing eventually) needs to be thanked for the wisdom he has never failed to give, even from the wrong end of the Pacific.
Most importantly, I’d like to thank all members and all friends of the user group — without whom this user group would have not been possible. Our founding members — Forest, Noah, Yusuke, Martin, Ronald and He Zhiqiang — founded this group five years ago; would it not have been for them, this group would have never got started.
2007 is upon us — enjoy!
Best,
David Feng
President, Beijing Macintosh User Group
President, Beijing iPod User Group
Executive President, Beijing Macintosh Union
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