Hi, I’m Bill and I live in Saint Paul working as a Partner Program Manager for JAMF Software (formerly a Solutions Architect for 318, Inc.) This site is mostly about my reflections on the intersection between humans and technology but I’ll talk about most anything that interests me.
I’ve spoken at MacIT (part of Macworld), JAMF Nation User Conferences (JNUC) and MacAdmins Conference at Penn State University; written for MacTech magazine and I’m a co-founder of Twin Cities Mac Admins, a community supporting all things Apple from Education to Enterprise.
And recently, I had the pleasure to help Charles Edge update the Enterprise Mac Administrator’s Guide: Second Edition from Apress.
Technology is very important to me but I’m also an amateur anthropologist with regard to how technology is affecting our lives.
- Follow me on Twitter: @meck
- Follow me on Mastodon: @talkingmoose
- Review my professional history on LinkedIn: talkingmoose
What does Remember The Human mean?
Anyone who’s ever socialized online (mailing lists, forums, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) has more than likely come across an arrogant dickhead who hides behind his pseudonumn and freely speaks his mind. He’s condescending and rude to others who disagree with him but in person-to-person interactions he’s usually far more restrained.
Anonymity, lack of repercussion and disposable online personas have made him forget his social peers on the other side of the screen are human just like he is. This behavior became a phenomenon in the early days of the Internet and hasn’t gone away.
“Remember the Human” was coined in the book Netiquette by Virginia Shea and is the Internet correlative of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s an old lesson that often needs reteaching. To me, it’s the best lesson on the Internet.
Who is the Talking Moose?
The Talking Moose is my long-time Mac buddy. This was the first software I ever purchased; it came on an 800k floppy disk in the back of Bob Levitus’s book Stupid Mac Tricks. That book and its applications were my first demonstration computers could be fun as well as productive. The Talking Moose cinched my love for Macs back in the early 90s. (FYI, the Talking Moose first appeared nearly 30 years ago in 1986!)
Today, I honor the Talking Moose with my domain name and salute M. Uli Kusterer for his continued development for Mac OS X and Windows. I’m thrilled Steven Halls is actively working on a 3D version!
What’s an MVP?
What’s an MVP?We’re a group of people who have a history of helping others with Microsoft products. We hang out in newsgroups, publish blogs, create websites, speak at user groups and do other things. Microsoft has found us and awarded us for what we do. That comes with some nice perks but first and foremost we’re just volunteers.
I’ve been an MVP since April 2003 and was first awarded for helping folks with integrating Macs with Windows Server. Today I work more with Microsoft Office for Mac and since early 2007 I’ve been co-authoring OfficeforMacHelp.com (formerly The Entourage Help Blog) with former MVP Diane Ross.
One of the best things about being an MVP is getting to attend the MVP Summit held every 12-18 months at Microsoft in Redmond, WA. We get to be advocates for customers regarding current issues with Office for Mac as well as offer input for future releases.
Remember the Human 