Mark Taylor, the company’s founder, had graciously donated the notebook to be raffled off as the grand prize. It was he who placed the computer in my hands. Preoccupied with my windfall, all I observed about him at the time was that he had short, dark hair, sported a closely trimmed beard and exuded a very laid-back, friendly demeanor. My intuitive read on his friendliness was accurate: Mark later approached me and said if I needed any help with my new computer, to just give him a call.

The following week, I visited with Mark at the company’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The first thing I noticed was the distinctive corporate logo above the door instead of a name, which made the office easy to locate. Upon entering the lobby, Caleb, a TAYLORMARK crew member, greeted me warmly and said Mark would be joining me shortly. After easing into an oversized, comfy leather chair, I took in the calm space around me. A sign propped against the wall announced the company is a member of the Apple Consulting Network, which is a network of Apple-certified experts.

Soft piano music played in the background as I wondered at the absence of a cash register or other store-like accoutrements. A mobile spun lazily overhead. Tropical foliage gave the room a Zen-ish feel. The only door leading out of the lobby and into some inner sanctum was guarded by an access entry keypad. “What do they do here?”, I silently mused.

The door swung open and suddenly, Mark was shaking my hand, acknowledging an email on his phone and asking me if I needed anything, all at the same. “A genuine multi-tasker”, I thought.

Before asking questions about my new Mac, I wanted to know more about TAYLORMARK: who are they? How did they get here and what is their intent is as a company? Over the course of the next half-hour, I caught a glimpse of the interesting visionary sitting across the table from me.

“The company began in 1999”, Mark explains. “The focus at the time was basically my brain for hire, which didn’t require a whole lot of overhead. An Apple Engineer loaned me a computer and I got started in the consulting business.”

Somewhere along the way, he was surprised by the revelation that most people don’t really understand how technology works, and he was further amazed that people would “pay you for stating your opinion”. Mark worked in the technical support arena for a number of years, which honed his talents to the point he felt comfortable presenting “How Your Mac Works” at Apple’s corporate office, located in the Dallas Infomart.

Over time, clients from diverse industries sought his expertise: a medical software company; the City Attorney’s Office for the City of Dallas; a large school district and others.

One day, shortly after the first Apple store opened in Dallas, fate collided with experience in the form of a meeting with the store’s manager, Ginger Mollo. “We became fast friends and with the addition of the referrals from Apple Retail I had more business than I could handle”, Mark recalls.

“What niche does TAYLORMARK fill?” I inquire. Mark chooses his words carefully. “Systematic Fault Isolation is what I do well. I’m an ultra-generalist. I consume a lot of information about seemingly unrelated topics. My particular strong suit is connecting the dots, kind of like having perspective without boundaries.” I ponder this response. Perspective without boundaries. I think I’ll have to mull that over for awhile.

“What gets you up in the morning?” I query. “What motivates you?”

“Looking at the big picture, thinking beyond tomorrow or next week or next year. I have a bit of an imagination. The way that I see this business is as though it is already a very large corporation that helps people: a) make decisions, b) do the work recommended, and c) be the first to come to the general public’s mind when they need help in their Digital Life. I often brainstorm about what that large company would be like in its infancy and what decisions were made along the way. Adapting and learning… adapting and learning along the path.”

This process helps me clearly identify what the business should be today and what preparations to make for our future. This is our first prototype storefront, my own personal petri dish, if you will. The intent is to have multiple locations where people can obtain the four core services of TAYLORMARK: Digital Life Consulting, Digital Life Support, Digital Life Recovery and Digital Life Banking.”

I ask Mark to explain what exactly a ‘digital life’ is.

“Every business, every individual, has a Digital Life. If your house was burning down, more than likely, before running out the door you’d grab the laptop off the kitchen counter before pulling pictures off the wall. Frankly, people’s lives are on these machines. One core service called Digital Life Banking is geared to create a plan.
As if on cue, the doorbell announces a customer’s entrance. Caleb quickly enters the front reception area to meet her. I turn to see the worry on her face as she gets right to the point and asks Caleb if he thinks her data can be recovered. Caleb responds with the assurance that TAYLORMARK customers have come to expect: yes, it’s possible that it can be recovered. Her next remark underscores Mr. Taylor’s previous comments: “Thank goodness! My whole life is on that thing!”

‘Perspective without boundaries’. I think I’m beginning to grasp the concept. Mark has imagined a future in which his clients feel safe and secure in their digital lives.

Stay tuned for future blogs, in which we will cover each of the four distinct services that TAYLORMARK provides.

“Welcome back to the cult”, someone merrily Tweeted the afternoon I won the Mac. “The cult?” I wondered. A couple of hours later, another Tweet: “Welcome to the cult!” I knew Apple was way cool, but the fans seemed even more jazzed than I was. What did they know that I didn’t?

The box lay quietly on the dining room table, waiting for me to overcome my fear of the unknown. It seemed too light to actually contain a computer. Several thoughts ran through my mind: Was it going to be confusing going from PC to Mac to PC? What about all of my documents, spreadsheets, email, contacts? Would I have to use my PC for business and my Mac for play? Ugh. It made me tired just thinking about it.

Until I opened the box.

The notebook’s soft, silvery luster was smooth and cool to the touch. It felt solid and reliable. As a former electro‐mechanical drafter, I fully appreciated the work that had gone into the design and manufacture of the aluminum unibody chassis. Elegant is the only word to describe it.

“Even the power adapter is cool”, I noted. Two enclosed booklets, Everything Mac and Everything Else, would prove to be of actual value.

Literally, within minutes of turning on the computer, I was up and running. OK, I was up and playing. My step‐daughter and I were soon hamming it up for Photo Booth ‐ ‐ riding a roller coaster (hands up, of course) and warping our faces into aliens. Big, big fun. We happily wasted a couple of hours exploring just how silly we could be as virtual talk show hosts and video bloggers.

The two days at WordCamp had turned me into a Far Side cartoon character: a not‐the‐brightest‐bulb‐ in‐the‐box kid raising his hand: “May I be excused? My brain is full.” It was late Sunday evening and time to vegetate.

The Marine and I decided to test the Mac’s proclaimed battery life (up to seven hours, the Apple website promises). Experience on long, international flights had taught us to carry an extra battery if we wanted to watch a movie on the PC. Figuring I would drift off early, I told him to choose the films. It was no big surprise when he returned with Lethal Weapon and Lethal Weapon 2. Yes, I’d be asleep in no time at all. Zzzzzzzz. Side note: I was awestruck by the simplicity of the Slot‐loading Super Drive. Again, what superb engineering!

In the morning, I awoke to find my new electronic pal on the nightstand. I checked the battery life and pleasantly discovered there was plenty of juice remaining. I wandered into the kitchen where the Marine was making coffee. “Did you make it through both movies?” “Yep.” He replied. “I like that Mac. Maybe I’ll take it with me on my next trip.”

Hmmm. We’ll just SEE about that. You’re talking to a cult member, now, buddy.

Considering the desire to pick someone worthy of the prize, I cant imagine someone better than Victoria to go home with a brand new Macbook Pro.

The following is derived from the email and attachment from Victoria Bell as she related her experience.

Enjoy,

Mark

Victoria’s email:

Hi, Y’all!
 
I just wanted to share an experience borne of the wonderful power of networking.
Peggy introduced me to Teena, Teena told me about WordCamp, where I won a MacBook from Mark!
I met Lynn and Missi on Saturday, who both were so NICE and didn’t let me eat lunch alone.
 
Thus far, I’ve signed up for GoDaddy hosting and installed WordPress, but I still don’t have a CLUE as to how to actually publish my first blog, so you get this low-tech, email version.

So, here it is, and thanks to each of you. I’ll alert the media when MindOverMiddleAge finally launches J

Philippians 4:8
(Yes. You have to look it up.)

Victoria Bell 

Victoria’s email attachment:

I usually try to maintain an ‘attitude of gratitude’. Not claiming to be wildly successful at all times, but the key word is ‘try’. (Sorry, Yoda ‐ ‐ it appears in my vernacular more often than you would approve of. Having journeyed through the land of unemployment and self‐employment for the last ten months, some days, being thankful requires conscious effort. Today, there is no try. ‘Thank you, Lord!’ is the headline banner scrolling across my forehead right now. I had no expectations as I entered WordCamp 2009. I was given a name badge, a T-shirt and a raffle ticket. Two weeks prior, an Aromatherapy Meetup event led to a discussion about technical writing. (Go, networking!) “You should go to WordCamp”, the woman who organized the meeting told me. I gave her my card. The next morning, my inbox contained an email from her with all of the pertinent information. Even though I didn’t fully comprehend (from the presentation titles) what exactly a WordCamp was, in a purely visceral moment, I registered for the almost‐free‐for‐you‐today price of $30.00.

A year-long desire to start a blog was tempered by a couple of practicalities: I don’t know diddly about publishing online and what would I write about that anyone would want to read, anyway? Maybe this would kick my tail into high gear. Perhaps I would meet fellow writers and expand my network. After finding a seat in the crowded, too‐warm auditorium, realization dawned in a what‐in‐the‐world‐am I‐doing‐here? moment. Unfamiliar terms and acronyms were hurled at me full‐throttle: ‘tag cloud’, ‘CMS’ and ‘irresistibly sticky’. Excuuuse me.

Early on, I acknowledged the vast hole that was my website creation ignorance and decided to let each speaker’s words wash over me. Perhaps something would eventually make sense. “I really, really love my pen and paper”, I inwardly whined. Presenter after presenter stepped onto the stage with the ruthless intent of reinforcing my aforementioned ‘lostness’. More than once, I vowed to leave ‘after the next one’, but these folks were not only passionate and knowledgeable about their topics, they seemed like such nice people. The kind of people you’d want to visit with afterward, even if you might not understand one flippin’ thing they said. Niceness is a universal language that erodes language barriers, even geek speak, and I was charmed.

The day ran long. I was worn out from sponging up all of that new information that I feared I might never use. I kept looking at my watch. Again, I told myself I’d leave after the next presentation. But that felt so rude. The noisy room hushed when the event organizer announced it was time to raffle off a MacBook Pro, donated by Taylormark, one of WordCamp’s sponsors and an ‘Apple‐focused information technology professional services company’. A red ticket was pulled from the bowl, and each number was slowly teased off. Wait a minute! The first five numbers were matching those on my stub. I blinked. Wow. I actually had a chance! My adrenaline level pumped up a little. I once won a gift certificate to a spa. There was thatone hundred dollars on a scratch‐off that came in handy shortly after I was laid off. But a Mac? No way. FIVE! That was the last number. I think. Then my name was called out. The rest is a blur. My heart raced. My goose bumps had goose bumps. I was so flustered that I actually walked in front of the video cameras that were live-streaming the event ‐ ‐ not grasping my faux pas until later. Mark Taylor handed me the coveted white box. A round of applause erupted. I was grinning like a fool, and photos exist to prove it. Me? Who hadn’t touched a Mac in ten years? The one who didn’t know XAMPP from WAMP? I quite literally floated back to my seat, red-faced from embarrassment and excitement.

Earlier in the day, driving to WordCamp, I’d asked for a sign that I was fulfilling my purpose and to let me know when I was going astray. Lately, I’ve felt as though I’m swimming through mud to get back to the land of the employed. Am I moving in the right direction? Yada yada. As I turned out of the UTD parking lot, I glanced at the white box nestled into the passenger seat, (did I mention it was a MAC???) along with my new T‐shirt. I was struck by the generosity behind the gift, as well as the thoughtfulness, openness and intelligence of the community I’d just been introduced to. The door to a new world was opening up for me.

“There’s yer sign”, I giddily marveled. There’s yer sign.

It has taken many late nights to get this far and frankly taylormark.com is still very much a V1.0, but we are very happy with the new direction.

To celebrate the accomplishment of doing so much with so little, TAYLORMARK would like to thank the amazing WordPress platform that made it all possible by sponsoring WordCamp Dallas.

TAYLORMARK will be giving away one NEW 2.26 GHz Macbook Pro 13″ (MB990LL/A),  and  4 x “Digital Life Upgrades” at WordCamp Dallas.

Thank you WordPress.  Thank you Aaron Harp. Thank you Steve Dietz.

Visit http://dallas.wordcamp.org for more information on WordCamp Dallas. We hope to see you there!

Mark Taylor

TAYLORMARK  • Your Digital Life

TAYLORMARK’s Digital Life Upgrade service exists to maximize the hard drive capacity of your desktop or portable Mac. Replacing your hard drive is the most effective way to increase performance.

For $259 you can avail your Macbook/Macbook Pro to a whopping 500GB HD. iMac and MacPro owners can avail themselves to a 1TB upgrade @ $259 or a 1.5TB upgrade for $299.

TAYLORMARK’s Digital Life Upgrade service is a flat price that includes the hard drive, installation and data transfer. Turnaround time is typically next business day. Same day service is possible in some circumstances.

More content coming, check back soon.