31/10/2006

Support your website!!

Hi everyone,

As you may or may not be aware I have agreed to take over the resonsibility for maintaining and developing the SPS website, from Dave Leeming.

Going through the handover this evening, it was immediately apparent to me how under-utilised this resource actually is. A lot of effort has clearly gone into creating the site and as a combination of 'Weblog' (blog) and Photo library (Flickr) it serves a number of important purposes eg.

Promoting the existence of the Society online (a number of new members/visitors this year found out about us through the website primarily).

Providing online access to useful information (Syllabus, Competition rules etc)

A 'messageboard' for the posting of news, updates, interesting stories, articles etc

A forum for discussion, comments, expression of opinion etc

A gallery for the viewing/posting of members images

A revenue generating tool for the society (Adsense)

Much has been said about driving the club forward, and ensuring SPS is positioned to meet the needs of existing and future members, and I believe the web site is one of the key ways we can do this. In many respects the website is an extension of the club itself, and ultimately requires ongoing input from members in order to grow and develop.
With this in mind, I would like to request that you all take a fresh look at the current website and ask yourselves 'How can I contribute?' - Is there a photo in the gallery that you would like to comment on? Have you read an interesting article online that you would like to share with other members? If you are planning a trip out with your camera, maybe another member would be interested in joining you? If, because of time constraints, you were unable to get your message across on Thursday night, or even want to re-iterate what was said - please, use the site!!

If everyone could contribute something, just once a month, I am sure we would all see the benefits.

I'd like to say thanks to Dave L for the sterling job he's done with the site so far, and I will do my best to ensure the site continues to develop and hope it becomes an invaluable part of SPS.

Cheers,

Craig