Birth Announcement: Our Brand New Blog!
Article posted on Friday, May 9, 2008 at 8:31 am by Eric the Web Nerd
I’m putting the finishing touches on the new Kalamazoo Jaycees site, so I figured I would write up a quick “what’s new”. Much has changed. Much has stayed the same. Hopefully, all the changes are for the better.
Behind the scenes
I dumped the old content management system, which has been running the site for just about a year. Powerful as hell, but it’s too complex for rookies. Even a web nerd like me gets lost in it sometimes. So I am switching to something much better. It rocks.
“The Split”
It’s time to be honest. The current Kazooan Online is really long week after week. Lots of good content, but people end up skimming it. It’s still an important tool for promoting an event, but all the “extra” stuff in there just makes it hard to get through. But the extra stuff is fun, so we can’t just get rid of it.
So let’s split the silly thing into two. The Kazooan Online gets a baby brother: the Kazooan Blog. It’s a work in progress, but here’s how we see this going down:
The Kazooan Online
With the new site, the Kazooan Online is all about EVENTS. It’s still the one-stop-shop for seeing what’s coming up with the Kalamazoo Jaycees. Nothing changes there.
The Blog
Here’s where things get fun. Everything non-event related goes here, and I mean everything. I want people to go nuts. Content ideas:
- Post-event write-ups - Tell us how it went!
- Thank you’s and chatterboxes
- Opinion pieces
- Non-Jaycees event promotion
- Fun Jaycees-related links
- Book reviews/recommendations
- New member profiles
- Weekly update of future projects for the week (like the e-mail I write currently)
Each blog post has the ability to leave comments, so articles can spawn discussions. Want to get a feeler for a possible project? Write a blog entry about it. Got an opinion on leadership? Write a blog entry about it. Anyone who has ideas – feel free to express ‘em.
As a reader, this blog is something you can check out every day – not just on Thursdays (or Fridays when Eric is feeling lazy).
In the short-term, nothing else changes. You can still send articles to myself or Mike Cross, we’ll make sure everything goes in its proper place.
Have some fun with this, we have members with a lot of knowledge to share on a variety of topics. If you are so inclined, feel free to do so!
If you’d like to contribute, just e-mail me at eschmidt@kalamazoojaycees.org, and I’ll get you what you need to know. No programming experience necessary.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I wanted to just take a moment to thank all the people helping coordinate the festivals this year. I get really excited about Greek Fest, Island Fest, and of course The Taste of Kalamazoo. Everyone’s efferts in these events makes them so much easier and more fun to be a part of.
A special thank to Dave Gordon, who is a tremendous man, and a great person to be working under in the organization of Greek Fest. Thanks Dave.
I hope to see more and more input from people in the Jaycees and community, especially since I am going to be pushing Island Fest hard. So, thanks again!
May 12th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Hello everyone!
I’m really siked about this new blog. I can see great things for it. Thanks Eric for keeping the innovations coming!
Thank you Matt for chairing Island Fest! You can definitely count on me for help if you need it!
I second the thank you to Dave Gordon. His work on the festivals has been outstanding!
For those who missed convention last weekend you missed one of the BEST conventions ever! Jon Kitna’s speech on leadership was a treat, the food was pretty good and fun was had by all! Hope everyone thinks about coming to the convention in August!
Congratulations to Stacy Burdette for her awards at convention! The Coloring Book project was well deserving.