As many of you have noticed, our group is growing - at every meeting there are new faces and new projects. Growth is good! With each new person we add excitement, experience and wonder to our little corner of the Maker community. Of course with growth in numbers, we also need to grow our support for those numbers which is why we have decided to invest in some upgrades to our online presence. While our original site was great and absolutely helped grow our community, it, like all websites, needs to grow and adapt to changing technologies and demands.
Our upgrade will be a phased approach with the following goals:
Phase 1 - Engine and theme upgrade - Completed
- Mobile friendly - make the site viewable on moble devices such as phones and tablets.
- Easier to use - Use up to date technology to improve the administrative and user experience.
- Improve Security - Upgrade the engine underneath to improve security and performance.
Phase 2 - Add functionality - In Progress
- Social Media Integration - We want to bring our social media content under one roof to make seeing our various community activities easier for those not on those sites.
- Project Management - We have had some express and interest in using a project management system for "group within the group" projects such as the High Altitude Balloon Project.
- Member Resources - As we continue to expand our workshops and trainings, we will add accompanying content to the site for participants to have access to as needed. We also want to have a shared repository of reference material generated by our members for the benifit of the group.
Phase 3 - On Demand Community - Future State
This phase of the project will evolve as our community evolves. Maybe our growth will demand new tools for collaboration and communication or maybe we expand to host streaming meetings. We don't know. However, we are laying the groundwork for our site and online communities to grow as we do.
We need your Help!
We need bloggers, technical writers and moderators for Phase 2.
- Bloggers - Do you have an archive of highly useful articles and papers that our members would find helpful? We invite you to share them with us. In return for your hard work, You will have linkbacks to your blog.
- Technical Writers - If you have a knack for turning tech speak into everyday speak, we would love for you to use your skills to help others learn about and love what it is we do.
- Moderators - If you are skilled at keeping the peace and diplomacy, then maybe you would enjoy helping the two groups above stay in compliance with our policies and / or defend us from spammers and trolls.
Lastly, Thank You!
Thank you all for helping us to grow the group by getting the word out. It is due to your efforts that we have a need for these changes.