After reading about the various neighbors in Southern Living Magazine "Top 10 Comeback Neighborhoods" I decided to check out all of the neighborhood websites that were provided:
North Chatanooga - http://www.northshorechattanooga.com/
Crescent Hill - http://www.crescenthill.us/
Wilmore/Southend - http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/wilmore/home/
Patterson Park - http://www.pattersonparkneighbors.org/
Fairmount - http://www.historicfairmount.com/
Greenville - http://www.greenvillesc.gov/
East Nashville - http://www.eastnashville.org/
Holy Cross - http://www.helpholycross.org/
Springfield - http://www.sparcouncil.org/
Of the ten listed.....
1 doesn't work (Wilmore/Southend)
1 is a government-run website (Greenville)
2 are run by area local merchants associations (North Chatanooga & East Nashville)
Patterson Park & Fairmount were the most impressive by far, in my opinion. Very well done.
Springfield's & Crescent Hill's are somewhat similar in thier limited functionality and helpfulness.
Holy Cross is more of a blog format only.
Here are a few things that are a must, in my opinion:
1. Visually appealing. Photos do wonders. Something decribed is one thing, something seen is another. The visual would also include a simple, clean site layout. Clearly marked links. If it looks good it will draw people in.
2. Easily navigatable. Again, clearly marked links. Drop down boxes. The most popular features are easy to find, such as a calander. Little clutter, if any.
3. Sections of interest. Seems like these topics are of universal interest: Calander of events, neighborhood history, history of the organization, how to contact the organization, what the organization currently does, mission of the organization, photo gallery, links to related media articles/video, links to helpful city-websites (ie COA's), different organizations with in the community, explantions of any unique guidelines in the neighborhood (ie, historic districts), by-laws, maps.
4. Interactivity. Regular newsletter or updates, important notices posted as needed. This is the limit the interactivity on most sites right now. The icing on the cake, per say, would include the ability to upload photos & video, neighborhood forums / message boards, blog.
5. Commerical friendly. The ability to have local businesses advertise on the website. Perhaps a list of local businesses. Available real estate for purchase or rent. This is also limited to the area merchant associations for the most part, but connect to the main neighbiorhood website would be ideal.
What do the IT guys think something like this would cost to start up & maintain? Any estimates? Just wondering.....
One thing I noticed just by glancing at the domain names... They all have the name of the neighborhood except Springfield. Sparcouncil.org is meaningless to someone outside the area.
RAP has a great neighborhood website: http://www.riversideavondale.org/
I agree. Theirs is very well done.
It doesn't include all the things I listed , but few, if any, probably do.
For people researching neighborhoods, photos are very important. It instantly lets them know if it is the type of neighborhood they are looking for.
I can't find a single photo of Springfield on SPAR's site.
oops....i missed this one.
Phelps Grove - http://www.phelpsneighborhood.org/index.htm
For what it's worth, HSCC used to own the domain name of HistoricSpringfield...something or another...can't quite remember. Originally everyone said they must keep it, but later someone decided to give it up in favor of SPARCouncil.org. Just a little opps perhaps....
Quote from: strider on December 17, 2009, 06:12:53 PM
For what it's worth, HSCC used to own the domain name of HistoricSpringfield...something or another...can't quite remember. Originally everyone said they must keep it, but later someone decided to give it up in favor of SPARCouncil.org. Just a little opps perhaps....
I believe the urls, both HistoricSpringfield, and Springfieldpreservation were accidentally not renewed. If memory serves me correct It happened between Liz Peak leaving, and Brenda starting. Derek, who was the web committee chair at the time had purchased SPARcouncil.org as a happenstance, so it was quickly put into place.
Sadly, SPAR, as an organization, has never had a strong grasp of the importance of its web presence. There have been individual board members who championed it, but one or two voices simply aren't enough to make it happen, there has to be a commitment. Generally speaking, the feeling I always got from other board members was that the web was more of a burden to be dealt with, than a tool to be used.
Quote from: Dan BSadly, SPAR, as an organization, has never had a strong grasp of the importance of its web presence. There have been individual board members who championed it, but one or two voices simply aren't enough to make it happen, there has to be a commitment. Generally speaking, the feeling I always got from other board members was that the web was more of a burden to be dealt with, than a tool to be used.
That's exactly the main problem...not embracing the usefulness and the ever-expanding world of the web. They still haven't embraced it, and until they finally realize just how important a communication tool it is, they'll be left in the dust...and we'll be left in the dark.
The 6th paragraph in the newest newsletter referenced making communication a priority now, and with the website under contrsuction, i'm hopeful. (ironic that one finds that out via newsletter, eh)
I don't feel it's good to compare them to RAP's, since they are in different situations. Of the "comeback nieghborhoods" that have a similar format, 5 I believe, SPAR's is tied for 5th imo.
Here are some other neighborhood websites in Jacksonville:
San Marco - http://www.smpsjax.com/
Murray Hill - http://www.murrayhillneighbors.com/
Neither are extraordinary and pretty basic.......but do incorporate some of the staples.
Quote from: fsu813 on December 18, 2009, 08:51:03 AM
and with the website under contrsuction, i'm hopeful.
are the webmasters texting in the code? how long does it take to build a website these days.. "under construction" is kind of a joke at this point as its been months. I can go buy a website builder online and have one up in a few hours. To me this is just another example of why SPAR is ridiculous.
That's so true....why is it taking months to bring the forum back online? I find it nothing more than spar's way at letting us know they did what they threatened to do...which was take it down. If they truly wanted it back up, it would be up...but it's clearly not a priority what so ever with them, even though there's a large portion of our community that utilized it...and of whom have moved on and away....so once again, spar loses out
Karl,
The website is and always has been up, FYI. By "under contruction" I didn't mean that it wasn't functioning, just that it will be changing. Perhaps you were looking at another site.....? Wierd.
Springfielder,
I doubt there will be a SPAR forum once the site it is updated. Perhaps i'm wrong, but I don't see why SPAR would want to maintain a forum. None of the other sites I linked do so. That was a luxury. It seems like SPAR is encouraging people to use www.myspringfield.com now, as it was previosuly linked on thier site. Personally, I think this is a win-win. SPAR gets to stop devoting time to a high-maintenance feature and in turn residents get an unaffliated forum that is inheritantly free of bias or conflict of interest.
Quote from: fsu813 on December 17, 2009, 02:34:48 PM
What do the IT guys think something like this would cost to start up & maintain? Any estimates? Just wondering.....
I'm more of a designer then an IT guy but I would say a well designed site will cost a couple thousand dollars and require a decent retainer to keep it updated.
The forum, while being a bit of a thorn in the side at times, has done amazing things to connect neighbors, and even bring in new residents.
That said, I hope that they do not reopen it. Between MetroJax and MySpringfield, the chasm has been filled. At this point it is what it is. A missed opportunity.
Expectations need to be that of thier successfull peers, no?
A forum is far above & beyond what others do.
So since their peers don't, they shouldn't? As it's been pointed out, it was a great resource to not only the neighborhood, but to new comers and potential new neighbors. However, as it was also stated, it's a missed opportunity....and although there may have been some issues that raised passionate responses, (especially for those moderating) it was still more valuable than a mere website.
What makes a great Neighborhood website?
1) The most important thing is content. That is what makes this site so great.
2) More great content.
3) An easy way to navigate all this great content.
TPC is about right on the price. You could try to roll your own site using opensource CMS and forums (this site uses SMF for the forum), but even then I think you will find that if you get any kind of traffic the maintenance and administration could get very time consuming. Also, take into consideration bandwidth and hosting cost.
Quote from: fsu813 on December 18, 2009, 11:51:10 AM
I doubt there will be a SPAR forum once the site it is updated. Perhaps i'm wrong, but I don't see why SPAR would want to maintain a forum. None of the other sites I linked do so. That was a luxury. It seems like SPAR is encouraging people to use www.myspringfield.com now, as it was previosuly linked on thier site.
Just another controversy. SPAR shuts down the forum without notice and advertises it as technical glitch (SQL code insert). Later it gets announced that it will be revamped. Then myspringfield comes into existence. SPAR main site links to it and nobody knows why or who initiated it. After some time the link is gone, again no explanation. This is the kind of stuff which gives SPAR a bad press.
only for those looking to assign bad press.
the word "entitlement" was used many a time in residents commenting on possible new businesses in the area.
I think the word is appropriate concerning the comment above though
Actually, AlexS's post illustrated a lack of honesty and integrity on the part of SPAR Council rather than a feeling of "entitlement" for a forum board.
Quote from: fsu813 on December 19, 2009, 08:38:20 PM
only for those looking to assign bad press.
the word "entitlement" was used many a time in residents commenting on possible new businesses in the area.
I think the word is appropriate concerning the comment above though
not sure how you got that spar not being able to keep their story straight about the website/forum has anything to do with entitlement - more of a simple case of yet again, spar unable to pick a story and stick with it.
i can see why neighborhood organizations generally have a policy of not responding to every criticism.....some people favor disproportionately blowing things up into a crisis, a controversy, and the worst thing ever.
i wonder how other neighborhoods in a similar stage deal with fragmentation?
Going back to the original topic, an excellent website can be a tool in stemming such erosion. By getting out in front of issues early on they can be framed and rid of speculation. Anyone in PR will say the same thing....better to be early than late. Thus the *communication* monster rears it's ugly head again. In active & vigilant communities timely and prompt communication is a must.
Movies are a great illustrator of how technological changes effect everyday life. Watch three movies about say police detectives solving a murder. One from 1985, one from 1995 and finally one from 2005. They will go from pay phones and occasional beepers to computers and occasional cell phones to cell phones and the occasional i-phone.
What does this have to do with this discussion? The need for a web presence is pretty new. The need for a forum board is even newer. It not only has changed how people get information, but how people look at the providers of that information. In 1985, a local organization could put out their paper newsletter once a month and say anything they wished to be believed and it would be. In 1995, some began to expect a few things on-line, but for the most part, that paper newsletter was still OK and believed. By 2005, you had better start having an active website and that information you put out in your printed newsletter had better match what your readers could find on their own with Google.
And unfortunately for the local organization, just like in modern police work, the printed word still has a place and is still required. So is face to face communication. Technology has not decreased much of that, but added to it.
So, while many of the other local community websites may not have a forum, a forum like this one is becoming a requirement if the local organization wants to truly be a leader within the modern community. The information on the website had better be up to date and true or someone will correct it and call out the local organization on it. With several forums offering the same information, if a local organization does not have their own to confirm they are "in the loop", they will continually lose credibility and eventually loose their place in the scheme of things.
As the person who manages RAP's website, I thank you for the props!
As to what it takes to put up a website like RAP's (which is, by no means, perfect--lots of room for improvement), RAP's board voted to spend about $2500, maybe 18 months back, to bring the (woeful) previous website out of the Dark Ages. The design was done for free by one of the board members (a graphic artist), but the guy actually writing the code was paid. The site utilizes Textpattern, a web-based management system that is fairly easy but also somewhat limited. The toughest part of putting this kind of website together is gathering the content--a really big job. Then the challenge is to keep it updated and fresh--something that requires either a single inspired person who's willing to post new stuff regularly, or (preferably) a committee who brainstorms interesting new ideas. That job doesn't need to be a paid one--at least it's not for RAP! MetroJAX, quite clearly, puts an enormous amount of effort into posting interesting content, for little or no payment, but it's their dedication to constantly feeding the beast that keeps us all coming back :).
The forum function that SPAR has is something a lot of RAPers have wanted to emulate because it's a terrific communication tool that also lets us take the pulse of the neighborhood. However, forums also require constant supervision so that the nasty posts are weeded out, so it's not something RAP has been willing to implement yet.
Going back for a moment to Alex's post about SPAR Council adding a link to MySpringfield.org and then taking it down. MySpringfield.org is independent of SPAR. If you click on the forum link on SPARCouncil.org and that link takes you to MySpringfield.org, then it appears MySpringfield.org is the SPAR Council Forum...which is isn't. I didn't ask them, but maybe someone at SPAR thought of that and figured they shouldn't link to another website, giving the appearance it was theirs.
Not that anyone asked for it, but here's my two cents on the SPAR Forum, our use of it, and my thoughts on "entitlement." I think a forum on a privately owned website is a privilege, not an inalienable right. If you wish to bash SPAR's brains out, SPAR isn't required to allow you to do so on their publicly-read website.
With all due respect, there's no denying that there's problems with spar and just because people discuss it, doesn't mean that they're bashing them. I know that some have been pretty harsh, but the facts do speak for themselves, in that there are problems and not everyone is happy with how things are handled.
So no, spar doesn't have to bring back the forum, in fact, IMO, they probably won't. They threatened many times to take it down and they have. People have since moved onto other forums and facebook. So as nice as it was to have, we're dealing with no longer having it.
Now now Stephen, stop making sense ;D