What would you like to see on the front page of Willow Glen 2.0?

[Ryan]

Right now, we've got blogs from users, forums, news from an outside source. What kinds of things do you think would be useful to show on the front page of WG2.0? Real Estate information? More news sources? More events? Advertising for local businesses? I'm looking for all of your ideas to help us build the next version of this site. Thanks for your feedback!

[Kyczy Hawk]

Ryan,
I have been thinking about your question. I like the latest activity - but I think the events and news are the first things I really want to read. So the order of information is the question. I am not really in favor of ads for businesses as the events kind of cover that in terms of what is special and to tell you the truth - I am more interested in the people behind the businesses and their struggles and decision making processes, than I am in the business hours or locations or even the existence of the business itself. I have made connections in person with several of the business owners - we talk about the business side of things as well as other personal stuff which fleshes out the communication and gives substance to the connection.
So events, news, recent activity and blogs are all good. We do have a very good site - I have looked at and joined other nings and am really proud of ours and the level of activity on it.
Thank you for doing all of this.
Kyczy

[Bubba's Parents - Lisa & Erik]

Councilmember Oliverio’s Spring/Summer Newsletter has some interesting info. Like the layout.
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/district6/documents/Spring-SummerNewslette...

Perhaps a few other links directly related to Willow Glen. Stumbled upon a few below for example.
http://outside.in/Willow_Glen_San_Jose_CA/tags/sj%20district%206
http://willowglenextra.com/2008/03/neighborhood-clean-up-wg-iv/

[Holly Barr]

Looks good. I like the calendar of events!
You are doing a great job. Can people edit it to suit their own needs for their own home page when they come to the site??
I do like that it sends daily updates on what happened.
Great!
Thanks Ryan

[Ryan]

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It appears that News and Events are the top two requests. I currently bring in the news feed from Outside.in at the bottom of the page as suggested by Bubba's Human Parents (BHP--you should tell us who you are so we can get to know you!).

Regarding more events: Events can be added by anyone who belongs to WG2.0, so if you hear of something, add it! It'll show up on the front page. The more people we have adding events, the more complete our community calendar will be. That's the beauty of a community site--anyone can add anything. There's no moderator, no approvers, and no editor. So go ahead and add whatever you hear about.

Regarding specific links on the front page: Blogs are the perfect way to share things you find online with your neighbors. When you find a link you like, like the ones mentioned by BHP, you can create a blog post to tell your neighbors about it. Include the link and add your 2 cents to the conversation about it. Then your neighbors can comment on whatever you post on your blog.

It would also be great if Councilman Oliverio's office posted their newsletter on here for everyone. We've got a lot of people as members (365) and even more who come and visit each day who aren't members. So if you ever see something you think your neighbors would like to read, blog it! There's no limit to what you can post, and unlike email lists, it doesn't spam everyone every time you share something, so blog away.

Regarding personalizing the front page: I'd love to do this. Unfortunately, with Ning, we don't have this ability. What I'd specifically like to see is the updates from those people I've added as "Friends" coming up first.

Here's a little secret: We're working on a new site that we hope to be able to launch soon, as in maybe a month or so. It will take into account a lot of what you've all said. Please keep the feedback coming!

[Audrey]

Ryan,

Could you please out the discussion aboyut saving Station Six on the front page for the short term? We need as many people as possible to see it before this Tuesdat, August 5.
Thanks,
Audrey