How to create an online community that will survive

My genealogical community, Heycuz, has been around since 1998. That's way back when you had to use a telephone to get online. Today, there are between 900 and 1500 people on it right now. I mean this very second. You can check by the "Who's Online" widget on the front page. I've received lots of comments from administrators of other genealogical communities saying they "wish" they had the group participation that we have on Heycuz. In other words, Heycuz has not only survived but is has thrived!

A virtual community is expensive to launch, difficult to attract visitors (participants), and poorly planned execution will make even a promising start fizzle into thin air. I'm saddened that many worthwhile groups' and organizations' websites die out so quickly. I want to help you by telling you how we did it. Being deliberate in your planning and construction of your new community website will minimize the chances of your visitors becoming frustrated with a poorly working or confusing roll-out and leaving your site forever.

KISS your members, don't knock them over.

Bells and whistles are so tempting. There are so many great toys for web communities available: forums, blogs, galleries, private messaging, video chat rooms, and surveys to name a few. But, I'm telling you now KISS (keep it simple stupid) your members don't knock them over. The "throw everything up at once and hope something sticks" is a recipe for disaster.

How to Survive The Football Season

As if on queue, the weather has turned to fall, perfect weather for the first Sunday of the NFL.  It's an official holiday at my house. As I write this, my husband is doing a touchdown dance behind a wall of minuscule helmets each representing his team picks.
In my exuberance for the start of this wonderful season, I posted on Facebook the old cliché "Are You Ready for some F-O-O-T-B-A-L-L?" I was taken aback by some of the replies I got. Get this: some people don't like the game. Huh? Let me repeat that. Some people don't like football. It's hard to remember a time when football wasn't a part of my life. Sure, my parents never gave it a thought one way or another, so I wasn't raised in a pigskin atmosphere.
It wasn't until my freshman year of high school that I was exposed to the game. I was hooked from day one. There's something about the whole season! There's the smell of victory in the air! There's gathering with your friends and family, needling each other about their picks. Some are surprised that a geeky woman such as myself goes gaga over the game. They think of football as a man-thang.
Oh, there are plenty of women who love the sport as much as I do, but I'm talking to the women who dread the approach of the first kickoff.  First, let me explain why men love the game. To men, football is like a soap opera. It's filled with intrigue, drama, violence, cheap shots, and cutthroat strategy. It's the one-thing he can talk about with the guy he doesn't even like but has to work with. It's the only time when its OK to exhibit manly characteristics without offending everyone on the planet. It lets men be, well, men.
Here's an idea, instead of "tuning out" when he starts talking about football, listen. When he's droning on about the subject, is the word "football" preceded with the word "Fantasy?" If so, you can become his favorite cheerleader if you head on over to App Guides and get him the fantasy football app for his specific cell phone. Personally, fantasy football just looks like a bunch of numbers to me, but I can't ignore the studies that have shown that businesses that participate in fantasy football leagues have an increase in company morale and, therefore, output.
If you're into cooking, why not bowl your man over by packing a tailgate party for him and his friends as they head off for the game? Don't make anything, "girly." Make him proud to put it out for his pals. Tailgate foods are very similar to backyard barbecue menus except that they have to pass the asphalt test (they have to be portable and not easily ruined by excessive heat). You don't, after all, want to make your football loving' man ill. You don't have to go overboard. A single perfect-dish will make more of an impression than a host of second-string entrees and, hopefully, will leave his football buddies drooling with envy. Second, don't forget the drinks. Beer is essential, but also make sure you add plenty of water. You don't want him to get dehydrated. For some great ideas, go to The Food Network's tailgate section at Tailgate Party. Check out Rachel Ray's Super Nacho's, its one of my favorites.
If you're artistic you can help out your football fanatic by making him the envy of the cheese heads, or what ever team he's nuts about, by picking up some body paints. You can find "Face Painting Kits" at Target and Wal-Mart. If you've got a little time and want to order the perfect colors go over to the Halloween store.
Can't stand the thought of your guy painted up like that? Or if he's, thankfully not into that, you can incorporate his team-colors into your living room decor. Not sure what the colors are for your football fan's favorite team? Go to ColorWerks for a list of each team's color including primary colors and a full palette of complementary colors. Or, if you really want your guy to worship your toes, give him his own man-cave and paint the room in his team colors with Glidden's "Team Colors."  Home Depot has provided an online worksheet for planning your fan's man cave. It includes the measurements, team colors, and a checklist of items you'll need. You can get it at the store or download it here.
Still not swayed to come over to the "dark side?" There's still hope. Why not throw an Anti-Football Party? If you're football-lovin'-man ditches you every Sunday to watch the game with his pals, organize a gathering for their significant others that feel the same way you do? Plan a hookup with them to do something you love. Take some time to do something for yourself. Maybe you're a book-lover? Start a book club. Love movies? Go out and see the films you've been dying to see. Or, if the football fans are at your house, why not offer non-football activities at your home. Have a separate room for those who have no interest in the game. Have a "Sex In The City" movie marathon, or a book club meeting, or just gather to chat. At the same time, you can have your own anti-football pool. Have your guests guess which one of the football fans will get drunkest the fastest, or who gets the most upset during the game. The guys won't know why you're all laughing, they'll just be happy that all of you seem to be having as much fun as they are.

It's been one of those days.

Ever had one of those days where you just know you should've stayed in bed?

Unfortunately, I had one of those days all week. To add insult to injury, I had a hard time getting online today. So I spent my time playing around with my blog's design.

I'm still not quite happy with it. Something just doesn't look right. But it is a lot cleaner so I'm leaving it like this for now until I find the right look.

I used the Artisteer app again. I am really liking their software. Artisteer is a web developer's dream. It lets you create templates for a variety of web formats including WordPress, Drupal, Blogger, DotNetNuke and Joomla. You can customize everything and then export it and tweak it some more. I love to tweak. :) But, keeping with the theme of the week, I found out that Blogger.com had stopped accepting the Artisteer imports and had to be manually loaded onto the site. Then, it didn't like the menu so I had to delete that. Just another "anything that could go wrong will go wrong," I guess.

Anyway, it is now nearly 10 p.m. and I can finally update my blog. But now I'm too tired to write. Like I said, it's been a very long week. I started to write all the things that went wrong and it sounded all very depressing. It's best forgotten.

Note: You may have noticed that I didn't write anything about 911. I'm sure you're aware of that dreadful day as much as I am. I am sure you don't need another blogger bringing it up. I leave you to remember it in your own way as I have.

Genealogists You Should Have in Your Circle

Google+ is a great asset if you're interested in technology with a steady stream of posts day or night, but what if you're interested in genealogy? Not so much.
What is Google + (or Google Plus)? - Well, its everything! Its like a blog, its like Twitter, it's like Facebook, its like Google Buzz, its like a photo gallery, its like Instant Messaging, its like video messaging; Its all of those things rolled into one fantastic gathering place. It's a tool to use to connect to your "circle of friends" and share posts to those in specific "circles" about specific topics. You add your friends into circles and then choose what to share with that circle. Sound intriguing? If you need an invite, just let me know and I'll send you one.
Without much work at all, I've added some great people to my circles. I've named my circles: Business Contacts, Family, Following (bloggers who I follow), Humor (people who always make me laugh), Mensans, Friends and Genealogists. You can name your circles anything that you find most helpful.
Every morning, when I startup my browser & Let me rephrase that because In truth I never turn off my browser. So, every morning with I click on my open-all-at-once button that I've labeled "DAILY" in my browser bar, the first site to pop up is my Google+ Stream. That way, while I'm waiting for the coffee to brew, I can see what people are up to, read some news, and maybe get a laugh or two.
But yesterday morning, my stream was a little too long to read through it quickly, so I clicked on my circles one at a time until I clicked on my genealogy circle and hit a wall. There was just one post. It was by Marian Pierre-Louis, who writes two of my favorite blogs: Marian's Roots and The New England House Historian.

Finally! There really is an app for that!

Google has finally released an official Blogger app. I'm trying it out now. It's very clean and took two seps to set up. Try it out, http://t.co/5ckmbi3 .
Now nothing can stop us from blogging. (mwuah-ha-hah)

911: I've been TAGGED!

Transcript of a 911 call:

Where do Lactose-Intolerant Kids Go to School?

As I listened to Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. tell politicians who don't put workers back to work to go to hell, I thought to myself, well good for him. Its about time someone said what all of the out-of-work Americans were thinking. But, after listening to the commentators on CNN, I realized I may not have understood his message. Which got me to thinking about words. They are so easily misunderstood and misused. Dropping off my son, I saw the school's marquee proclaim that intolerance of any kind is grounds for expulsion. So where to lactose intolerant kids go to school?

My son told me that many deaf people think in images. I'd never heard that. I have often thought about how I thought. The sequence of thought; the way my brain works  compared to say "normal" thinkers. Would I be a completely different person if I thought in images? I think that I think in words.  Am I naive? Am I simplistic? Do I over-think things?