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Nov. 22, 2005 There is a trend around the UK website lately. Sure some things have stayed the same. The flow of articles continues unabated, and if that were the only thing you looked at than you might not think anything was happening at all. But something is happening around here. Useless-Knowledge is at a crossroads in its virtual life. It has come time for changes to be made. There is talk going around about what needs to be changed and how. How much editing should there be? What should the new site look like? Should it be a membership web site? All of these are important questions to the future of UK. None of them have clear cut answers that jump out that everyone can agree on. There are a lot of people that view the site everyday and a lot of people that contribute to the site that make it worth viewing. Many of them come from radically different backgrounds with vastly different points of view resulting. I for one however think that we all contribute to Useless-Knowledge for at least vaguely similar reasons, or at least enough of us do that we should be able to come up with some semblance of agreement on certain of these issues. Why the changes though? Cant we just keep going on like we have been? From my perspective as just another contributor it might seem like the answer would be yes. The truth is that the only consensus that has been found so far is that the real answer is a resounding no. More traffic needs to come in. More revenue needs to be generated. Its going to take changes in the way the web site operates, looks, and the manner in which it generates the needed traffic. If you notice there has been a lot of talk about the loss of Google News as a source of traffic. It would be nice to pick up Google again as well as Yahoo and any number of other news sites. Part of the current debate is how to go about doing that. How do we make the site more attractive to news based search sites? I think we can all agree that there should always be room at UK for articles that really are useless as far as a news website is concerned. I don’t think anyone would choose to sacrifice any of Judy Ramsooks wonderful articles for rantings of a more cerebral type like mine. At the same time we need to make ourselves more relevant and attractive to search engines like Google if we are to get the needed traffic. This is in the interest of all the writers amongst us. I don’t know the best way to go about that. I am no web designer. I am no editor to be sure. But I do know what I can do. I can vote. I can post my opinions in writing and give others posting their opinions the feedback they need to refine them. I can give the people that are doing the real moving and shaking my support because I have an interest in keeping this place not just alive, but growing and vibrant. The last time I saw the count there were less than twenty contributors actively involved in the process of refining opinions on how to best improve the web site. Some of us have pledged assistance to the editor with web design. Others promising to assist with programs to retro upgrade the rest of the site once decisions are made. Others like me with no time or skills to contribute are pledging monetary support where we can and otherwise letting our opinions be known. I would urge all who contribute to the site, or enjoy the wide range of articles on the site to do the same. Don’t underestimate the value of your contribution, whether it be monetary or just speaking up about what you would like to see. Some say that many times issues are too big and one vote doesn’t really matter. I can tell you first hand that this is not one of those times. Go and vote in the polls and see how much of a difference your opinion can make. Whether you go and make your contribution or not, things are going to change around here. It has to happen. This is your opportunity to make sure that from your point of view, it’s a change for the better. Go to the groups web site and see what you think: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKwebsite The easiest thing you can do to help is to tell your friends about this site! ------------ About the author: William A. Hurt is not a writer by any means, just an occasional participant in the debates that interest him. The author is currently serving over seas with the active duty military and is an active member of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Help keep Church and State separate, www.ffrf.org Email: freethoughtadvocate@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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