They are Sarah, I just don't always get time to put them on and I also don't put every blog on when few other people are blogging as I don't want to look like it's just me posting. So in answer to your question: Why aren't your blogs on this site Sarah?! All a blog has to be is a photo and a few words, so it would be very easy to put some things on here as well as/instead of Facebook!
The honest answer is that I find posting a 'blog' (I wouldn't call mine that, there's just notes) awkward and time-consuming on here and photos are a complete nightmare. It's just so easy on FB, I'm notified of any replies and it's easy and instantaneous to have a chat with others about any points raised.
I appreciate it's not as straigtht forward as Facebook, nothing ever will be. It's the biggest and most sophisticated website on the planet. I agree that the blogging function (particularly imbedding photos) isn't as easy as it could be but posting photos in the archive is straight forward. However, we all know the plus points for having our own website and I believe that a small amount of difficulty at first is worth the effort in the long run. The more we use these things, the more we can fine tune them. If people aren't using them and providing me feed back, I can't pass that on.
To quote JFK: "We chose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things, not because they are easy, because they are hard".
I disagree that your posts could not be considered blogs! If not a blog then, a photo to keep the home page fresh. Please also remember that this website doesn't cost us anything and that it is run, in the administrators case, by volunteers!
From Sarah - "For example, I've only just seen your reply today!"
Fair point, and my reply would be "why did you leave it so long to check if anyone had replied to your comment?"
If you click on the Forums page you'll see a set of boxes across the top, click "New and updated topics" and it will show you the most recent activity. Just a little shortcut that will come in handy when the forum gets a bit busier than it currently is.
It may be possible to set up an automated email response system to notify members whenever a new reply is left on a thread they are actively using. I turned this option off for Facebook as my email Inbox was full of "you have a notification from blah blah" or "so and so commented on your post" etc etc but it could work well for this (less busy) site.
On a slightly different subject regarding automated emails, I'm a member of UKButterflies. They have very lively forums encompassing many topics which are archived and accessible. They also have Personal Messaging, whereby you can contact another member privately, away from the forums. Every time you have an Inbox message from a UKButterfly member you receive an email. This works well for me as I don't often visit their site nowadays but never miss a message.
Alternatively maybe there could be some sort of a 'new notification' symbol that lights up/turns red/flashes on your own account page whenever a new comment appears on a thread that you have started/already commented on. That seems as though it should be workable.
BTW, as your brand new admin here, I did kinda leave a Facebook message asking folks to contact me directly if they had thoughts, ideas, issues or gripes.... ;)
Simple answer - because I don't look at ANY websites on a daily basis! Like many peope I have FB open whenever I have the Mac on but I don't have any websites open. I didn't raise it again as it has all been said before.
I think that maybe the crux of the matter is that there are a few people for whom listing is a driving force in their life and a subset of those people will blog regularly. Another subset post absolutely nothing, either here or on Facebook. For most PSLers it's a spare-time hobby and a small number of those sometimes choose to write about what they've done.
Hopefully you are getting some useful responses but it might produce a helpful insight if you directly ask people why they don't post blogs/photos/whatever it is you want them to do.
Well I think it's more "what do the members want to see on this site that will make it more attractive for them" rather than "why aren't the members doing what the admins want them to do"
OK, so can everybody who is reading this, other than Sarah obviously, please leave as long or as brief a comment as you feel is necessary and let the admins know why you aren't using this forum, adding blogs to the blog page, why the calendar is being largely ignored, what you think about the ease or difficulty of using this site. Let us know how to improve it for you. Just say something (even if it's goodbye, lol)
And Sarah, please do keep on at us until you think the site has shown some sort of meaningful improvement. Naturally it IS listing orientated (the name kinda gives it away...) I don't think anybody who is anti the idea of keeping a species list would make it past the home page, so by default those who have signed up as a member must be interested in listing to some degree? It doesn't have to be "a driving force in their life", and apart from maybe half a dozen folks on here, I seriously doubt it is. Which leaves rather a large percentage of the membership being...what? Keen, interested, not really too fussed? I have no idea. It's not a prerequisite of a member's profile page that they explain their thoughts regards listing. Should it be?
Members! What makes you tick?
Please - if you're reading this, leave a comment. We need to know how to transform this site into the beast of a natural history resource we all hope it will become.
I did try to blog initially, but found it too time consuming in what has to be fair been a very busy year personally. It has been a while since I posted a blog entry, and if I did now it might take me some time to post a photo as the process seemed counter intuitive, to my mind at least. I visit the site intermittently, partly due to lack of time, partly because I'm not in the habit maybe, partly because I'm a bit burned out in terms of PSL at the moment and partly because the low usage means there is not a lot new to see. And yes, I realise that is self perpetuating. There are only a handful of sites I visit on a daily basis, and fb is always open on my Mac in the background, even if I'm not actively using it. The notification option is very useful I find, and allows me to quickly check for updates on threads of interest, although I agree that you do have to sift through all the dross - much of it of my own making! I guess in time-poor situations, posting photos and blurb on my own fb timeline, reposting or sharing with the PSL fb timeline and then going onto PSL to post there too, risks turning a pleasurable hobby into a chore.
So not overly constructive I realise. I shall think about how to use the site in a more efficient way and what features I use or don't. I do appreciate the amount of work involved in running or administrating any website though so props for that alone :)
Good stuff Seth, I think this is the right approach but we should move this discussion to a new forum post as it's grown beyond the blogging title. I'll start a new post called 'website development' and clarify a few things too.
I'm only suggesting that there seems to be a gap between what people want to see on the website and what people are prepared to contribute on a regular basis. It's not an unusual situation I'm sure.
One of the reasons that I haven't posted any blog entries so far is the feeling of repetition, as I already keep a personal wildlife blog, add photos to Facebook, tweet about interesting sightings and mention some things on the local section of BirdForum. Whilst many pan species listers wouldn't see any of that, I am aware that some would potentially be reading about my trips or seeing the same photos three or four times, which after a while may drive them mad. I'm not sure that there is an answer to that, but I figure if that is something I'm considering, then it may be something others think too.
It is the same with updating my lists - If I have been to my patch and seen some new things I will have made lists in the field, then come home and updated my listing software, but then have separate spreadsheets for patch, Norwich area and life lists to add to, then iRecord or possible a spreadsheet for a county recorder, so by the time I get to thinking of updating my lists here as well I quite often choose to go and have a drink instead!
This certainly isn't meant as criticism of the website, merely feedback of my personal situation. For me the most productive part of the pan-listing website (and Facebook page) has been seeing what species people have been finding at particular times of the year and in particular habitats/plant associations so that I can go and check locally for the same. Seeing pictures of unusual species from around the country has also helped to add destinations to my "I should definitely take a holiday to that part of the UK" list, so keep up the good work everyone.
Anyone?
They are Sarah, I just don't always get time to put them on and I also don't put every blog on when few other people are blogging as I don't want to look like it's just me posting. So in answer to your question: Why aren't your blogs on this site Sarah?! All a blog has to be is a photo and a few words, so it would be very easy to put some things on here as well as/instead of Facebook!
The honest answer is that I find posting a 'blog' (I wouldn't call mine that, there's just notes) awkward and time-consuming on here and photos are a complete nightmare. It's just so easy on FB, I'm notified of any replies and it's easy and instantaneous to have a chat with others about any points raised.
For example, I've only just seen your reply today!
I appreciate it's not as straigtht forward as Facebook, nothing ever will be. It's the biggest and most sophisticated website on the planet. I agree that the blogging function (particularly imbedding photos) isn't as easy as it could be but posting photos in the archive is straight forward. However, we all know the plus points for having our own website and I believe that a small amount of difficulty at first is worth the effort in the long run. The more we use these things, the more we can fine tune them. If people aren't using them and providing me feed back, I can't pass that on.
To quote JFK: "We chose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things, not because they are easy, because they are hard".
I disagree that your posts could not be considered blogs! If not a blog then, a photo to keep the home page fresh. Please also remember that this website doesn't cost us anything and that it is run, in the administrators case, by volunteers!
From Sarah - "For example, I've only just seen your reply today!"
Fair point, and my reply would be "why did you leave it so long to check if anyone had replied to your comment?"
If you click on the Forums page you'll see a set of boxes across the top, click "New and updated topics" and it will show you the most recent activity. Just a little shortcut that will come in handy when the forum gets a bit busier than it currently is.
It may be possible to set up an automated email response system to notify members whenever a new reply is left on a thread they are actively using. I turned this option off for Facebook as my email Inbox was full of "you have a notification from blah blah" or "so and so commented on your post" etc etc but it could work well for this (less busy) site.
On a slightly different subject regarding automated emails, I'm a member of UKButterflies. They have very lively forums encompassing many topics which are archived and accessible. They also have Personal Messaging, whereby you can contact another member privately, away from the forums. Every time you have an Inbox message from a UKButterfly member you receive an email. This works well for me as I don't often visit their site nowadays but never miss a message.
Alternatively maybe there could be some sort of a 'new notification' symbol that lights up/turns red/flashes on your own account page whenever a new comment appears on a thread that you have started/already commented on. That seems as though it should be workable.
BTW, as your brand new admin here, I did kinda leave a Facebook message asking folks to contact me directly if they had thoughts, ideas, issues or gripes.... ;)
Simple answer - because I don't look at ANY websites on a daily basis! Like many peope I have FB open whenever I have the Mac on but I don't have any websites open. I didn't raise it again as it has all been said before.
I think that maybe the crux of the matter is that there are a few people for whom listing is a driving force in their life and a subset of those people will blog regularly. Another subset post absolutely nothing, either here or on Facebook. For most PSLers it's a spare-time hobby and a small number of those sometimes choose to write about what they've done.
Hopefully you are getting some useful responses but it might produce a helpful insight if you directly ask people why they don't post blogs/photos/whatever it is you want them to do.
Well I think it's more "what do the members want to see on this site that will make it more attractive for them" rather than "why aren't the members doing what the admins want them to do"
OK, so can everybody who is reading this, other than Sarah obviously, please leave as long or as brief a comment as you feel is necessary and let the admins know why you aren't using this forum, adding blogs to the blog page, why the calendar is being largely ignored, what you think about the ease or difficulty of using this site. Let us know how to improve it for you. Just say something (even if it's goodbye, lol)
And Sarah, please do keep on at us until you think the site has shown some sort of meaningful improvement. Naturally it IS listing orientated (the name kinda gives it away...) I don't think anybody who is anti the idea of keeping a species list would make it past the home page, so by default those who have signed up as a member must be interested in listing to some degree? It doesn't have to be "a driving force in their life", and apart from maybe half a dozen folks on here, I seriously doubt it is. Which leaves rather a large percentage of the membership being...what? Keen, interested, not really too fussed? I have no idea. It's not a prerequisite of a member's profile page that they explain their thoughts regards listing. Should it be?
Members! What makes you tick?
Please - if you're reading this, leave a comment. We need to know how to transform this site into the beast of a natural history resource we all hope it will become.
I did try to blog initially, but found it too time consuming in what has to be fair been a very busy year personally. It has been a while since I posted a blog entry, and if I did now it might take me some time to post a photo as the process seemed counter intuitive, to my mind at least. I visit the site intermittently, partly due to lack of time, partly because I'm not in the habit maybe, partly because I'm a bit burned out in terms of PSL at the moment and partly because the low usage means there is not a lot new to see. And yes, I realise that is self perpetuating. There are only a handful of sites I visit on a daily basis, and fb is always open on my Mac in the background, even if I'm not actively using it. The notification option is very useful I find, and allows me to quickly check for updates on threads of interest, although I agree that you do have to sift through all the dross - much of it of my own making! I guess in time-poor situations, posting photos and blurb on my own fb timeline, reposting or sharing with the PSL fb timeline and then going onto PSL to post there too, risks turning a pleasurable hobby into a chore.
So not overly constructive I realise. I shall think about how to use the site in a more efficient way and what features I use or don't. I do appreciate the amount of work involved in running or administrating any website though so props for that alone :)
Good stuff Seth, I think this is the right approach but we should move this discussion to a new forum post as it's grown beyond the blogging title. I'll start a new post called 'website development' and clarify a few things too.
I'm only suggesting that there seems to be a gap between what people want to see on the website and what people are prepared to contribute on a regular basis. It's not an unusual situation I'm sure.
One of the reasons that I haven't posted any blog entries so far is the feeling of repetition, as I already keep a personal wildlife blog, add photos to Facebook, tweet about interesting sightings and mention some things on the local section of BirdForum. Whilst many pan species listers wouldn't see any of that, I am aware that some would potentially be reading about my trips or seeing the same photos three or four times, which after a while may drive them mad. I'm not sure that there is an answer to that, but I figure if that is something I'm considering, then it may be something others think too.
It is the same with updating my lists - If I have been to my patch and seen some new things I will have made lists in the field, then come home and updated my listing software, but then have separate spreadsheets for patch, Norwich area and life lists to add to, then iRecord or possible a spreadsheet for a county recorder, so by the time I get to thinking of updating my lists here as well I quite often choose to go and have a drink instead!
This certainly isn't meant as criticism of the website, merely feedback of my personal situation. For me the most productive part of the pan-listing website (and Facebook page) has been seeing what species people have been finding at particular times of the year and in particular habitats/plant associations so that I can go and check locally for the same. Seeing pictures of unusual species from around the country has also helped to add destinations to my "I should definitely take a holiday to that part of the UK" list, so keep up the good work everyone.
Nice one James, I'd love to see you linking your posts into the blog (like I do). I wouldn't worry about people reading it twice!