Future of Shepherd Today

Published on November 2016 | Categories: Documents | Downloads: 44 | Comments: 0 | Views: 174
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In this Hovernote, I talk about the future of the Shepherd Today community page on Facebook.

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Shepherd Today
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Help me grow Shepherd Today into an Online Community
Growth is hard. I was reminded of this fact of life this weekend when I attended the Daddy-Daughter dance on Friday and College Goal Sunday on CMU's campus. As we were on our way to the dance, someone reminded my daughter and I that this would be our last year attending because next year she will be in the Middle School as a sixth grader. Kayla took this in stride at first, but as the dance was wrapping it up she was disappointed because she wanted to dance some more. She was suddenly aware that when we left the dance that night we would be leaving for good. I told her that it was okay, and that I would always be interested in dancing with her. After we had returned home, she told me that she already felt like a sixth grader. Today I volunteered during College Goal Sunday in CMU's Park Library. During CSG, almost two dozen families sat down in front of a computer and completed a FAFSA application online. Just being on CMU's campus again made me reflect on my time I spent there as a student, but watching these high school juniors and seniors go through this process with their parents made me think about the day when my kids will be preparing to go to college. Although this was just one afternoon, the application process for financial aid is a big part of these student's transition to a new phase in life. This Spring, I am anticipating a lot of new growth for the Shepherd Today fan page. Not quite the same as watching your child mature into a sixth grader or move off to college, I know, but still there are bound to be challenges and setbacks.

My vision for Shepherd Today
When I started Shepherd Today, my plan was for it to be one of the richest, most reliable sources of information and news for the Village of Shepherd and surrounding communities. In order to accomplish this, I knew that the fan page needed to be better than the average page you'd find on Facebook. This meant developing consistent content which appealed to the wide audience.
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This is still my vision, although I'll admit that it has been tempered by a new sense of reality. For starters, I do have a day job, a family, that squeeze what time I have to devote to maintaining Shepherd Today. Second, the fan page hasn't developed into the online community that I hoped it would become. I'm going to try some new tactics which I hope will change that.

Opportunities for everyone to get involved
Starting in March, the Shepherd Today page on Facebook will be just one way in which you can view or report information and news related to the Village of Shepherd. In addition to the community page, I'm developing a blog, and a site on groupsite. There is also a Twitterfeed and other services in the works. I'm also rolling out the means for individuals and organizations to more easily share their information via Shepherd Today. If you have an announcement which you need to make to the Shepherd Today community, you only need to submit it by web or email, and it will be published on Shepherd Today. You are also welcomed to join the half dozen residents from around Shepherd who have been regularly supporting my efforts. If you have an announcement, but you're not sure how to express it, there is now an online form available which will guide you through the process of assembling all of the relevant information. After you submit your request, it will be processed and turned into an article on Shepherd Today. Of course, you can always release your information directly by posting a comment on the community page wall or emailing me. All of Shepherd Today's streams of information or news have been consolidated into a page on Groupsite. You can always go to http://shepherdtoday.groupsite.com to skim the latest blog posts, read highlighted news stories from around Mid-Michigan, start a discussion, or respond to anything that is on that page. My intention is for this page to be more like a central hub or starting point for anybody who wants to find out what's going on in Shepherd. I've also started a calendar on Google which will display information about upcoming events in and around the Village of Shepherd. This calendar can be viewed, added to, or shared with others. In order to develop Shepherd Today into the community that I wanted it to be, I am opening it up to as many channels of community input as possible. I am, in a sense, turning control to its fans or readers. The more people interact through the community page and the other tools that I've set up, the less involved my team and I will need to be. _____________________________________________ Contact: [email protected] Powered by Hover

Shepherd Today 2.0
My next goal for Shepherd Today is to make its content available for consumption in different formats and media. This includes a newsletter which would summarize the news and discussions which were shared during a given month, a podcast, and a larger publication containing a year or six-month retrospective. Call it "Shepherd Today 2.0." But, now that I am putting Shepherd Today in the hands of its readers, I want to hear what everyone who has been using the community page think about my plans for the future. Much like other things in life, I will need your help if Shepherd Today is to achieve to its full potential.

_____________________________________________ Contact: [email protected] Powered by Hover

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