Looking at Civic Associations

I just spent some time looking at civic association sites from around Pennsylvania. Some are very impressive and professional (Society Hill, New Britain). Others are just pages on larger community websites, (Bryn Mawr). Some are pretty basic (Wyndmoor). Others need some assistance sizing photos (Buckingham Township). I feel a bit overwhelmed at this point. I need to remember the association is regrouping after many years so this site (if approved as a topic) is just a starting point. Still, I feel like I need to do much more thinking and planning.

Planning, Planning, Planning

Hooray!!! I finished the Website Evaluation Report last night, but I am too nervous to submit. I never really trust the electronic delivery. I think I will do some blogging and posting and then send away.

I have been playing with ColorBlender (please see my previous post for more details) and have created a color combination featuring greens with light purples that looks nice, almost soothing. I wrote down the combination numbers, but think I will play some more. I am not sure purple would be appropriate. I would like to incorporate brown so I end up with dark greens, browns, and whites, somewhat playing on the idea of trees and sidewalks.

Here is a bit of information about my neighborhood that I found on our town's civic association website.

I am also making notes to organize thoughts about possible pages:

1. Homepage: Greater Gladstone Civic Association or Gladstone Manor
2. News (meetings; minutes)
3. Events (recent; upcoming)
4. History (history of the neighborhood; items of interest from the past)
5. Out and About (photoss; meet your neighbors)
6. Links (Lansdowne Borough resources; fun things to do in the neighborhood)
7. About (purpose of site; blurb about site creator)

This will be fun, but a lot of work. I never realized how much planning was involved. I suppose the more planning, the smoother the final site will come together and work.

More thoughts on the Greater Gladstone Civic Association

The more I mull it over, the more I think a website on the Greater Gladstone Civic Association might work:

• There is an interesting history to the neighborhood: the original homes, built in the 1920s, on the grounds of an old estate, were designed to look like an English country village.


• The association holds monthly meetings and sponsors three annual events in the summer, the fall, and December.


• There is a push to place the neighborhood on the National Historic Register.


• There are also a number of controversial issues buzzing about, including the borough's plan to completely reorganize street parking.

I definitely think I could incorporate those items (and others...now to think about what they could be) into several pages. The association has a historian who I could work with obtaining information on the history as well as photos.

There is a unique mix of residents in the community, but most seem are older (retired) or in their thirties or forties. The older group (very active) in the civic association has been apprehensive about electronic communications. (The current president suggested ceasing publication of the monthly print newsletter to move to email newsletters only. So far this has not happened.) I would want the site to be very user-friendly, easy to navigate and read, so that all members would feel comfortable using it.

Final Website Topics

I began this course with an idea for my final website topic, but after last week's class, realize it would not be appropriate. I have two young daughters and am regularly asked by six grandparents (all first-time grandparents), two aunts, and an uncle (all living a distance) for photos to be emailed. I thought I could do a site featuring family photos and events, plus notes on our town and some of our favorite things to do. (It might help me organize the photos stored on my computer as well.) However, given the subject has little interest to those outside of the Victoria and Charlotte family circle, I realized during last week's class I will have to think of another topic. (That said, I will insert a shameless plug and photo of the girls taken earlier this year.)

When Professor Corse showed us examples of websites from previous quarters one stood out. Someone did a site for a small library in Delaware County, which had previously not had one. I am active in my local civic association and many members have expressed an interest in a website. I need to think on this. The difficulty would be coming up with ideas for each page. Hmmm. More on that later.