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Coming back from Boulder! What happened while I was away?
Hi, everybody!
Good news! I have the final date of my summer program, and that means that I know when I'll be able to get in my car and drive back to Boston from Boulder, Colorado, where I spent the summer. I'm out here with my good friend and fellow blogger Susan Mernit at TechStars, where we are doing a new startup called People's Software Company. TechStars selects 10 teams out of 400 to fund and mentor. Our new toy is called WhozAround -- basically, we're adding"local" to Facebook, your phone, your inbox, LinkedIn. If any of you are FB users or iPhone junkies and you want to play, let me know. We've got cool schwag, too.
I miss Watertown. I miss, miss, miss Mr. H2otown, MiniH2otown, MicroH2otown and H2oDog. I miss my own bed and Andrea's House of Pizza and the #72 bus. I'm homesick. (There's MicroH2otown standing in front of Mt. Audubon, when they came out here for a brief visit. Not so micro anymore, no?)
Oh, my god, I miss TOWN COUNCIL MEETINGS!!!!!
Now, over the three years I've been doing H2otown, summers have been the slowest months (which is as it should be and a charming feature of our fair city). Town Council doesn't meet, school is out, people take vacations.
But I have the feeling that lots happened over the summer. What?! Rachel Kaprielian is the head of the DMV?
Assume I've been locked in a room for the past 90 days (you'd mostly be right). What happened?
Okay, this is the part where you're so glad you're kid is home safe after being missing for three months that it's hard to be really mad with her.But, couldn't you just have told us you were in Colorado?At any rate, welcome back!
I expect I speak for many when I say I'm thrilled to have H2otown back online! Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down --Robert Frost, "Mending Wall"
I've really missed the site!
That you go away for a year and nothing sprouts up in your place! Goes to show how irreplacable this site is. Welcome back! Next time you go away you may want to leave someone around to feed the cats.
Ohhhhhhh, you meant feeding the cats, not feeding on cats...Just kidding. Seemed like a big burden, but honestly, I just ran out of runway at the end -- outta time, outta neurons...outta here! So, seriously, Steve, what the heck is going on? I didn't even have time to read the paper online, I've been working like eight million hours a day.
She lives, she lives... it is sooooo nice to see that you are back and that H2otown moving forward. I for one have missed all that you do for us in Watertown through this world wide web. Two quick questions before I lay me down to sleep... Those of us who were regular users before you took your sabbatical in Colorado for (what seems like for ever), Do we have to re-register? ... and are we going have a belated Birthday Party or a party for the new & improved H2otown? Whoa I can't go to bed yet, I've got to notify my peeps that H2otown is alive. Welcome back! khn (aka WaterTownCrier)
Hi, Karl! Nope, you don't have to re-register. If you can't remember your password, there's a "lost password" link right under the place where you login in the right hand sidebar. I agree, those of us who are inclined should all get together when I get back. I'll buy the cake!
Ok, I just answered my first question, now back to alerting my peeps!
Thanks, man! And thanks everybody. I tell you, I cannot wait to be back. Also, hey, what is up with those long URLs? That's something I'll have to look into. The site has all new software, BTW. Should be a lot faster & more stable and there are some fun new things to play with.
Welcome back! What a nice surprise to find the site back up & running. Watertown just isn't the same without you!
Hmmm. People said the site was up for sale. Is that true? And it was way more than three months, just to clarify. And wasn't there money in a grant given to run the site? How's that accounted for?These are the questions that arise when a site is abandoned (with no explanation, that is).
H2otown wasn't on the block. The H2otown.com domain name, which I never owned -- the site's URL is h2otown.info -- is owned by a domain squatter who put up a page saying that they'd accept an offer of $75k just to buy that domain name. (Pretty silly if you ask me).
H2otown is and always was an effort I did on my own with my own time and money. My out of pocket for H2otown is about $40/month, and the Google ads that run on the site pay the hosting bills and my cappucino tab. I don't get paid for the time I spend adding content to the site, running the site, or migrating the site from one software platform to another. I do it because I enjoy doing it and I believe in contributing to the community, so I don't resent the large amount of unpaid time I've spent on it -- but it's not a business and it doesn't pay the bills at Casa H2otown.
Another project I have been working on, Placeblogger, is supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The project is nearing completion, and has been a big success as evaluated by the original terms of the grant.
In retrospect, I wonder if I should have just left the site up during the time Icouldn't do the kind of active contribution to it I did for its first three years. It felt like that might be an imposition on the rest of the community. Running H2otown takes time and I didn't want to presume on everybody else's time, or frustrate people when I couldn't take tech support emails or help people with their content. Would you have preferred the site to be up but not as active, or would that have been more frustrating? I didn't want to raise expectations that I couldn't fulfill while I was taking on some projects that I was excited about but required a big commitment from me .
These kinds of local community sites are still pretty new, so it would be useful to get everyone's perspective -- maybe we can contribute something to newspapers and independent sites that face the same issues if we can come up with some better approach to how to make such sites sustainable over time.
Thanks, Lisa, for the thorough response.My feeling in this case - and in most cases from business management to politics - is that sharing information is better than not sharing. A simple "I'm away for training for months and will return in August" or "the site is down while I'm away for x period of time but will return upon my return" is much better than no comment since that leaves readers wondering if we should start another site or move on to another site.It is my experience that lack of information leads people to think the worst ("the company is going bankrupt!" "I'm being laid off" "Bush knew all along"). Sometimes the worst is true but sometimes not and the consequences can be very negative in either case. On the contrary, straight information tends to lead people into problem-solving rather than worrying or spreading nasty rumors.I am glad you are back. Can you tell I missed you and H20Town? :) Peg P.S. How does one create separate paragraphs rather than one big one?
You mean like the rumors you posted above?
There's a fine welcome back.
Welcome back! Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back! (That's supposed to be sung aloud, like the "Welcome Back Kotter" theme)
Hi, Krissy! :)
We got so used to having the site available, it was a shock when it came down without a reason given. It's your time, your effort, your costs and therefore your decision about when the site is available. However, there are many of us who could have helped keep it going and I for one found it sad that it went away for so long. It's great that the site is up! Welcome back Lisa!
That's good feedback. I worried that people would be frustrated or it would be too much work for people, but next time I would definitely poll the community and ask how they wanted to proceed.
Lisa... Welcome Home. So you have to make a living? That's a piss poor excuse but understandable now. I sure would not have minded participating in a beta test for your new software - you know - just one of the concepts your new software engages - kind of like a mega mail blast letting us know you were alive and well.I think I speak for many who expressed many emotions ranging from wondering to just plain worrying. DONT DO THAT AGAIN or I'll have to use CAPS!I know you have lots to catch up on and I sure am happy to have you back. The new look and feel of the site will keep us busy for a while - just enough time for you to jump back into the water or as we know it - H20Town!Pam
I was checking the site every few days like a puppy waiting for Timmy to return from Summer camp.
Lisa -- The people of Cambridge (at least the handful of us who check in from time to time) are VERY happy to see you back. -- Robert Winters
I am happy to see the site back, and I am wondering if Manny took my toolbag when he departed (don't let the door hit cha in the arse on the way out, Manny).I have to echo Peg's sentiments - enough of us were interested and vested in the site to lend a hand while you were otherwise occupied. After a few weeks of the Squack-Box or whatever it was called chat site, I abandoned ship - not enough content to keep me checking back. I am sure a lot of us felt the same, and I am glad of Chris Helms article about your triumphant return in the tree-killing TAB newspaper! If the situation arises again where you feel you need to step back, don't hesitate to put the word out you can use a hand. I am sure this online community would be able to help keep the hearth fires burning while you're away. I'm gonna go look for my toolbag.
Yo, Lisa, welcome back. Now, tell me who I should support for State Rep. And why the bizarre "sticker campaign"? Who makes this stuff up? We seek your guidance.....
Please come to the Watertown Democratic Town Committee's Candidates Forum, this Monday, Sept 8th from 7-9PM at the Brigham House on Mt. Auburn St, next to the Hosmer School.
If you want the short version of why there is a sticker campaign, it's because Rep. Kaprielian withdrew her name from the ballot after the deadline to submit signatures for ballot access had passed. The DTC had an opportunity to replace her name on the ballot with someone else, but we decided it would be better if the process was open to the entire district instead of just the 40 or so members of the town committee.
For those voters and interested citizens not able to make the Candidate's Debate - please tune in to Watertown Cable Access local channels to catch two programs. Both programs are produced by Pam Piantedosi for her local cable program Mind Your Own Business. This one hour special features all four candidates for the State Rep Race. Chris Helms - (Editor Watertown Tab and Press) and keeper of the wicked local/watertown website (www.wickedlocal.com/watertown) co-hosted the program. Chris and Pam present questions to each candidate and keep the flow of discussion going on a number of topics and issues. It's definetely worth the watch. The next program features Town Clerk John Flynn and Chairman of the Board of Election Commissioners Curtis Whitney. Pam Piantedosi has a frank discussion on the uniqueness of the upcoming State Rep "sticker/write-in" campaign and what the voters need to know and do to make certain their vote counts on election day. All in all, it's a great program with valuable information on this election process and the hand counting of write-in and/or sticker ballots.Check out the Watertown Cable Access Studio website at www.wcatv.org and click on the link for the program line up for dates and times both programs are being aired. For Comcast local cable - it's channel 9 and for RCN - it's channel 3. If anyone wants a DVD, all you need to do is contact the studio.Both programs will run several times a week from now until Primary Election Day - Tuesday September 16, 2008.
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