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Local Organization
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Each history project is locally organized. The local organizing entity can be a school (or a single class), a historical society, a fraternal order or any other group that wishes to preserve the history of its community in an efficient and permanent way.
Each local group has its own domain, and individual topical sites are linked in a directory or table of contents. Writers and editors can be volunteers, or the project can pay for creative services. All these decisions, along with the look and feel of the site(s) are completely under the control of the organizers.
This creative activity can be a commercial or social venture, or it can be part of an educational experience. The organizing group raises funds, recruits the editors and maintains the necessary relationship with The History Project.
Each local group has its own domain, and individual topical sites are linked in a directory or table of contents. Writers and editors can be volunteers, or the project can pay for creative services. All these decisions, along with the look and feel of the site(s) are completely under the control of the organizers.
This creative activity can be a commercial or social venture, or it can be part of an educational experience. The organizing group raises funds, recruits the editors and maintains the necessary relationship with The History Project.
Process Management
Each site is funded by a contribution. The cost of maintaining each site's availability is only pennies per day. Any costs associated with content are the responsibility of the local organizing entity, which is free to organize production as it sees fit. The exact costs vary with the number of topical sites, the complexity and storage volume of each, and the amount of traffic (bandwidth) generated.
ORGANIZER
The role of the organizer (e.g., historical society) is to recruit authors and sponsors. We assume the goals are to support research and to increase participation and membership. When the environment is scholastic, the organizer is usually a teacher but could be a department.
SPONSORSHIP
The necessary financial contribution can come from the person whose story is being told, from a local business in exchange for acknowledgment of sponsorship (aka advertising), or from a local school or local historical society that wants to build a local history magazine quickly, inexpensively and organically, concentrating on content without undue attention to constantly shifting technology. We assume the organizer will solicit sponsorship of individual projects and/or general contributions from individuals, local businesses and community organizations. The benefit to the sponsor is increased visibility and recognition of a valued community service, which may lead to increased business for the sponsor.
TOPICS
Topics may be developed by authors, who seek funding from the organization or recruit project individual sponsors. Potential topics include any individual, business, church, fraternal or business society, (and the list goes on).
AUTHORS
This is the best part! The potential author community is the entire organization, town, business or social group. THP's goal is to facilitate the recording of the entire history of a community, including that of persons and groups without their own writers or technology. We suggest a major role for local writers, for students and for community groups that want their community role known. Authors may be volunteers, or the organization may choose to pay them or to reimburse expenses; these are purely local policies, and THP supports any choice made by the organization.
LINKAGE
As the diagram depicts, "linkage" - broadly defined to include relations among all the potential readers both local and distant - occurs among the organizer, the sponsors and the wider community, resulting in publicity for sponsors, increased local research and growing membership.
ORGANIZER
The role of the organizer (e.g., historical society) is to recruit authors and sponsors. We assume the goals are to support research and to increase participation and membership. When the environment is scholastic, the organizer is usually a teacher but could be a department.
SPONSORSHIP
The necessary financial contribution can come from the person whose story is being told, from a local business in exchange for acknowledgment of sponsorship (aka advertising), or from a local school or local historical society that wants to build a local history magazine quickly, inexpensively and organically, concentrating on content without undue attention to constantly shifting technology. We assume the organizer will solicit sponsorship of individual projects and/or general contributions from individuals, local businesses and community organizations. The benefit to the sponsor is increased visibility and recognition of a valued community service, which may lead to increased business for the sponsor.
TOPICS
Topics may be developed by authors, who seek funding from the organization or recruit project individual sponsors. Potential topics include any individual, business, church, fraternal or business society, (and the list goes on).
AUTHORS
This is the best part! The potential author community is the entire organization, town, business or social group. THP's goal is to facilitate the recording of the entire history of a community, including that of persons and groups without their own writers or technology. We suggest a major role for local writers, for students and for community groups that want their community role known. Authors may be volunteers, or the organization may choose to pay them or to reimburse expenses; these are purely local policies, and THP supports any choice made by the organization.
LINKAGE
As the diagram depicts, "linkage" - broadly defined to include relations among all the potential readers both local and distant - occurs among the organizer, the sponsors and the wider community, resulting in publicity for sponsors, increased local research and growing membership.
Alternatives
About this time someone at your elbow is whispering, "we could do that ourselves."
Maybe.
Our experience is that homegrown sites tend to get unwieldy as the volume of content grows beyond the scope and skills of the original designer. Furthermore, the inherent complexity of a history site defeats even the best-intentioned webmaster, and new additions, corrections and improvements become ever harder. Perhaps you have visited history sites that are themselves history, having last been updated months or years earlier.
In contrast, THP sites can be edited by the independent author at any time. There is no intervening gatekeeper between the writer and the reader.
Here are some questions you need to ask before you consider a do-it-yourself approach.
- has that person (volunteer, local "expert," etc.) built such a complex system before?
- can the proposed alternative deliver and support scores or hundreds of sites immediately?
- is the system error free and tested in service for several years?
- can the proposed system provide
- separate, individually designed and configured sites for each and every topic
- editing and maintenance through simple online forms
- automated tools for calendars, image gallery with multiple albums and complete image annotation, automated contact forms and surveys, biography and timeline tools, article lists, feedback..., plus unlimited, customizable color, layout, font...
- ...all without any special training in publishing for the Web?
- does the financial plan provide for long-term maintenance, and are there incentives for sponsors?
- and finally:
will your volunteer or local provider be there when you need help?
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