Internet savvy bonsai club members

pootsie

Please, tell me what you would want from YOUR club's website, and what you think someone else's website could provide to draw you in for a spell.

pootsie

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p.s. My cat is a bonsaiTALK Master.
Columbus Bonsai Society

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Ralph

A monthly artist profile section. An article that would detail an experienced memeber of the club and some of their work. It would be a way to recognize this important member of the community, and for the rest of us to learn their interesting story and get to know more about them.

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Spring is upon us!


-Paul S.

cbobgo

something I've been interested in is regional bonsai information - where to go to see some bonsai if you are in town visiting, who the local gurus are, what's different about growing bonsai in your area versus another area. That would be good stuff to put in a website - and would likely get google hits if someone is searching for local bonsai info.

I've actually thought about compiling that sort of information from around the country and self-publishing a regional bonsai guidebook.

Don't anyone take my idea and beat me to it!

- bob

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midwestbonsai

A few months ago I started a webring called Bonsai Societies Of The World Unite, for a purpose of being able to loo at the webring and find a society in the area you are visiting.
Have had little to no additions, tell your club webmaster about it!
-Paul

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BrianBay9

Well, the basics I want on a club website are when and where you meet.....with maps....It's amazing how hard that can be to find sometimes. Maps are important for visitors, or those new to the area. And a gallery of club member trees....Links to local suppliers would be nice too.

Brian

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Miss Janel

As webmaster for our local club I have a pretty strong opinion about this. My belief is that it should be a repository of documents and information so that our local club members can find information that is pertinent to our local area and climate. I'm not always so successful at doing this though.

It's hard to get material for the website which is not copyrighted or to get people to agree to having their photos, articles, and such posted on the internet. I believe that several people on BonsaiTALK do a fabulous job of putting together step by step tutorials. I find these fascinating and wish members of our local club would put together photo essays of their projects for the benefit of other club members.

The other issue is security. I don't know about the rest of the world but folks in Texas don't like having their name attached to their tree in any way (exhibit or internet). It's perceived that someone might target your tree for theft if they knew who owned it and where you lived.

I guess I haven't really answered your question. I only expressed my own frustrations in making our local website everything I would like it to be. I guess if I keep at it eventually I will get there.

MJ

Miss Janel

To answer your question I would love to see a complete Bonsai Dictionary of Terms. Bonsai terminology can be really daunting to new students and I know that some folks in our club don't like to ask "what does such and such mean". Especially when a teacher or master is in town and lecturing. I would like to have a complete dictionary available so that after a meeting or a lecture a member could find the answers all in one place.

MJ

bonsaikc

Pootsie,

What a great question! First and foremost would be an easy to remember URL, since we can't necessarily rely on Google results if people aren't specific enough in their quest.

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Chris Johnston
"She was a critic, and lots fo critics who aren't called to do what they write about grow jealous and mean and small in their disappointment." - Stephen King, Duma Key
Sashi-no-eda.blogspot.com

bonsaikc

Second would be a strong FAQ for beginners, sans sarcasm. Far too often in club literature and articles I see what in conversation would constitute a wink and a nudge. This serves no purpose except to make those with zero knowledge but some interest feel unwelcome.

__________________
Chris Johnston
"She was a critic, and lots fo critics who aren't called to do what they write about grow jealous and mean and small in their disappointment." - Stephen King, Duma Key
Sashi-no-eda.blogspot.com