Post by Benji Duncan on Sept 28, 2007 12:17:11 GMT -5
Okay, I see I have a few members in the forum now and people who are beginning to check out the website. So I guess it's time I started explaining what this website is about, what this website features and what I plan on doing with this site in the future. I am a big believer in tapping into the intellectual resources of those around me, so all of you are welcome to chime in and discuss this website. Perhaps give me some recommendations. I created this website for local northern michigan residents to have a cool place on the internet to hang out. Because this site is for the people, I am dedicated to making it as ideal a site for all of you as I possibly can.
Not a single piece of content in this website will ever be created by a person who lives outside of Northern Michigan. I also will not be sitting around waiting for people to give me content to display on this website. I will be going out and looking for content. For cool things created in the area to share with everyone. I will be updating that content all the time. Here are the things this website features now.
This website is not designed for children under 18 years of age.
NEWS: this page features all the local newspaper internet feeds, as well as independent articles and editorials created by contributers to this website. Eventually I will turn the news page into a real online newspaper, with localized news and information the other newspapers don't have the guts to present to you.
THE FUNHOUSE: The funhouse features videos, artwork, jokes, news parodies, comic strips and other visually oriented "fun" things for people to check out.
BANDS: The band page features all the musical talent in the area I can find with songs you can listen to right from this website and a calendar that shows all the live dates for all the bands and recording artists in the area. The page also features a soundclick channel that will randomly play from a massive northern michigan song list I have compiled (sort of like a radio station). Now and then I will put forward a compilation CD of the best songs I find that you will be able to purchase.
BLWL: The Burt Lake Wrestling League is a fun storyline based backyard wrestling league me and some friends put together some time ago with choreographed videos of backyard matches and fun characters we came up with. Anyone who likes wrestling is welcome to get involved with this and there is no athletic talent required with the way we make these videos. All you need is a strong imagination and a willingness to have fun. Which is really the spirit of what pro wrestling is about- fun.
DATING: The Northern Michigan Fun dating service will always be 100% free. Just fill out the form and within 7 days you will have a small profile created that displays your email address and myspace page so other northern michigan singles can contact you.
MESSAGE BOARD: My favorite part of the site. Join the message board (otherwise known as a "forum") and be part of a great online community of local northern michigan people from all walks of life discussing any topic under the sun. I promise as long as you participate, you'll never have a boring day online.
STORE: Buy all kinds of cool locally oriented merchandise, funny t-shirts, calendars, bumper stickers, cds, dvds and such. All created in Northern Michigan for people in Northern Michigan.
WHITE PAGE: The white page is pretty much just like the white page in your phone book, except its on the internet. Browse 18+ northern Michigan residents by their actual names and locations, click on their myspace page or email address and find that friend you haven't been in touch with in awhile. This page will eventually feature PEOPLE RATER, something I explain in the future features section of this message.
YELLOW PAGE: The yellow page shows any Northern Michigan Website I can find, with listings to those sites according to category and descriptions of the sites.
I can't give any solid dates for when any of these features will be part of the website, so don't ask. But when I am getting close to launching them I will announce it. There is no question that they will be part of the website though. As I don't know ahead of time exactly how I am going to do all these things, the descriptions may not be the same as the end results, but I'm describing these services the way I envision them.
PEOPLE RATER: Sort of like ratemyprofessor.com or don'tdatehimgirl.com. The people rater will allow people to anonymously rate (on a scale of 1-5) any person they know and comment about that person. Because your comments are totally anonymous, you can post them with full honesty without fear of getting punched in the face or kissed in the face. Say you meet someone and you think "hmm, he seems like an interesting fellow," you can check out the people rater and see what other people who know him have to say about him. There will be three rules however. In order to rate someone, you are required to list yourself in the rater for others to rate. You cannot claim that a person committed a crime of any nature (if they did you have to be vague like "she's dishonest or violent"). And you have to say something nice about someone first in order to say something nasty about someone.
NMTV: Using sopcast, people with high speed internet connections will be able to view an internet broadcast of local videos and events like high school basketball games online! There will be a schedule of events broadcasted.
Anyway, you are all welcome to shower me with your ideas for making this a cool site.
I believe people focus too much on the macrological world (the nation, hollywood, new york city, corporations thousands of miles away) and not enough on the micrological world (the people around us that we directly effect every single day). This macrological focus is a big part of the reason so many of us feel overwhelmed with our place in the world. The fact is, we all live in a small world first and a big world second. The best way to effect the big world is to effect that small localized world we physically inhabit day to day. If everyone has a dysfunctional or apathetic relationship with their neighbor, the world will be dysfunctional and apathetic. I know this sounds a bit grandiose, but I feel this websites dedication to the small world we inhabit has the possibility of making a big impact upon our lives. There is creative talent in this area that should be featured and enjoyed. There is music, there is art, there are interesting people and interesting things to do, all that is required is someone to start doing them. Like the rest of the world, there is dysfunction in Northern Michigan due to lack of education and insight. So hopefully using this forum we can use our intellectual diversity to better understand various issues that effect the world.
What this website features
Not a single piece of content in this website will ever be created by a person who lives outside of Northern Michigan. I also will not be sitting around waiting for people to give me content to display on this website. I will be going out and looking for content. For cool things created in the area to share with everyone. I will be updating that content all the time. Here are the things this website features now.
This website is not designed for children under 18 years of age.
NEWS: this page features all the local newspaper internet feeds, as well as independent articles and editorials created by contributers to this website. Eventually I will turn the news page into a real online newspaper, with localized news and information the other newspapers don't have the guts to present to you.
THE FUNHOUSE: The funhouse features videos, artwork, jokes, news parodies, comic strips and other visually oriented "fun" things for people to check out.
BANDS: The band page features all the musical talent in the area I can find with songs you can listen to right from this website and a calendar that shows all the live dates for all the bands and recording artists in the area. The page also features a soundclick channel that will randomly play from a massive northern michigan song list I have compiled (sort of like a radio station). Now and then I will put forward a compilation CD of the best songs I find that you will be able to purchase.
BLWL: The Burt Lake Wrestling League is a fun storyline based backyard wrestling league me and some friends put together some time ago with choreographed videos of backyard matches and fun characters we came up with. Anyone who likes wrestling is welcome to get involved with this and there is no athletic talent required with the way we make these videos. All you need is a strong imagination and a willingness to have fun. Which is really the spirit of what pro wrestling is about- fun.
DATING: The Northern Michigan Fun dating service will always be 100% free. Just fill out the form and within 7 days you will have a small profile created that displays your email address and myspace page so other northern michigan singles can contact you.
MESSAGE BOARD: My favorite part of the site. Join the message board (otherwise known as a "forum") and be part of a great online community of local northern michigan people from all walks of life discussing any topic under the sun. I promise as long as you participate, you'll never have a boring day online.
STORE: Buy all kinds of cool locally oriented merchandise, funny t-shirts, calendars, bumper stickers, cds, dvds and such. All created in Northern Michigan for people in Northern Michigan.
WHITE PAGE: The white page is pretty much just like the white page in your phone book, except its on the internet. Browse 18+ northern Michigan residents by their actual names and locations, click on their myspace page or email address and find that friend you haven't been in touch with in awhile. This page will eventually feature PEOPLE RATER, something I explain in the future features section of this message.
YELLOW PAGE: The yellow page shows any Northern Michigan Website I can find, with listings to those sites according to category and descriptions of the sites.
What this website will feature in the future.
I can't give any solid dates for when any of these features will be part of the website, so don't ask. But when I am getting close to launching them I will announce it. There is no question that they will be part of the website though. As I don't know ahead of time exactly how I am going to do all these things, the descriptions may not be the same as the end results, but I'm describing these services the way I envision them.
PEOPLE RATER: Sort of like ratemyprofessor.com or don'tdatehimgirl.com. The people rater will allow people to anonymously rate (on a scale of 1-5) any person they know and comment about that person. Because your comments are totally anonymous, you can post them with full honesty without fear of getting punched in the face or kissed in the face. Say you meet someone and you think "hmm, he seems like an interesting fellow," you can check out the people rater and see what other people who know him have to say about him. There will be three rules however. In order to rate someone, you are required to list yourself in the rater for others to rate. You cannot claim that a person committed a crime of any nature (if they did you have to be vague like "she's dishonest or violent"). And you have to say something nice about someone first in order to say something nasty about someone.
NMTV: Using sopcast, people with high speed internet connections will be able to view an internet broadcast of local videos and events like high school basketball games online! There will be a schedule of events broadcasted.
Anyway, you are all welcome to shower me with your ideas for making this a cool site.
The Philosophy behind Northern Michigan Fun
I believe people focus too much on the macrological world (the nation, hollywood, new york city, corporations thousands of miles away) and not enough on the micrological world (the people around us that we directly effect every single day). This macrological focus is a big part of the reason so many of us feel overwhelmed with our place in the world. The fact is, we all live in a small world first and a big world second. The best way to effect the big world is to effect that small localized world we physically inhabit day to day. If everyone has a dysfunctional or apathetic relationship with their neighbor, the world will be dysfunctional and apathetic. I know this sounds a bit grandiose, but I feel this websites dedication to the small world we inhabit has the possibility of making a big impact upon our lives. There is creative talent in this area that should be featured and enjoyed. There is music, there is art, there are interesting people and interesting things to do, all that is required is someone to start doing them. Like the rest of the world, there is dysfunction in Northern Michigan due to lack of education and insight. So hopefully using this forum we can use our intellectual diversity to better understand various issues that effect the world.
