What more can be said, wonderful, sure looks good to me. Bill
in Texas
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2010 8:23
AM
Subject: [Market-farming] Happy
Anniversary List!!
10 years ago today this list came to
life! Huge hugs all around for the loyalty of our
subscribers--many of whom have been here all
along--quite a feat by internet standards.
Even though I've never met you, I feel
like y'all are old friends! Heartfelt thanks
go out to Marcie Rosenzweig (Market Farm Forms) who had the
foresight to start this community from the original CSA-L list from
PrairieNet.
Over the past 10 years, the internet has evolved and
email lists are slowly becoming the dinosaur for online communication.
Especially with the younger generation. With email lists too
insular to reach this next facebooking,
tweeting, texting generation of potential farmers, the need to carry our
discussions out where they can find them
is paramount. So in celebration of this 10th year
anniversary, and while I recovered from back surgery
& contemplated my own farming future, I put my coding, programming &
graphic design skills to work to create an extension of the list on the web.
The site puts out the information shared on the
list to a wider audience while providing an easier format for list members to
find older information (as opposed to wading through the list archives).
The site also provides:
- the
ability to show photographs easily uploaded from your computer, no need to
host them elsewhere. (Showing photos through the list isn't allowed as
a courtesy to our dialup users).
- you
can print "articles" from a print link at the bottom of each
article so you can take stuff out to the field
when/where you need it.
- classified listings-you can now
sell/give away stuff to your fellow list members & others (if there's
not a category for what you want to list, let me know, I'll add it).
Listings automatically expire after 30 days.
- (coming in the next couple of
weeks or so) print templates for business
cards, coupons, recipes, newsletters, flyers, etc that you can personalize
for your customers and CSA members. Prefilled generic newsletters with
room for your personal message & logo will also be there to save you
time when you're at your busiest.
- calendar for promoting conferences and
events.
- price index divided by region.
This isn't fancy and in the interest of keeping it simple, but it gets the
job done when you're wondering how much to charge for what item, and need
some quick comparisons. If this needs a more robust application, it'll
be implemented. (so far this is empty-just waiting for input from
readers/farmers.)
- you
can subscribe to new posts or comments through rss feed readers or by
email.
No private information from list members
is revealed on the site, just the information from the discussions. And
this isn't a substitute for the
list. As you'll see, the "articles" on the site
start as list discussions which I update throughout the day and night with the
current posts & topics. Those who are not members of the list can
add their experiences and comments to the information shared. Page
styles can be disabled via the browser to enable fast load times for those on
dialup. It was quite a balancing act to reach as wide an audience as
possible without leaving out anyone.
You might find some duplication on
the site, such as the current thread on deer fencing sidetracking onto using
dogs to ward off deer. Sub-topics are given their own "article" space as
well as copied into the original thread to make finding the information easier
The site is still evolving, some categories are empty as I haven't
gotten to those topics in the archives. Eventually all 10 years worth of
the archives will be copied there. I'm starting with the most recent
posts and going backwards, season by season, so information is applicable for
whatever season in which you're growing. If you're not where you can access
your email to get to the list, you can go to the site for the most recent
discussions which are always on the front page under Today's Topics. The
placeholder images seen on the site now will be replaced with real
photographs as I receive them from subscribers and readers.
A picture is worth a 1000 words, and I've
always intended to create a place for photographical essays for growers to cut
short the information-gathering time. I have lots of interviews
scheduled throughout the year, too, so new information of particular interest
to market farmers will be available to read there also (& not from the
typical "celebrity" farmers we hear from so often!).
With the explosive growth of social media,
now is the time to reach out to the future farmers who'll continue our work
(something that became even more painfully apparent after my back
problems last year). Without further adieu, here's the
site: Market Farm Shop Talk
http://marketfarmshoptalk.com. (Disclaimer: If you encounter a bug
(ha! perfect pun for farmers!!), let me know so I can fix it...it is
after all a website, guaranteed to thrill and frustrate whoever reads it and
builds it--just like farming!)
Liz
Pike MF
List
Administrator http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
Market Farm Shop Talk
http://marketfarmshoptalk.com
List
FAQs http://marketfarmshoptalk.com/market-farming-email-list-faqs/
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