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  • From: E C GRANATA <elainegranata AT msn.com>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Happy Anniversary List!!
  • Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:56:22 -0700

Liz:  This is amazing.  Thanks for all your efforts.
 
Elaine
Denver
 

Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 09:23:35 -0500
From: liz AT marketfarmshoptalk.com
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
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

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http://marketfarmshoptalk.com/market-farming-email-list-faqs/




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