In My Backyard: Year 3
The past year has brought about shifts in the trajectory of C-U Blogfidential, the only Web site dedicated to filmmaking and movie viewing in downstate Illinois. A lot of work and thought went into Year 2 and I’m beginning to realize that what transipres in Year 3 will possibly make or break its full potential.
As outlined in last year’s update, we didn’t achieve everything we set out to do. This can be blamed on the bug that inexplicably climbed my chimney and breathed life into the MICRO-FILM News Blog as well as freelance work I took on to alleviate MICRO-FILM debt. Something else happened on CUBlog that wasn’t planned – the appearence of opinion pieces and constructive criticisms of Champaign-Urbana culture along with increased events listings – which took away time from the usual writing.
We did manage to achieve half of our goals. While the Clean Slate open posts bombed, decreasing the likelihood of forums or message boards on CUBlog, the first issue of C-U Confidential appeared at Ebertfest 2007 and did well enough to warrant the follow-up now in the works. Instead of a Newsgroup, we launched a Mailing List in December called the C-U Confidential Telegraph which will connect media-makers in a more direct manner. (However, for this to work effectively, you have to sign up.) Finally, while the Design Adjustments and addition of Archival Material are yet to come, we finished off Year 2 with a bang by adding information, essays, and downloads to all the Pages while beefing up our Links listing.
Upgrades during the next 12 months will most likely entail:
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Follwing through on the Design Adjustments to give CUBlog a more distinct flavor and align its look with CUZine;
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Keeping up with the newsletters sent through CUGraph and greatly increasing its membership;
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Moving forward with the long-planned Archival Postings that will document creative film/video/multi-media made in the area;
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Hitting Ebertfest 2008 hard with the second issue of CUZine to show that the first time around was no fluke;
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Reducing write-ups on local movie events and exhibition issues, which other area press handles regularly, and increasing write-ups about current productions and their producers;
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Investigating multi-media applications of the CUBlog concept, starting with the Promotional DVD now in the works.
Now … What exactly will it take for you, the people of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond, to help make CUBlog, CUZine, and CUGraph the best they can be? Tell me. Feedback is vitally important to a one-of-a-kind enterprise such as this.
I still believe I’ve hit upon something that’s worth sustaining in C-U Blogfidential. The secret to achieving its full potential, however, does not rest solely with yours truly. I’m only the humble messenger between your crazy busy gleefully mixed-up artistic world and the rest of the universe.
Without further ado, I once again call … action.
~ Jason Pankoke
C-U Blogfidential: Year 2
Posts: 98 ~ Comments: 7 ~ Interviews: 2
Reviews: 1 ~ Links: +62 ~ Publications: 1
C-U Blogfidential So Far
Posts: 199 ~ Comments: 22 ~ Interviews: 5
Reviews: 3 ~ Links: 269 ~ Publications: 1
[Nice! This is post #200 on CUBlog! Here’s hoping for 100 more!]