Here’s where we take your suggestions on how to improve or make changes.
Our goal is really to make the blog relevant, inclusive, and informative. Right now we feel like we’re a bit cliquey, and we’re wondering how we would go about opening ourselves up.
So we’re wondering, if you could pick anything and everything apart, what needs to go:
– more authors? too many?
– web layout?
– print publication (anyone willing to help us with this)?
– promo
Other things I can’t think of due to my social location?
Are we writing waaay too much about internal politics and too little about broader, more important things?
Would you rather have “newsy” or “opiniony” posts?
Your input is highly sought after, and as always you can be as brutally honest as you want. Post anonymously if you need to!
91 replies on “The Future Direction of this Blog”
I actually love the blog. I’ve been gone from UBC for 3 years but I have to say, this is one of my favourite blogs on the web. I like the opinion-y pieces better.
More authors would be great, especially if it allowed you folks to continue your frequency of posting.
Keep at it!
print publication? id say keep this on the interwebs. maybe sneak into print through opinion pieces that mention the authors involvement with ubc insiders.
i think the current fans want these internal politics posts. this blog is definitely filling a niche that way.
i think bringing in a few contributors who do broader or more satirical/lighthearted stuff might be good for variety’s sake… but really, this blog is making internets waves as it is.
I am the incoming editor of the Cavalier newspaper. Yes, you’ve never heard of it, but it’s the CUS’s official publication.
I would be very interested in perhaps pursing an initiative wherein parts of articles or whole articles are featured in a section of the Cavalier as a sort of teaser for the blog. Its an idea.
How about print flyers to advertise?
I am interested in seeing how we can get more interest in this blog (whether it’s in writers, more comments, more readership, more discussion)
the internal politics is what I like about this blog! and I like opinions-on-news posts. for example the student court ruling post, where you linked to a ubyssey article, said opiniony things, and had Jeff and others respond in comments, was pretty awesome.
Of course it’s cliquey. You’re writing about AMS stuff. It’s always going to be cliquey. The reason for that is the cost-benefit analysis doesn’t encourage the “average” student to get involved or give two shits about the AMS.
That said, it’s a fairly interesting cliquey blog, and I know it’s fun for me to read as I’m not around anymore and like to have some ideas of what’s going on. If you want to try to be less cliquey try to have some balance to your approach, maybe someone who doesn’t agree with your political approach on every issue.
It occurs to me that somebody should try and get in contact with TREK Magazine, published by Alumni Affairs, and try to get an article about the blog published. Alumni are constantly looking for ways to keep in touch with what’s going on at UBC (see the first comment above).
Less ‘fluff’ articles like the “hey guys I’m graduating” ones. Save those for facebook.
Also, focus on covering UBC things. What is Antigone magazine and why is it on your blogroll?
Lastly, maybe get in touch with the Ubyssey to see if you guys can work together.
Hey Anonymous may 11:
Antigone magazine (as you would know had you clicked the link and found out) is a print zine that comes out twice a year, with an accompanying blog. It’s created and written by UBC students. It concerns issues of feminism and politics – including those at university. I added the link because I thought it was a pretty interesting initiative by students.
How about a name change?
To self-label yourselves “Insiders” further perpetuates the idea of the existence of “Outsiders”, alienating those you should be outreaching too. It’s also really weird seeing on facebook “Person has joined the group UBC Insiders!”, as if that person has now become an ‘insider’.
Oh, more voices too. I love Maayan and all, but Gina has graduated, and Tim’s activity is sporadic.
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