Here we go

February 28, 2007

owen launch banner It’s 11:59. The switch is about to be flipped.

Today is a good day. Forget about the weather (at this time the little weather update in the sidebar has a big red warning).

I was once told that you should be able to describe your business (and I imagine this is equally applicable to many endeavours) in three words. This thinking has stuck with me for some time. Over the past year as I have been working on the development of theOwen I have continuously mulled over the question what is the theOwen.

It’s a few more than three words but here’s my description at the moment. At this moment because, as you will see soon enough, the “new web” is pretty dynamic. So here we go…

it’s a new media platform for discussion, collaboration, and information gathering for Owen Sound and the Grey-Bruce Area.

This description covers most of the basics. It roughly identifies the geographic community the site aims to service. Then again, it also serves to connect anyone who identifies with the area.

I hope that the discussion part is pretty simple to grasp and I’ve also tried to make it as simple as possible for you to contribute. Collaboration just makes sense. Period. A number of resources will be introduced here to help make that happen. If you’ve got any ideas drop us a line or add a comment to this post and the collaboration has already begun. As for information gathering, it just sounded cool. Additionally, I am very much interested in how we go about collecting, archiving and redistributing information about this place (at present, of past and in the future). And that brings us back to discussion as we should really be talking about this last point collectively (hey look, a synonym for collaboration!).

I’ll wrap this up so you can look around.

theOwen.com is one part platform for expression and one part encouragement to use it. It’s called the worldwide web but I hope to show you it can work real well at connecting us locally as well. There is a lot of creativity around here which makes me very excited about the future of region and theOwen. I hope you are too. Remember if you have ideas you can toss them out here (this isn’t the static web). I am excited to further explore this community; where it has been, where we are at, and where we are going with you and any other members of the community that want to jump into the discussion.

So thats about it. There is definitely more to come (including some strategies and tips on how to make your participation easy peasy).

If you need to reach me there’s no shortage of ways to get my attention here. But to keep it simple lets try this. Drop me an email, ryan at theowen.com. If you think you might be the type to hang out a bunch around here drop me a line and we can get you into your own@theowen.com email address, for more details read up on member services.

Cheers for now, enjoy the site

Ryan Wiseman

***I’m aware there are still some things broken around here and you’ll probably find some nonsensical comments here and there. If you happen to find an unfinished thought feel free to pick up where I left off**

-30-

Written by Ryan · Filed Under Administrivia, Features, theOwen

An inside look at the Green Majority

February 27, 2007

I mentioned elsewhere on the site but for those that missed it… I have been working for a while now on an environmental radio show on CIUT 89.5. The show is called the Green Majority airs every Friday from 10-11 to 8 million or so potential listeners in Southern Ontario. My particular role in the project is varied. I submit audio segments from here in Owen Sound and I manage the web presence for the show, including the distribution of each episode as a podcast.

Here is a little behind the scenes look at the show.
Running Time: about 15 minutes

Click To Play

Written by Ryan · Filed Under Audio, Podcast, The Environment, The Library, Video

images maybe

February 27, 2007

This started as a test of a image script but then it got me thinking. The images below were grabbed as snapshots from FlashEarth.com. The reason? I like to think a lot about perspectives. Not just my own (which is easy to do) but others as well. I spent a number of years teaching before my transition to “all this web stuff” and I spent a good amount of time with my students on the idea of perspective. If ideas for content around here dry up (yeah right!) I will dig into my retired course notes for Canadian and World Issues: a Geographic analysis and throw a lesson on the site.

In the meantime take a look at Owen Sound and Grey and Bruce Counties from a variety of satellite perspectives and let us know what you think

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Written by Ryan · Filed Under Where We're At, theOwen

I like Gmail – you should check it out

February 26, 2007

I am a pretty big fan of Gmail and a number of other Google services. They get “simple” and they make products that work well. You can imagine then that I am pleased to be able to offer a variety of goolge products to theOwen.com users. To find out more about theOwen member services and how you can play to, head over here. If you like, the video below expands on some of the features of Gmail in a rather quirky (read what I would likely expect from a group of people that provide a really cool email service.