Plan for the future
Photos or video with every post. The site is clean and easy to read, but it is too bland.
Write about the technology other sites are covering, but focus on the social impact it can have on disenfranchised communities and developing nations.
Most readers have commented that they like pictures and videos to break up the text. It was mentioned that, considering an audience, a streamlined, simple text only approach might be appropriate. I think that since this is a site focused on what is possible with technology, I should bring in multimedia to illustrate what I am talking about.
Connect with other technology sites to build a audience of technology readers interested in social justice issues.
I have to seek out my audience. My subject does not find it’s own audience. The google searches that have found my site have either been for either the exact name of my site or for peripheral topics like “chicago” or “ruth lednicer” (the name of my audio interviewee).
I have received feedback that I have interesting content, but I have to put a lot of effort into building an audience.
Link news to the organizations and people helping communities embrace technology. In Chicago and around the world.
There are community leaders who are addressing the social issues surrounding technology access and education in poor communities and developing countries. By linking news stories to the work they are doing, I could add another dimension to the stories I analyze and focus attention on the work of people in the community.
Write more posts and spend more time thoroughly following issues that I bring up. Give readers more interesting things to read, more often.
The more posts I make, and the more frequently I make them, the more traffic I get. The couple weeks where I slacked and only posted once or twice during the week, I saw a decline in visitors. The weeks where I posted almost every day, I saw a steady stream of traffic that grew.
I think readers in the world of technology are used to a heavier stream of news and information than other audiences. I would have to post frequently to satisfy regular visitors from that audience.
Video Podcasts with original reporting on a regular basis. Create a video channel that compliments the daily content of the website.
I would love to do some original reporting about the Chicago technology community. Especially on people and organizations who are doing interesting things with technology in the neighborhoods. I would present this content along side my daily blog posts, but as a separate body of work.