Wed Jan 31, 2007 3:41 pm
Who knows. The DOC web site never gets updated...
Wed Jan 31, 2007 4:21 pm
Maybe they finally figured out that Tallichet owns it.
Wed Jan 31, 2007 4:33 pm
you got to be kidding???????? all that work is gonna go south in a hurry.
Wed Jan 31, 2007 4:48 pm
rwdfresno wrote:Maybe they finally figured out that Tallichet owns it.
Nice!
Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:29 pm
Sat Feb 03, 2007 3:56 pm
It'll be a shame if it ends up sitting outside...all that polishing they did on the skin. And whats the deal with the DOC web site? Is it that hard to up date it now and then? Just a couple of sentences..."We are currently working on _______ and making progress toward_______". Is an update so hard to do? 
Sat Feb 03, 2007 4:13 pm
Doc Web site update complaints...let's see...maybe because "volunteers" have to do all the work...and no one has volunteered to be their web site person?
You gotta ask...Are we getting spoiled on WIX because we have Gary A working on "Lil" and showing us step by painful step the wonderful work he is doing? How lucky are we that Gary talks to us and helps us understand what he is doing with a crushing deadline coming real soon.
I bet the Doc volunteers would welcome any volunteers to help out with their web site. Probably don't have to be in Wichita to do that, would you?
I mean, I want to know what is going on as much as the next fella, but, cut 'em some slack, OK?
As I say to my 3 year old grandson when he gets wound up tighter than a ball turret; "take a breath".
...better now...
You gotta ask...Are we getting spoiled on WIX because we have Gary A working on "Lil" and showing us step by painful step the wonderful work he is doing? How lucky are we that Gary talks to us and helps us understand what he is doing with a crushing deadline coming real soon.
I bet the Doc volunteers would welcome any volunteers to help out with their web site. Probably don't have to be in Wichita to do that, would you?
I mean, I want to know what is going on as much as the next fella, but, cut 'em some slack, OK?
As I say to my 3 year old grandson when he gets wound up tighter than a ball turret; "take a breath".
...better now...
Sat Feb 03, 2007 4:17 pm
Whats going to happen if they install those old 3350's on the plane rebulit by pression in wahington state. As gary says it was a flawed motor to begin with. how is the reliability going to be with that motor, and a staff to service them on the airshow circuit. when I met gary austin In texas last year before the major engine problems. He gave FIFI 3-5 years on that old 3350 due to lack of engine cores and funding. I cant imagine how many motors FIFI has used up in the past 30+ years with the CAF.
Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:31 pm
Well, I don't know about what's being reported here on WIX, but I happened to be present when a fellow who is heavily involved in the DOC project was asking a fellow I know to see if he could build a part for the plane. This was within the last 3 months, so I would think that work is still progressing.
Ryan
Ryan
Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:52 pm
ww2John wrote:Probably don't have to be in Wichita to do that, would you?
Nope. But it sorta helps sometimes.
(so says they guy 178 miles from YAM HQ)
Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:45 pm
APG85 wrote:Is an update so hard to do?
You've hit a very sore subject with me. So if anyone asks, it's your fault that I'm venting
. Using your website as a "dynamic tool" is becoming a bigger deal at Yankee. Trying to push that idea to people has met with resistance, since surprisingly enough, no one wants to own up to "knowing anything about computers."
(It's your fault Gary, you with your cursed tale of Diamond Lil! You're making others realize areas they could improve the job they're doing. From Mishawaka's heart, I stab at thee!)
(OK, So my department are the ones who've been trying to push improving our website, since we do many of the same things that Gary's done and there's been such a positive response to his efforts. I'm still going to blame it on him.)
You need people who are willing to accept that a computer is a tool. Not a tool like CNC Milling machine or a dyno tester, It's not something that you need to spend a lot of time figuring out. You need to treat it like a hammer. Pick it up, swing it, (not literally) and get done what you need to do. Sure, some people are better than others at using one, but so long as you can make it do what you need, you're doing just fine. Once you accept that, you can move into doing bigger and better things.
We (myself and cohort on site at Yankee, Tim) are really trying to get people sold on how keeping the website up to date with interesting news items, stories, etc, can benefit the organization. We've been pounding our heads against the wall since Oct. 10th 2004 (Tim even longer than that.) At the last staff meeting I presented the 2006 web site data for http://yankeeairmuseum.org. When I asked the assembly of every dept. head and all of our board members how many people they thought visited the site in a year, the first guess was 12,000. Someone trying to be a smart [donkey] said 50,000. The actual number was around 95,000. The site that referred the most visitors last year? WIX. (4-6000 'hits', probably somewhere in the thousands of individual users). I pulled a lot of the data I presented and the meaning behind it from what I've observed between the technically adept warbird community (Wix, flypast, fencecheck, et. al.) and what was happening on our site.
Many of these organizations just don't see it yet. Part of it is due to member age. Those in charge or doing day to day stuff just didn't grow up around computers. Part of it is also that it's a shift in the way business is done. No one calls for information anymore (ok, occasionally the phone still rings), no one writes letters. We go online and check the website. It's an uphill struggle trying to get people to realize the benefits of technology that they'd just as soon ignore (not out of malice, it's just something that is new and/or different.)
Gary's work and the response here has made an impact with us. How deep is yet to be seen. We've added a section to our site covering some of our other restoration projects, http://yankeeairmuseum.org/restoration/index.shtml, and hopefully in the semi-sorta near future we'll have some areas up where we can present "content" (I sound like a marketing guy) similar to what Gary has done to our visitors that keeps them coming back.
The biggest part to that is getting convincing those that are staunchly dedicated to being non-techies that they A. have something interesting to present B. people are very interested in what they / we have to say and C. they are fully capable of doing it on their own with only a bit of technical guidance. Anyone who can figure out WIX is capable of providing a degree of tech help to a warbird group. (Whether you want to admit it to yourself or not.)
So getting back to "Doc." How hard is it to keep a website updated? A helluva lot harder than you think. Especially when you're only one or two people. Maybe they don't have anyone that feels they can do it, Maybe they don't understand the audience they could be reaching / are missing out on. Or maybe they really just don't care.