Blogging for skiers

First some background. What is a blog? The term is short for web log, and basically it's an online journal with some special features to make it easy for web sites to manage. Blogging has taken the internet by storm in the last year, though at this time, skiers are almost completely uninvolved. I see Anne Laundre has a "blog", which doesn't actually use blogging technology, but follows the journal concept at http://www.threadingwater.com. Dave Barry blog is a popular example. For a tour of the variety of blogs, click here. Jay Tegeder's 50K club reports would be a great candidate to be put in a blog.

Here is the concept as it would apply to WINN. This would be a feature to attract paying members. We would offer free blogs to members. Members would get personal blogs and could post about what ever they want. We could link to skiing entries as we see fit. The benefit to a potential blogger is that the service would cost less than available commercial services, currently $25/year membership fee vs $5-15/month commercial blog service. This will only be true for the next year or two, but once we have them, I doubt they would leave unless I can't keep up with the technology. Members would also be able to post articles, pictures, create categories of entries and lists of links to things they are interested in. A personal web site really.

Naturally we would restore the membership fee. The good news for us is that there is no up front cost at all. I have the tools already installed. The only cost to us, and thus the only risk, is if we are successful. In that case we will have to pay for more disk space at our web host to store the entries. But, since members would be paying again, and the cost to us would probably go from 9.95/month to 19.95/month, I don't see this as a risk at all. If nobody signs up, it just becomes a simpler way for us board members to post to our WINN web site. The evidence seems to point to the idea certain types are attracted to blogging.  Ego types that like to have their voice heard (like mine!). People who like diaries.  And, a growing number of kids who don't use email at all, use instant messaging exclusively but want some of their content to “stick around“. My own kids are like that with Live Journal blogs.

So the message to members is “support XC, stay in touch with skiing issues and get a free blog.“

Steps to complete this task

• promote via brochures, ads, web sites, word of mouth