In my opinion the Town Council still hasn't accepted the need for a good web site to tell potential tourists about the town.
This is so sad because several people have offered and even more, designed sites for this precise purpose.
If, when I put 'Ulverston' into Google on January 1st 2011, I can't find one of the top sites that tell me the dates of most of the festivals that will be taking place in 2011, then I shall blow my top with all the gunpowder that I can muster.
At the moment , as far as I'm aware, there isn't a single site in the top ten that has this information on it.
The period after Christmas is the one that people use to plan their holidays. An increasing number use the Internet to help them make their choices. They will be swayed to visit the area if they can find out when our activities occur and better still a good site that tells them about the area.
Councillors Judy Pickthall who is looking into the need for a web site for the town and Colin Williams who is aware of the need for a good web site, and Paul Jarvis, Chairman of the Ulverston Community Partnership who opted for the SLDC site to replace Ulverston.net , please take note!
These three people have been notified of this posting.
I hardly think tourists will be greatly impressed by the long list of coffee mornings being offered by the now top site hosted by SLDC which has been chosen to represent Ulverston by the Town Council and the Ulverston Community Partnership.
I believe that there is some urgency to put this matter straight before Christmas for the reasons stated above.
What do people think?
Am I being unreasonable?
9 comments:
Nice to see you on the old war horse again Geoff
"Tali Ho" for the annual Boxing day hunt.
Politicians are fair game not like foxes
What people making decisions need to bear in mind is that there are about 350 people in the area who are very concerned about this issue.
People who felt strongly and signed the petition, specifically about the need for both a good Tourist Information Centre and a good Web Site.
People who are being kept well informed and wanted action to be taken.
Then try typing 'Ulverston Festivals' into Google there's plenty of information there and the SLDC site you've taken against does list all the festivals so it would help if you told the truth; and finally why January 1st? Hardly fair is it when most web masters aren't working over the holidays. You can't help yourself can you? All your rubbish postings on arty farty pottery garbage never get a reply so you have to puff yourself up by laying into people.
Right now it's your turn to be truthful.
Where exactly can you find a list of when the festivals are in 2011.
Interestingly enough, if you do as you suggest, the site that comes up top is mine. - Ulverstonuk.co.uk Designed by Chris Thorpe and lists the information for 2009 and yes as a last resort I will bring this site up to date as no one else seems to be providing this important information.
It would be good to be given some encouragement and credit for doing so.
So where on the SLDC site does it list the dates of the festivals in 2011.
I can't find it?
Or is it buried where most people would never look?
So here's a challenge :
Find me a site, any site, that lists when most of the 2011 festivals are.
Now is it in the top ten if you search Goggle with "Ulverston, Festivals".
What's Jan 1st and web masters got to do with anything - why isn't the information there now?
Try loading facts into your blunderbuss before you try firing it otherwise you will find you have fired hot air of the very smelly kind.
And how about a name next time you post.
In the interests of freedom of information the three of us and Jan Hancock have been meeting with Colin from Red Abbey, the company that designed the UTC site. We liked the idea of having continuity with our town council site, which was designed by them. And their CEO is an Ulverston lad who has a passion for our town.
We've been meeting over the last couple of months and now have a firm idea of how the new site will look.
We're a long way down the road of having a site promoting Ulverston but these things unfortunately take time so your going to have to be patient. I doubt if it's going to make your deadline so you might just have to explode Geoff.
You say about the festivals needing to be promoted but are you aware that some of these are under threat of not happening at all. The Flag festival has fallen foul of health and safety/insurance stuff and a lack of volunteers, and probably won't take place this year. The Carnival may not go ahead due to the Police needing to be paid, which we can't afford.
We've discussed having a calendar that people can submit their events to, but there are technical issues with this, but were investigating ways we can do this.
So we are making progress and early in 2011 we will have the website that you've been banging on about. We are committed to producing something of quality, and something that promotes all that Ulverston has to offer tourists to the area, it just takes time but rest assured that it is in hand, it just takes time to get it right.
We're doing our best to get this right, and it's going to take time to do this. There are issues with what we promote; we can't be seen to favour some B&Bs over others, or some shops over others. After all we are the town council and have to tread carefully, it's not as simple as you would like to think.
So there you go, that's about all I can say, just hope it tells your readers that we are on the case.
The Arty farty stuff does not require a reply it is elegiac and enjoyed by many.
Keep up all your stuff Geoff you have the ability to look round corners.
HOMMER
Ulverston Festivals are only given bad press by Mr winston its a wonder anyone attends.
As for good press /advertising he ultimately has about as much impact as an amoeba kicking a whale in the nuts but he clings to the cash and the power.
Time for a new broom ?
Thanks for your detailed information, Colin.
Well done, your contribution is much appreciated.
I am aware of much of what you report.
It is an excellent thing that you and others are concerned.
But are you aware that all along there are others who were willing to take on the responsibilities in doing things for the town. People who are totally ignored because they are not part of the established power base.
For instance, the Flag Festival: people behind this - Margaret Green and her workers who made the flags and myself who offered to help two years ago - who have been ignored and pushed out by some who want to take over what should in my view be a community responsibility. Now, like the Ulverston.net web site because of the lack of community involvement the project is about to fall flat on its face.
Isn't it time that the Ulverston Community Partnership lived up to its name ?
And that councillors and their helpers worked together with the others in the community who are only too willing to pitch in and have a track record of getting things done?
Which reminds me - I have a web site that is top of Google "Ulverston Festivals" that needs me to get the 2011 dates for the festivals in place and this will be done within the week.
For me this "it takes time", "you'll have to be patient", doesn't sit too well. Remember I've been banging on about the need for a web site in the Council chamber for over four years now. Only now have the council started to take the matter seriously.
However don't misunderstand me, I welcome your initiative even though it is taking time.
Well done for your initiative.
I just feel that a bit of cooperation with others that have shown they will help would move things along quicker ?
Could it be that councillors take themselves far too seriously as though they are the only ones that can do things?
Do we have to suffer from their lethargy?
I gather my critic can't find the information he/she said was there.
When I made this posting I hadn't realised that my site (ulverstonuk.co.uk ) was top of the Google rankings for information about Festivals.
So I'm concentrating my efforts on getting this up to date.
I'm better spending my energy on doing it myself rather than bugging others.
It's a lesson that I'm still learning.
So on the bright side I was able to get a fair bit done last night gathering information.
I shall take it on as something I will do in future - as long as I'm able!
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