Take a look around this website. Not too impressed? I don't blame you. It looks like there is a lot going on here, but in reality it's mainly just a blog. Sure, there are a couple articles, a pathetic gallery, and a few news headlines. But those items aren't enough to keep anybody interested for very long.
I'm working to change that.
Lincolnite is my baby, my on again/off again project that I've played around with for over six years. It has never really been a finished product, though. It has had several looks and feels over the years, some more complete than others. Mostly, it's been my playground. I'm done playing. I'm ready to get down to business.
I think there is an untapped market for a good online community resource in Lincoln. I intend to meet that market's needs. I may make a few bucks in the process, I may not. I don't really care. This is a hobby. Money isn't my first, second, or even third reason for wanting to build Lincolnite into a household name in Lincoln. I like this town, and I like its people, but I think a lot of its people don't really know the town. I want to change that.
What you see on Lincolnite right now is what I've been able to piece together these past few months. Lincolnites are gradually taking notice. Lincolnite.com now averages over 200 unique visitors each day. That's up from 100 visitors per day back in September. The bar I've set for myself before I can really say "Self, you've done something pretty cool" is 1,000 unique visitors per day. Based on visitor trends, that number isn't far off. If I keep rolling along with site improvements.
As it stands right now Lincolnite is at Version 0.5. That's what I'm calling it anyway. Here's a bit of a roadmap for you:
- Ve
rsion 0.5 - Current
- Version 0.6 - Open Articles and Directory sections
- Version 0.7 - Open Events and Classifieds sections
- Version 0.8 - Open the home page (http://lincolnite.com/) (currently redirects to the blog)
- Version 0.9 - Polish the Gallery, open the Forum
- Version 1.0beta - Polish the entire site. Focus on adding content
- Version 1.0 - Entire site polished, and significant content added
Along with all of that is all sorts of background work you will not see. For example, I am programming some cool backend features that aren't currently built in to the content management system that runs this site (Expression Engine). (For those of you who care, I'm working on a module that will allow me to "relate" "families" of data to one another in all sorts of custom ways.)
I am really close to bumping up to Version 0.6. It may even happen on Sunday, if my really busy soccer-filled Saturday doesn't kill me first. I would love to have Version 0.7 ready by the end of November, but I'm not sure if that is realistic given my schedule. Ultimately, I would like to be at 1.0 before the spring soccer season or the arrival of our child, whichever comes first. I'm counting on you, my loyal readers, commenters, and lurkers, to keep me on schedule.
Thanks for all your support, everybody!
Note: A more detailed, and continuously updated roadmap is also available.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
Great news. I enjoy reading the site as it has been, but I’m glad to see that more is coming.
dude me and you are in the same boat.
We need a lincoln based site link ring or something.
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