Election day blues
One year of webmonkeying for Sangam, and what have I achieved?
I came in thinking I would change things. I felt sure the old site wasn't being maintained right, that someone with my skills would be able to run a tighter shop, and keep everyone engaged and informed. In my vision, the website would become a focal point for the Indian community at MIT, where people could share ideas. It would be dynamic and aesthetic -- in the W3's words, "bringing the web to its full potential."
What I've learnt have been some hard lessons in practicality. My abortive attempts earlier in the year to change the look of the website and to reorganize it were barely even noticed. Even this latest re-design has done little to recharge the way the site is used. My brainchild, this blog, stagnates at four posts, with a total of perhaps three comments. Perhaps the only significant thing I've done is the secure online voting system, and even that, I feel sure, has received no appreciation.
I worry that the next webmaster after me will make the same mistakes. So I wish to invite comments on what role people feel the Sangam website plays for them, and what roles they would wish it to play.
6 Comments:
This post has been removed by the author.
Well, I most certainly noticed, in fact your commitment is one of the reasons some new people decided to get involved with Sangam.
Dear P:
Don't be disappointed by this. Yeah practical world is little too ungratefull, but rest assured you have left your keystrokes on history of Sangam, in at least three ways: Changing the look of website; changing the logo of Sangam (though unofficially!); and starting first ever electronic voting (which is much appreciated by one-n-all). We hope to have your talents & suggestions with us in improving it further.
- Ashish G
[Forgot my passwd, and hence am posting in this nameless fashion]
Punya,
I think you have done a fabulous job on the Sangam website. It is not easy to revamp an entire site. And you seemed to achieve this quickly. Often, all that is required is a change of the look and feel of the site. And it takes time and effort to take the first steps towards this. Hopefully, the new webmaster (is this the right word in all of today's harking on political correctness?) will continue with your efforts.
The secure electronic voting feature is impressive (the critical qualifier being "secure"). I think it removes one barrier that has always come between us and free Sangam events: physical presence. It achieved what even gratuitous samosas could not do in over five years (and more, I am sure).
Don't be troubled by the lack of activity on the Sangam blog. I have been visiting it repeatedly to check for new posts, and I am sure others have too. However, I rarely have the time (or the creativity) to think of something to say. If it is any consolation, I started my own blog some time ago, and it stagnates too :-) If only the jobless-people-with-time-to-create-spurious-hotmail-IDs-and-spam-Sangam spent their self-consuming energies in more constructive ways...
-rama
Hey Punya,
I am sorry that you feel your effort wasn't worth it - I totally appreciate what you have done to the Sangam website - you've given Sangam a new face on the web.
Perhaps you can send an email to junta announcing the weblog forum - I am sure people mean well but are not even aware of the full functionality of the site.
Thank you for your wonderful contribution,
Lavanya
Dear Punya,
The magic that you have spun on the Sangam web is not something that will be easily forgotten. There are few people who will be able to leave more of an impact as you already have. The curse of genius is that it often lies unrecognized. When people visit the new Sangam website, they often forget what the old one looked like. Living in an absolute frame, they often take the dynamic events calendar or the online voting system as given, not realizing that they are the fruits of one man's tideous labour.
But rest assured Punya - there are people who sit up and notice, talk about it (often behind your back, always with unrestricted praise) and ofcourse, the access it (in multitude) and always, leave with a sense better than which they would have left it under any of the previous web-masterships.
Congrats on a job beautifully done,
Utkarsh.
Post a Comment
<< Home