Hi Everyone,

JW came over just after 10 am today and left at 1.30.  At first he asked me lots of questions about the organization: what it does, how it is structured etc etc etc etc and then we looked at some of the websites but mainly JT's and RM's.  JW had lots to say but basically is going to write up a few recommendations.

Whilst not wanting to pre-empt JW, as I understand it,  he thought that we did not need yet another website but, rather, to revamp the existing sites.  He thought that sites such as JT's and RM's packed in a lot of information. but that, if you were not familiar with the culture, the sites were not sufficiently accessible.  He thought that there needs to be thought put into improving how people find CCI on the internet.  That as young people tend to use their mobile phones to access the internet, the website needs to be mobile phone friendly and to make a good first impression i.e. emphatic, strong and simple with better use of images.  He suggested we need a big masthead and a strap line that says, engagingly, what CCI is about and one good or a series of big images/ of a person or series of people - perhaps with a phrase or message such as e.g. 'We've all got the capacity to sort our own problems'.  We need to say what co-co can and also what it can't help with e.g. perhaps alcoholism issues. The main pages shouldn't go into lots of words but stream people into different aspects of the same site and that e.g. all the caveats, history etc  be put into one of a series of drop down pages, thereby making the main pages less wordy.  The home page needs to say what co-co is about, e.g. self-help, news and events, contact, where to go etc.

JW thought that we could do with a stearing committee re this initial revamp so that people could collaborate and pool resources more without making major changes and that there could also be another stearing committee re developing co-co's outreach.

JW also said to use Wordpress and also suggested 'mailchimp' which is a hosted, very secure mail out site for keeping people undated, e.g. monthly, on the internet.  He also suggested that we need a 'blog', to use utube, the radio and TV and that teachers share mailing lists.

Please note that the above is what I hurriedly jotted down as JW came up with suggestions.  Some I may have got wrong.  JW said that he would get back with his report/suggestions which I'm sure will be more organized and well put than mine.

By the end I was giving up the will to live ...................................................................

Love to all,

Caroline

[I'll add JW's report here when available.  Julian]