Working on a New Website for a National SIG
Designing a new Website
Overall, I have to say I am very happy with how TheDigitalApothecary.com has turned out. It was a great learning experience, and allowed me to explore graphic design, layout management, content curation to a degree I never would have had without this hands on experience.
Due to this experience, I have been working with the Technology in Pharmacy Education and Learning (TiPEL) Special Interest Group (SIG) to develop a new website design for them. This has been an altogether different endeavor I have now realized when trying to make something for a group of people that will eventually be in charge of it's content.
Ups...
You get to be creative and make something new taking into account requests by members of a community. Personally, I find that that very rewarding and something that makes this worth doing. The other benefits is that you learn a lot, in terms of web design and graphic design.
...and Downs
It takes time. I spent a lot of time drafting how the website would look, creating content, and building the backend. Probably the biggest problem was that once the website was built, and a social stream created, I needed to make content. Currently, looking for contributors, but using my own content to supplement.
Creating a Social Media Following
This is probably the hardest part. It's one thing to build the website and content, but readership will keep it afloat. By getting more readers, we can hopefully get more contributors and build a network. Currently, trying to find pharmacy educators on Twitter, which is actually quite difficult since there is no real good hashtag or group to start following. Thinking should make a #PharmEd hashtag and not just #MedEd. Expanding beyond Twitter, will maybe start looking at Facebook and potentially a LinkedIn group. Pinterest would only really become an interest if there becomes a big following of infographics or associated material.
In any event, here's hoping TiPEL.net goes well, and that others will enjoy it!