E-Mail Lists and/or Social Networking Communities?

[fiadnata]

I have been asked to take on two tasks for Pennsic University at Pennsic 39. One is to start setting up an Artisan's Row within some of the tents usually used for classes. I have already started asking questions about what artisans would like to see in such an arrangement, and I plan to be expanding my inquiries to more venues soon

Comments

[tedeisenstein]

There are a couple of people in Calontir familiar with artisan's rows, I believe; I think they had their hands in in getting one up and running at this past Pennsic, on, in, or vaguely near Merchant Row. I think. Maybe.

Let me do a bit more sniffing around (mainly to track down at least one email address....) and get back to you?

As for the other: I have no ideas. Creating such a list is relatively easy; sustaining it may be a bit more difficult, as both of us have learned over the years. If people don't want to talk, they don't talk, and all the pitchfork-poking you can do won't help.

[fiadnata]

Yes, I know the group you mean, and I have tried e-mailing them on the e-mail addresses I got at Pennsic. (I picked up their card.) If you can nudge them to reply, and let them know my interest is sincere, I'd appreciate it.

As for the list v. community -- this is wny I asked the questions. Hopefully, some people will come up with possible answers.

More tomorrow, when more people have a chance to reply.

[liamstliam]

You want to write to Ferndando.

I bet his address is on the Calon web page (or Barony Three Rivers).

You could also send a private message to LJ user trimguy. That's Master Andrixos.

As far as a mailing list, etc. goes, I think there are a lot of folks on LJ.

Yahoogroups works, though some people might not be comofortable with it.

I would ask LJ user Asim.

[nuclearmse]

I can see a message list for people who teach year after year at Pennsic because it would be nice to have a place where I would get updates and reminders specific to Pennsic teaching, and it's possible a new teacher might occasionally have a question that could best be answered by others who have taught, but I'm not sure it would be a high traffic list. I don't get my social interaction with people interested in what I do from a particular email list, although occasionally (like once every month or so) someone will post something that I actually keep. I read one list avidly, but that's an art-specific list. I certainly don't get that kind of interaction from any social networking site, even if I do have a few A&S friends on my LJ friends and Facebook and we sometimes chat on there. I can't see myself checking a social networking site just for the purpose of talking to other teachers. At least with an email list it would show up in an inbox and be there until I had time to look at it.

[femkederoas]

I'm on a few high-traffic A&S lists. Frankly, I skim by subject line and delete the rest.

The RUM Staff list is REALLY low traffic. But we don't generally add the teachers to it - just the deans.

When it comes to research, class development, and that sort of thing - I usually tap the hive mind on LJ. Whether just my friends' list or a community - it seems to be the more fruitful format. And I only have to pay attention to what interests me.

[fiadnata]

Actually, the Pennsic Teachers list on Yahoo has gotten fairly large -- well over 100 people -- and was fairly lively for the few days around the Pennsic Book deadline. It's calmed down, now, but I may feed a few questions in soon and see if I can get things moving again. I also suspect that things will liven back up when we post the first cut on the class schedule.

Artisans Row also looks like it will be reasonably successful -- a relief, given that this year is going to be spent educating people as to what exactly an "Artisans Row" is. I'm still making a lot of it up as I go along, but it seems to be coming together. I know *I* am going to have fun, given how many fiber arts days I have managed to line up.