Simon Bowen
Take a Hike (Leeds and Bradford 20s + 30s)
Websites are the online face of a Group, containing a wealth of information about what activities the Group gets up to. Not just a fantastic resource for members of the Group, but an important recruitment tool for new members too.
I’m the webmaster for our Group’s website (www.takeahike.org.uk), which means I built, maintain and develop the website. Basically I manage the online face of the Group.
I’ve worked in the Internet industry for several years and when I joined the Group I offered my help in that field if ever it was needed. So when our previous webmaster decided to move on to other things he asked me to take over. It’s great to have the opportunity to offer useful skills back to a group that I’ve already got so much from. I probably spend an hour per week doing this work on average, although more at times when I’m adding new features to the site.
My interest in IT means I obviously enjoy this role. But I also like doing it because I can see how important the website is for our group in particular, and I can therefore see that my time is being put to good use and is benefiting the organisation. As a 20s and 30s Group, the majority of our members are comfortable with using the web and email to coordinate their lives. The group website is really central to how our group works, it has become our main method of promoting our walks and other social activities. But more than that, it has become a virtual meeting point for our members – along with our walks programme and social activities, the most popular section of our website is our members’ message board. It’s here that members discuss new walk ideas, arrange lifts to events, ask advice on what kit to buy or just chew the fat.
The website also functions as a recruitment tool for new members. By looking at the site they can not only check out our walks, social events and what we look like (in our photo gallery), they can appreciate what we’re like as a bunch of people. After all, joining a walking group is as much about finding like-minded souls as it is about walking!
