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xrvr · 10-24-2012, 02:19 PM

If you use yahoo and type in blue beret magazine I think the info you need is there. Jim

monah · 10-24-2012, 02:41 PM

It's funny....sometimes when I attend a rally with our club all I really want to do is relax, read a book, or visit with friends.....it's a nice way to wind down after a crazy week. Our membership is diverse in both age, lifestyle and interests which means that most of our events have bicycle rides and local tours available as well. Just this last weekend we toured local wineries and creamerys in Dundee, OR while others went on a 17 mile bike ride. I love having options....but do not love having every minute of my time planned for me and I believe we've struck the right balance with the Oregon Unit.

Mona, WBCCI #3339
President and proud member of the Oregon Unit #090

Buttercup · 10-24-2012, 05:58 PM

Dan - thanks for the sagacious information. I will actually implement what I can in cleaning up this portion of the SEO as it is easy to do. I don't think we are in the category of being over SEO, but probably it is bloated as it currently stands. To arrive at that that list of keywords I used several tools and I did include some additional words like Airstream Club for example.
I did try changing the <title> tag but the blessing and curse of a Joomla based site is that the settings do not always work once you find them. I did find the setting to manually change the Title tag but forwhatever reason, it is not working. It may be a template issue or something with the menu system itself. I will fix that as soon as I can.

I wasn't around when the club first got the web site but I am pretty sure that we will not be looking at getting the .com if it came available. The .org is actually the best name that we can have because it does truly describe what we are whereas the .com is more for commercial entities - that is just my opinion. I do not think the club suffers in any way from having a .org domain over a .com.

Say - you aren't a member of WBCCI, are you? Are you in the web business in some way? you are very well versed in this stuff.

ddruker · 10-24-2012, 10:05 PM

That's very nice of you to say.

In my not-Airstream life I'm chief marketing officer for a tech company - so while the folks on my team know the latest gory details of this stuff and are up to their elbows in it every day, I at least sit in some of the meetings and pick up a thing or two.

I'm not a WBCCI member yet - trying to figure out if it makes any sense. I'm in my 40's with 10 year old twins and all the WBCCI members we've met so far on the road have been retired couples. They have all been super nice and have even sought us out when they've seen our Airstream at campsites - but it's not obvious we are in the right demographic.

wkerfoot · 10-24-2012, 10:32 PM

Dan,

If you have an Airstream, you are the right demographic. Next year's Region 12 Rally is in Lodi during October. There many rallies for Northern California units before then. Information is on the Region 12 site or in the Blue Beret Online.

Hope to see you next October.

Bill

Although over 40, I am not retired and my children and grandchildren join us at some rallies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddruker

That's very nice of you to say.

In my not-Airstream life I'm chief marketing officer for a tech company - so while the folks on my team know the latest gory details of this stuff and are up to their elbows in it every day, I at least sit in some of the meetings and pick up a thing or two.

I'm not a WBCCI member yet - trying to figure out if it makes any sense. I'm in my 40's with 10 year old twins and all the WBCCI members we've met so far on the road have been retired couples. They have all been super nice and have even sought us out when they've seen our Airstream at campsites - but it's not obvious we are in the right demographic.

Protagonist · 10-25-2012, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddruker

I'm not a WBCCI member yet - trying to figure out if it makes any sense. I'm in my 40's with 10 year old twins and all the WBCCI members we've met so far on the road have been retired couples. They have all been super nice and have even sought us out when they've seen our Airstream at campsites - but it's not obvious we are in the right demographic.

There are as many reasons for joining WBCCI as there are members. Maybe your reason might be simple curiosity about the club. Try it for a year; pick a unit close enough to where you live and/or camp that you can make at least some of that unit's events. If you try it and don't like it, all you've lost is one year's dues, and you can move on. WBCCI membership is not a good fit for all Airstream owners, after all.

I'm a member, at age 54 and still working for a living. Single, no kids, no pets, not even any houseplants. In my Unit, I'm either the youngest or second-youngest— not all of the ladies will tell their ages, obviously— and the lady in my age range still works for a living as well. Everyone else in the Unit is older and retired.

Doesn't matter. They made me feel welcome, anyway.

One of my fellow Unit members insists that the main reason to belong to WBCCI is the caravans; a whole vacation, planned out in detail, so all you have to do is show up and follow the herd to where the fun is. Not exactly my idea of fun, especially when you go to the WBCCI web page and download the list of recommended equipment to carry for a caravan. When Stanley crossed Africa in search of Livingstone, he didn't carry half the gear WBCCI recommends. The recommended equipment list makes it seem that caravans mean leaving civilization behind, going beyond the range of cell phones and roadside assistance services. I'm sure that not all caravans are like that, but still…

Rallies, on the other hand, seem much more appealing to me. My first introduction to rallies was the annual WBCCI Mardi Gras rally, right here in my hometown. I didn't take my Airstream to it, just showed up and met the WBCCI folks, since camping at home seems a waste and I couldn't get off work for the first half of the rally anyway. Still, what I saw of the rally, I enjoyed immensely.

And here's another interesting tidbit regarding the WBCCI Mardi Gras rally… It was held right next door to the Good Sam Mardi Gras Rally. Literally. Same improvised hookups at the UNO Lakefront Arena, similar activities. But the WBCCI rally cost its members a lot less, per person, and they had just as much fun as their Good Sam neighbors.

At my Unit's annual Planning Meeting recently, I paid my dues for a second year, also joined a second Unit as an affiliate member, and got selected as Second Vice-President of my Unit. Still not sure why a Unit with only a couple dozen members even needs a 2nd VP— when our whole nation has over 300 million people and only one VP— but I figured, why not try it? If I don't like it, I can abdicate next year.

AWCHIEF · 10-25-2012, 06:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowieE

There is a difference between a web site, Wright Bros, and a search result,wbcci.

That just says the Wright Bros. were quicker to realize the value of the internet before the Club was and got itself stuck in the .org sub basement.

This was found by putting WBCCI in GOOGLE. In fact it was the first site that came up. So is was a search result.

eubank · 10-25-2012, 09:57 AM

I think the new site is doing fairly well on the major search engines. I tried several different keywords, including a common misspelling (Bynam), and the site came up in first or second rank on each.

Lynn

quilter · 10-25-2012, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zigzagguzzi

If you use yahoo and type in blue beret magazine I think the info you need is there. Jim

I'm not sure to whom this was directed, but I searched "blue beret magazine" on google, bing, and yahoo. All provided the same link, and looks like the site is/was down temporarily.

I'd never think to search for "blue beret magazine" to find the dates for an Airstream rally or any other WBCCI business. You get a PDF and you have to search through that. It's a level (or two) of indirection. I'd expect to find the information on the WBCCI site. Also, I don't understand why the magazine is on yet another website (blueberetonline.com).

Buttercup · 10-25-2012, 03:08 PM

The information in the Blue Beret is the same info we have on WBCCI.org. We pull the information from the newsletter to populate the web site. There may be more up to date info on a particular unit's web site though. We have been discussing a better way of listing the schedule of all the units but the problem is generally getting the units to send HQ a complete schedule. Not all units do that.

I just checked - BlueBeretOnline is up and running now.

Protagonist · 10-25-2012, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quilter

I'm not sure to whom this was directed, but I searched "blue beret magazine" on google, bing, and yahoo. All provided the same link, and looks like the site is/was down temporarily.

I'd never think to search for "blue beret magazine" to find the dates for an Airstream rally or any other WBCCI business. You get a PDF and you have to search through that. It's a level (or two) of indirection. I'd expect to find the information on the WBCCI site. Also, I don't understand why the magazine is on yet another website (blueberetonline.com).

Members who remember the days before the Internet would think to go to the hard-copy Blue Beret for that info, because that was the only place to find it in those days. The Internet hasn't changed that for them.

Looking in the Blue Beret for info on rallies is not so intuitive for newer members. Especially since the rally details might change in between the Blue Beret publication date and the rally date. We use the Internet before we use dead trees, and so don't think to look for an electronic image of the dead trees, either. We want accurate, up-to-date info, locatred by simple keyword searches. Type in "WBCCI rally" and poof, there's your schedule. Like that.

Expecting people to think of the Blue Beret first to get rally info is another symptom of the old days mentality.

xrvr · 10-25-2012, 03:26 PM

Old days mentality. Another reason to sell the AS and get away grom you NEW people. Sorry, jim

Protagonist · 10-25-2012, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zigzagguzzi

Old days mentality. Another reason to sell the AS and get away grom you NEW people. Sorry, jim

No need to go that far. Maybe a subgroup, like the Vintage Airstream Club, except for vintage Airstreamers, where new guys like me aren't invited?

Or the Antagonists Club, where everyone is invited except Protagonist?

Aviator · 10-25-2012, 04:38 PM

In an attempt to steer the thread back on track, I rally like the new site. The more information made available about the club, membership, and rallies, the better. I am 50 and grew up without the internet, but I never reach for paper first. When I am looking for any bit of information, the first stop is a Google search either from my smart phone, iPad, or desktop computer. Only if I can't find it on the web do I reach for paper resources. Scratch that, I usually send out information requests by email before I reach for paper.

Dan, WBCCI membership should cover all of us. We have young and old members in our unit, and try very hard to make it fun for everyone. (yes, I have children and they are welcomed by everyone in the unit)

dwightdi · 10-25-2012, 09:04 PM

The Blue Beret on line is available from the .org website and it is only one click away. That is not a lot of inconvenience, in my mind. Finding the data within the BB, by having to scan through 60 pages does take a little doing. I use a tablet on the road, but I would think it would be worse with one of those little smart phone screens. I would never use a phone while I am towing. It is just too dangerous and my navigator does not like them.

NOW BACK TO THE POSITIVE INPUTS ON WHAT WE CAN ADD TO THE MEMBERSHIP BENEFIT PACKAGE AND NATIONAL PROGRAMS TO BROADEN THE CLUB'S APPEAL.

The units also need to be thinking about improvements to their programs to make their events more appealing to a broader audience.

stanp001 · 10-26-2012, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quilter

I'd never think to search for "blue beret magazine" to find the dates for an Airstream rally or any other WBCCI business. You get a PDF and you have to search through that. It's a level (or two) of indirection. I'd expect to find the information on the WBCCI site.

I agree, I would like the WBCCI site to be a first source for this sort of info

Stan

HowieE · 10-26-2012, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

This was found by putting WBCCI in GOOGLE. In fact it was the first site that came up. So is was a search result.

Not sure what the word "THIS" refers to. Do you mean the Aitfroums page or something relating to WBCCI?

Aviator · 10-26-2012, 12:23 PM

In the vein of membership improvement....I like to use multiple email accounts to keep my various streams of emails organized. (i.e. personal, company, other organizations) As I understand from either the beginning of this thread or another, the capability exits to issue @WBCCI address' to members. I would like to suggest this as an option for all members even if your unit is not being hosted on the site. I would find My.Name@WBCCI.org to be very useful.

damonbeals · 10-26-2012, 12:38 PM

The club has had this feature since 2007! But no one ever used it! We can provide members with user@wbcci.net email accounts, which are hosted on google, they are standard gmail accounts. The problem was with adding accounts, and removing accounts.

Yes we would like to once again offer this as a service, but we will need to wait on improvements to the clubs membership database so the process can be streamlined. (ie email is created when you join, not in a batch job done later)

We have hundreds of accounts that where created in 2007 but never accessed. Now all we need is the free time to remove them.

Damon
#4827
ECC Chairman

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aviator

In the vein of membership improvement....I like to use multiple email accounts to keep my various streams of emails organized. (i.e. personal, company, other organizations) As I understand from either the beginning of this thread or another, the capability exits to issue @WBCCI address' to members. I would like to suggest this as an option for all members even if your unit is not being hosted on the site. I would find My.Name@WBCCI.org to be very useful.

AWCHIEF · 10-26-2012, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HowieE

Not sure what the word "THIS" refers to. Do you mean the Aitfroums page or something relating to WBCCI?

Now I think you are just being silly. But I will try to explain for you. When I typed WBCCI in GOOGLE search WBCCI.COM was one of the first links that came up. WBCCI.COM belongs to a construction company and has no connection to the caravan club or Airforums. Got it?