PDA

View Full Version : Thoughts about the forum's calendar functions



Scott Tichenor
Aug-16-2009, 9:29am
Working on the calendar functions that are a part of this forum software this a.m. and would like to share some observations and ways those of you with gigs, workshops or events you'd like to promote can make the best use of this feature.

First, this a.m. I added a feature to all single events so you can auto-post those to your Google calendar, Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, MySpace, etc., etc. Sure, not everyone uses these services, but for those of you do, it's ready now. In the future, more and more people will make use of social networking and calendaring tools that communicate across sites. The numbers don't lie, and having the ability makes it a richer more effective experience. To see this in action, take a look at this event (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=858&day=2009-9-28&c=1) and the "Share" icon just below the event.

Events: who said these have to be three boring lines with a link (which many of you don't even bother adding)? How about inserting a nice photo of your or your band or a YouTube video into the event or festival listing where you're performing? Check out our treatment of the upcoming Bean Blossom Festival (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=903&day=2009-9-23) to get an idea of what you can do. Even a simple image (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=880&day=2009-8-12&c=1) added to the listing can make it a lot more interesting. And if there's a *lot* of textual information to communicate about the event, that's what the space is for :). You know how to copy and paste, so add it.

Each day's events are automatically ported to the Cafe home page, so be sure to provide a location. Many of you don't. City and state is a courtesy. No one should have to guess where you're playing, and a link if one is available helps a lot.

I've lived my entire adult life among musicians that complain they don't get enough press, and most of them I know--let's face it--are lousy at taking advantage of opportunities right in front of their face. This isn't the end-all-solution to this, but it is a mighty visible canvas that could be used much more effectively. About anything you can do in a post you can do in a calendar listing (although images must be already on the web--can't be uploaded--but that's what your personal photos album on the forum is for).

Mandophyte
Aug-16-2009, 12:31pm
Scott,

Super stuff!

Quote "City and state is a courtesy."

As this is a global site can I suggest that we also include country?

Cheers!