9/7/99
It's been a couple of weeks since my last
commentary, so I thought I'd better get
something up here. I've been doing alot of
thinking lately...especially about The Sociology Shop
itself. Although my "hit count" won't be
mistaken for "high volume," I've been doing
pretty well by my standards. I'm averaging 7
hits a day on the Front Page. Last week I had
81 hits there and 160 on the other pages.
The week before it was 49 and 89,
respectively. Given that I don't have a big
promotion endeavor, the volume I have is
gratifying.
I've also noticed that I'm getting some
repeat visitors...people coming back to
explore more links. This too is gratifying
because it means I'm actually "talking" to
someone who appreciates what the TSS has in
it. In addition, while there's always a
certain amount of "quick visits," more and
more people are staying longer and viewing a
number of pages while here. A clientele is
developing.
The gist of all this is that TSS is
growing and becoming more and more useful to
more and more people. Although few have let
me know what they're looking for when they
visit (i.e. see Question
for my Visitors on Front Page), a
pattern is emerging. The top visited room is
the Fromm Room.
Second is the Articles
Room...followed by the Sociology Room, the
Sociological Thinking
Tools Room, and the Library and Reading
Rooms. This leads me to want to add
more to these...as time permits.
I have recently added two new rooms. The
first, "Future" Science
Fiction Room, contains a list of
"future" books and links to them or their
authors. I had this material in the Library
but decided to create a room by itself for
it. I have more links to add and I'll be
doing so very soon. The second new room is
the International
Room. I have links there connecting
to the sites and/or domains of international
visitors to TSS. I got the idea from a
Professor from Spain...he wrote and asked if
I'd like to link to his page. Since my
counters...from Site Meter...tell me the
origin of the visitors (some clickable and
some not), I went back and found quite a few.
This is my way of saying thanks to these
international visitors and I hope to develop
this room further.
Another change is the renaming of the
Prison Issues
Room...to the Criminology Room. The
material in there will soon reflect this
broader focus...keeping the links about
prisons, but adding general criminological
links and materials.
Other changes planned are: Combining the
Library and the Reading Room. I will
reorganize the materials in these rooms for
better and quicker access. Also, I want to
add a room about Inequality...especially about
Race, Gender, and Work. But what I
want to do most of all is add more material
to existing rooms...especially Conceptual
Tools and Critical Thinking rooms. I'm
getting quite a few visitors to these rooms
and they quite clearly need more attention
from me.
However, the biggest news is about
starting to teach informal courses (4-6 weeks
long...one night per week...probably 2 hrs
each night). Since employment in academia
isn't likely right now...and...since I miss
teaching and being with other people who like
and want to learn, I've decided to start
doing it informally for the public. I plan
to create a "TSS
Courses" Room soon. I have various
course topics in mind...such as: Science Fiction and the Future Thinking Skills for Life Criminal Justice and Prisons American Government for the Few Why Religion? Toasters, Shoes, and Crime Drugs and Drug Use in America
These are just some of the ideas I'm
rumbling around...there are many others
possible. For now I'll start in the
Eugene/Springfield area of Oregon...maybe
expanding to other locations as time goes on.
Advertising in this area isn't that
difficult, especially with the U of Oregon
right here. I'm very excited about all this
and I hope it can grow...I believe it
will.
Although the courses will be in a physical
location, I plan to utilize The Sociology
Shop for them. I'll need to greatly expand
some rooms...providing materials for reading
and discussion purposes. Thus, access to the
Internet will be necessary...at home, work,
or someplace like a library. I'm looking
forward to getting started...hopefully in
early October. Eventually, I'd like to offer
some informal courses ONLINE...in TSS...but
for now I'll work on getting people to meet
each week somewhere in the area.
Well, this "commentary" has turned out
quite different than I thought it would at
the start. I guess its kind of an "update"
on TSS...for those interested. I keep
looking at other sociological sites, admiring
them and choosing which ones to put in TSS.
As I say in the What is TSS section, I don't
want to merely duplicate other sites...I want
to do my own thing...I hope I'm succeeding.
And...while I'm at it...I have many sites
ready to put in TSS...its just time to do it
that's the problem. I make promises and then
don't carry through as much as I'd like.
But, I'll keep keeping on. Any suggestions and comments
are welcomed...Thanks for
listening.
David H. Ke
