I now want you to imagine that wheel and try to imagine it as a map of our garden network with the open space beyond the rim as being the world wide web.
Gardening communities aren't just about belonging because it is the 'in thing'. The whole concept is about sharing knowledge and optimizing opportunity. To do that, the network has to be freely available and simple to find.
That it why I have decided to keep the content outside of password protection. You might question the validity of this decision so I thought I would explain my thinking on the 'bicycle wheel concept'.
The landscape Juice Network is the centre of the hub with all its generated information radiating away to the rim where you as a member sits and reads its content.
The information that you send to the hub is held in store but at the same time, it is radiated back out - or pushed - through the rim to the greater world web where it is readily available to anyone with internet access.
The reason why our content isn't locked behind a log-in, is because, to do so wold be hiding it away from the global web and its potential to be found by future clients or partners.
I have deliberately encouraged all members to freely link out so that we build a strong resource and increases the opportunity further for all.
By contributing news, information and knowledge, members are contributing to the direction the site takes i the future.
I have seen evidence that other garden organisations are retaining all of the information generated by its members within that rim, and eliminating any chance that the member information is ever found.
I would encourage you as a member to add blog posts and forum posts that will intercept search queries on the world wide web.
If I had locked you all away behind a password then that information cannot be found by search engines because a search engine does not have the ability to register and log-in to the site.
Comments
Take a look at this search result for Cat Fereday http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&rlz=1B2GGGL_enFR202FR202&a...
It is actually a result from the Landscape Juice blog where I link across the Cat's post about being the trials of a gardeners wife and Cat comes in top and of course, the link is directly to Cat and her profile on the Landscape Juice Network.
So the more we add the stronger we get.