2005 Website Report

 

 

Earlier this year we were able to get a polylingual search engine operational on the website -- thanks to help from Barry Clark.  We now provide full search capabilities for The Urantia Book translations in English, Russian, Spanish, Lithuanian, French, Dutch, Croatian, and Korean. We will continue to provide full search services for all translations as they come online. 

 

Over the past 6 months work on the website has slowed substantially with the proliferation of committees appointed to look into various aspects of the website.  At present there is a web oversight committee, a technical review committee, two different database review committees, a privacy policy committee, and a new content committee.  Are we having fun yet?  Are we becoming efficient?  Virtually all work related to ongoing technical development has stopped as the website continues its slow death by committee.

 

The server which I was setting up to handle administrative communications and data services has been shut down.  The upgrading of our internal email list software has been suspended along with the installation of a community calendar to which members of the Executive Committee and other administrative personnel could link private calendars.  Database development is suspended as is the deployment of e-newsletter software and services.  Also suspended with the shutting down of this server is the deployment of chat software -- chat being used extensively for Urantia communications in Latin America.

 

I have had concerns for the past several years that it was not good for the organization to have only one person familiar with the many different aspects of our IT services.  I have created a detailed document which contains information about accounts, passwords, people who provide technical support for the various software applications which we use, as well as detailed information about how the website is structured and maintained.  At present Larry Watkins, Steve Dreier, and Michael Challis have access to this information.  I will be updating it from time to time and providing them with copies of the updated information.  A weak point in the system is the ability for other individuals to restore any aspect of the system from backups.  Putting into place a procedure for this and testing it should be a priority.

 

While technical work is on hold I have been focusing on content, slowly getting additional materials from print collections digitized and published on the website. Because of the growing hiatus on the English website, I am moving my efforts to the renovation of Spanish sites -- we have the regular Spanish site which is being redesigned as well as a new site coming online for the Bogota School for Students of The Urantia Book.  When present work is completed both sites will be linked by the Spanish translation of the text along with an index created by a reader who is a professor of philosophy at the University of Mexico.  There will also be cross-links to the Spanish translation of Bill Sadler's "Study of the Master Universe" which was completed by readers in Bogota, Colombia, and other translated study materials.

 

We either must limit our deployment of information technologies to the skill sets of our volunteers or we must hire professionals to take care of this aspect of our business operations.  For example, we can have the best database system in the world but if the people who need to use it are not confortable with basic database operations it will not be of much use.  It is similar to our accounting function -- we have professionals who take care of the organization's accounting, IRS reporting, and related work; there are many reasons why we do not farm this out to volunteers.  If volunteers, officers, or other individuals need specific information related to accounting, they can go to these professionals and get the information they need.  The same is true of the organization's IT needs, particularly in the area of database administration.

If we are going to build the foundations for an organization that is international in scope and depends on a variety of technical programs for organizational support, we need to divest ourselves of the delusion that we can simply do this with volunteers drawn from the readership of The Urantia Book.  We need to hire trained professionals and should immediately begin to include this in long term financial and organizational planning.  We have an immediate need for a database administrator and we are spending a great deal of administrative time and money compensating for our failure to take action on this matter.

 

A few thoughts about committees

 

It would be helpful if the organization developed a more integrated approach to using committees as well as supporting the work of creative individuals.  There are places where a committee is very important -- such as in decisions about how donated funds should be used.  There are places where the work of creative individuals would be destroyed by a committee, such as the work done by Agustin and Algimantas. 

 

Professional input and experience is also needed within committees.  Everyone has personal opinions about how things might be managed effectively but unless we have people with actual real world experience or consult with professionals, we can do no more than guide the organization with the opinions of individuals who can talk the most persuasively or wield the most political power.

 

One of the greatest needs for outside consultation is in the marketing and positioning of The Urantia Book.  There are considerable implications here for outreach, marketing, website, and many other aspects of our business.  We have no reliable, workable information about target markets.  Mo has probably done more work on this issue than anyone else and would be a good person to include in such a discussion.  Mo's work, as well as the data which I've developed from website traffic over the years and experience which we've had with outreach clearly indicates that Jesus is the central element that we should be promoting if we want to attract more readers and participation.  However, this information immediately conflicts with strong prejudices and fears within our organization.  Until we come to terms with the central place of Jesus in the revelation and begin promoting The Urantia Book accordingly we are likely to continue having mediocre results.  Said Jesus, "And now I declare to you that I, if I be lifted up on earth and in your lives, will draw all men to myself and into the fellowship of my Father."  Who is going to lift him up for the world to see if not us?

   

Our constitution says that we are to be about the business of promoting a religion.  If this is not the religion of Jesus I would like to hear an articulation of just what the nature of this religion might be.  If it is the religion of Jesus, we have a lot of work to do.