Hedgesand Heartache Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Hi guys, As part of a course at university I have to set up a 'niche' interest website with various bits and pieces on it. Some of you may have been following my '42 grounds' efforts, so I have decided to use that blog and branch out a bit in to the wider world of lower league Scottish football. As part of the process I'm looking for some informal thoughts on what fans would like to see on such a website. One of the conditions of the project is that it has to have a 'news' element to it, beyond that the rest is up to me. There are no restrictions on content (audio/video are acceptable) beyond my abilities... You can see the beginnings of the site for yourself here: https://hedgesandheartache.wordpress.com/ Thanks guys, any suggestions would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DA Baracus Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 What are you classifying as 'Lower Leagues'? Everything below the Premiership? But then you have features on Inverness, Hamilton and Kilmarnock on the home page. I assume they are part of your 42 Grounds feature (a decent enough idea) but the message/theme is confusing, or at least jumbled. It's not clear if the site is about the visit to the 42 Grounds or if it's about Lower League football. Also, and I hope I'm not sounding too critical here, the link when you click on 'Home' is knackered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgesand Heartache Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 Thanks for your feedback. It will feature everything below the Premiership. I'm in the process of adapting my old site which was basically just the '42 grounds' pieces. My plan was to keep them on the site under the '42 grounds' heading but off the front page, with features, news and opinion taking its place. My logic being that the vast majority of the 42 grounds stuff will come from lower league grounds (30/42) and also top flight ones may be of interest to League 2 fans anyway, for example. Plus it has been a pretty effective way of bringing people to the site, which could be useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Vojáček Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 I'm assuming you've heard of Tell Him He's Pele? That was, in my opinion, comfortably the best lower league Scottish football website there has ever been. It had a great mix of stuff like the '5 things we learned' casual reading stuff, to some pretty hard hitting, in depth long stuff - Francesc Fabregas from on here's Scott Booth article was a fine example of something that could take up a whole train journey.I toyed with the idea of attempting something similar, but I don't think I could do it justice at the moment. If you were able to create something along similar lines then that'd be great. What Uni is it you're at, and what are you studying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgesand Heartache Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 3 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said: I'm assuming you've heard of Tell Him He's Pele? That was, in my opinion, comfortably the best lower league Scottish football website there has ever been. It had a great mix of stuff like the '5 things we learned' casual reading stuff, to some pretty hard hitting, in depth long stuff - Francesc Fabregas from on here's Scott Booth article was a fine example of something that could take up a whole train journey. I toyed with the idea of attempting something similar, but I don't think I could do it justice at the moment. If you were able to create something along similar lines then that'd be great. What Uni is it you're at, and what are you studying? I was a big fan of THHP and agree that it was excellent. I would probably be looking at producing that kind of content, although obviously not identical and also with a more 'newsy' section, which is a requirement. I'm doing a Postgrad in Journalism at RGU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Vojáček Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 2 hours ago, Hedgesand Heartache said: I was a big fan of THHP and agree that it was excellent. I would probably be looking at producing that kind of content, although obviously not identical and also with a more 'newsy' section, which is a requirement. I'm doing a Postgrad in Journalism at RGU. Good stuff. If it was me then I'd go for some short (maybe) weekly roundups of the news that people may have missed. A good example this week would've been Michael McKenna of Berwick Rangers being sent off for the 3rd time this season. Could be a goalkeeping mistake, a horrific miss or a wondersave or stunner get a sort of weekend roundup. Then I'd maybe want to do one or two more in depth, news related articles - again focusing on stuff people may have missed. Last season for example we signed Kler Heh, a refugee from Thailand/Mynamar. A wee blurb about that would sort of thing would be quite cool, and I don't doubt there's plenty other newsworthy stories kicking about. Mind and consult Galtung and Ruge though Then less frequently, say once a month, it'd be cool to get a more in depth interview with a player if that's possible. If you're at RGU then perhaps a Peterhead, Brechin, even Aberdeen player to talk a bit about their career/life as a lower league footballer etc. That bit is asking a lot, and I'm not sure if it's possible, but all Journalism lecturers will fire the plaudits at people who get a few interviews - that's certainly my experience so far! The fee for these ideas will be appearing on your door in the next 3-5 days. Cash and cheque are accepted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 16 minutes ago, Sonsteam of 08 said: Good stuff. If it was me then I'd go for some short (maybe) weekly roundups of the news that people may have missed I'd second this. A few days after the event we don't need a length re-hashing of the facts/results etc. Look for characters from the weekend, unusual events, exceptional goals, strange themes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloop John B Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 IIRC, Craig who did THHP packed it in as it was getting repetitive and it became a lot of work for someone who was doing it for the love of it. I think if you keep it fresh or get a few mates to cut the burden, it'll be a lot of fun. THHP worked so well as the people who wrote the in depth articles were not just passionate but incredibly insightful and well written. I now know way too much about Stenhousemuir and Queens Park than I am willing to admit. The problem with journalism as a whole is that there is such a demand for content that you get all these '15 times Joey Barton acted like a fanny' instead of really specialist stuff, when ideally there would be a balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgesand Heartache Posted October 7, 2016 Author Share Posted October 7, 2016 Appreciate all the feedback. I've already made a couple of small changes to the site thanks to advice on here. Loads of good suggestions for content so will sit down at some point over the weekend and draw up a more structured plan for content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichtie78 Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 If you did want to branch out your website, I'd be more than happy to contribute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wullie McNaught Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 This has all the hallmarks of the first page of the Scotzine thread.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itzdrk Posted October 8, 2016 Share Posted October 8, 2016 I'd change the twitter bit. As far as I am aware you can replace it with lists instead of an individual account. So you could have all the clubs and some other news sources/journalists. That would probably help towards being news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgesand Heartache Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 After getting all of my other assignments out of the way I'm hoping to get a bit more work done on this. There's plenty on there that might be of interest, including Podcasts with Pedro Moutinho and Michael Moore. The part which still needs work is the news section, but that has been on the back burner as I've finished essays etc. If you haven't had a look in a while you can check the link below. https://hedgesandheartache.wordpress.com/ At this stage, I think it would be good to get some contributions from fans to the opinion section on the site. It could be anything from your thoughts on Colt teams to your thoughts on a particular team, player or manager. Obviously I can't pay you but you would be fully credited. I also can't guarantee I'll use everything but there's a good chance I will. If you would like to contribute an opinion piece send your idea to hedgesandheartache@gmail.com and we can discuss it before you start writing. The module is finishing in January but the numbers viewing it have been good so I've every intention of continuing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionel hutz Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 I do a bit of blogging myself from time to time, if you ever need someone to do anything PM me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poet of the Macabre Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Very interested in the podcast side of things. Audio isn't too bad for phone interviews either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgesand Heartache Posted April 9, 2017 Author Share Posted April 9, 2017 Hi guys, I'm coming to the end of my uni course, so trying to think about the future of the website. If you could take the time to fill in this survey it would be much appreciated. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/B7J7WXC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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