SC RCSC Website Upgrade

I know that Carole. Why is it everything that happens here takes forever. A website upgrade should not take 19 months to 2 years. A whole new system could have been designed in that time and probably for less. I hope you are not paying by the hour. The library contract should not have taken 8 months and should not have happened in the first place. Mt. View 10 years??? I get so tired of the 3 or 4 who think this is some kind of paradise when things are not getting done. Look at the Grand center. You didn't even ask why I gave my old computers to SCW. It was because no one called me from SC. After a couple of weeks I called SCW and they actually answered the phone so I took them there. It's all silly.

BTW I read the reports. The website is not ready. The site is not ready. Presentation due from Tech Company next meeting, meeting with tech company. Facebook, SCW, and on and on.

 

I agree and stated as such on another thread. It would probably have been prudent to engage one of the many companies that not only help migrate old systems to new platforms, but also monitor the site and provide resolutions as needed. I was critical of the process as it was moving along, slowly. Then I remembered something critical: this system has not been maintained to a level that promotes easy transition.
Things such as IT, training and development and other program initiatives have just not been implemented. They were not being monitored by anyone as to necessary enhancements needed.
So here we are, so many years later, and it’s today. We know there are a number of things lacking, the website being one of the critical needs. Having been identified. It’s being worked on and monitored by the communications committee, led by Director Nettesheim. She is keeping them on task, plus looking at a training program for the board members. Which is why the last time I posted, I offered kudos to those involved. I still do.
When your base of support is quicksand, building a strong foundation for a new, successful and functional website takes time and effort. Give these people a chance to build what needs to be offered and move forward from there.

 

You didn't think I would look did you? Seriously Carole I was expecting to make an apology as I thought I would find all kinds of great information on in those documents. I found crap. Everything here is sitting on quicksand. It's not Nirvana. People don't care like they used to, and mostly it's due to the failure of current and past boards. I have my thoughts but will not speak to them here. I have a friend I begged not to move here, but they did. The 2 for 1 got them. I told them not to come crying to me when the proverbial crap hits the fan, which I believe it will.

 

The information posted is indeed that of greatness. You would not know how bad the IT infrastructure is because it’s not openly discussed. I can speak as to how awful it was even back 13 years ago while on the board. All the years of neglect and lack of upgrades both to hardware and software was overlooked repeatedly. Monies needed were never allocated for computer upgrades and software improvements. What we are seeing is an attempt to make the website more efficient and user friendly.
It will probably not make the RCSC a player in the digital age, as additional software updates with hardware support will be required. Digital as in interactive software that can speak to you, verify purchases with voice recognition and verification, and other dynamic features that digitized software updates can provide. It would require additional features added which will take additional investment as well as entertaining the idea of a dedicated software development monitoring system.

 

Whatever. Nothing is openly discussed any more. Your statement says everything one should know about SC in today's lifetime. It applies to most things SC. "All the years of neglect and lack of upgrades both to hardware and software was overlooked repeatedly". Replace "Hardware and Software" with your choice of words. 20 million in deferred maintenance comes to mind.

 

I find myself smiling at the inanity of comments. Sorry, but both Carole and i suffered through years on the board arguing for the membership and against a top down structure. Most of us who were actually involved raged over the technology failures and over the years, they got worse. By the time the long-tenured gm left, it was a total shit-show.

It is exactly what happens when you give management absolute and total control and you relinquish the single most important job a board has; oversight. Board's trusted she would always make the right decision. No one is that smart or that good. History taught us well, a community like ours was and still is best served when the membership is directly involved.

To be clear, it doesn't need to be everyone, not 75%, not 50%; because we know from our history, it never reached those kinds of numbers. What we do know, and what we have learned is the broader the spectrum of members committed to ownership, the better off the community is.

Some folks take me to task; either for being too outspoken/critical, while others get angered that i am a cheerleader for the RCSC. I've watched as closely as anyone has over the past 22 years and i see glimmers of hope. I see steps taken to restore some of what was lost. I also see enormous opportunities to evolve further and grow the circle.

Organizations never change overnight. In fact, when they get headed in the wrong direction, stopping them and ultimately turning them around is slow and painful. We've suffered through three general managers since 2006; finding the right one this time around is imperative. Whoever they hire won't be our salvation, they should be a rock of stability, consistency and committed to helping grow the sense of community.

I find it ludicrous to those critical of the recent RCSC's efforts to rebuild our technology. There's was virtually nothing that didn't need a massive overhaul. They started from less than ground zero and as they are climbing their way out of the hole, new problems crop up daily. I applaud their efforts and rather than releasing a website with bugs, they are working to get it done right. Kudos to them for that.

We've come a long way baby (tip of the hat to that old Virginia Slims commercial), and we have an even longer way to go. We know from our history, nothing was ever perfect and yet as we trudged down the path, those on the journey stayed the course, righted the ship and we sailed on.

We will this time as well.