Welcome

In the year or so since I stopped publishing Heavener Online, many people have mentioned how they missed the web site and the halltheway site where local blogs were published.

I miss HOL also. But I haven't had the time to publish the site. I was spending an hour or two every day back in the HOL days, early in the morning. REALLY early in the morning.

Lately, I was wondering what could be done that could come close to matching HOL, but others could lend a helping hand. This is how the whole deal came together.

Ever since I hung up HOL, I had also stopped taking pictures for the most part. For a while, I imagined that someday I might be able to take pictures full time. One day, I said the heck with it. I am not going to worry about making money with photography, I will just take the kinds of pictures I enjoy.

So I opened a new photography account with flickr and started posting some new and old photographs. I ran across a feature for groups. Hmm, I actually thought, it would be nice to have a group for Heavener photographers. So I created a Heavener group.

A day or so later (I am firmly entrenched in middle agedom so my mind does not function as fast as it once did), I remembered seeing something about Yahoo Groups.

What the heck, I actually said, why not? So I started a Heavener Group at Yahoo and invited a few friends. I messed around with the settings and found out all members could post messages, photographs, polls, files and a whole lot more.

If somebody has an event coming up, put it in the calendar. Taken a great photograph or found an oldie but a goodie? Post that baby in the photo section. Little Johnny hit three home runs in his T-ball game? Write it up and post it in the message section!

Presto! This thing might work. Okay, I didn't say or think presto until I started writing this paragraph. Everybody could take part and it is easy!

I remembered also that there was a forum attached to HOL. I found the link, made some changes and the newly reborn Heavener Forum was good to go.

What an amazing chain of events, eh? Maybe not all that amazing. Anybody else would have probably figured it out long ago. But still, something was missing. Our amazing group of bloggers, who eventually grew almost as popular (or more so) than HOL.

In the past, I enjoyed all our bloggers. But I had to format all the posts and it was time consuming. So there had to be a better way! About that time, a great DUH! hit me.

Couldn't you have several authors on a group with blogger? You know, the blog site I used to post all my silly blogs on? The same place you could have set everybody up on years ago and made posting blogs easier for everybody?

Why yes, you can. Here, not there, is the proof. I said, "Craig", cause that's my name, "do it!" The inner Craig asked if I would be spinning my wheels. "Would they come?"

I don't know. But this Heavener bloggers group pretty much completes the picture. So, if you like to write and want to join, please send me an email saying you are wanting to blog. After receiving it, I will invite you to join.

You will have to accept the invitation and register for a google account. Don't worry, it's easy. Then write and post to your heart's desire.

Cool, eh? Now we have most of the benefits of the HOL deal and nobody will be worn out. So again, welcome aboard. Get involved!