The Story of the MESG Website or “How 3 Bobs* hit the Jackpot!”

What are the ingredients for a new website? In this instance it was three Bobs, one committee member without a job and the willingness to get it going by all concerned! The ball was started rolling by an email of a YouTube Video Clip sent to one Bob, who thought it should be for the attention of another Bob who discussed it with a third Bob during a visit to the Nerve Centre and hey presto: the idea of a sub-website for the ME Support Group was born! The Bobs concerned were Bob Evans, the first recipient of the clip, Bob Burns, the secretary of the ME group and Bob Wainwright, the man with the technical knowhow at the Nerve Centre who suggested launching the MESG subsite! The YouTube video clip had been copied to all committee members and I responded to BobB with confirmation that I had seen it and agreed that it would be useful to have online as it contained a positive message. Having shown an interest I was roped in! I had joined the MESG committee at the last AGM in March but until this time was “without portfolio.” Then came a telephone call from BobB telling me about the meeting with BobW and asking me if I would be interested in being the Website Liaison Officer. I enjoy creating things but, despite enjoying using the computer for research on the Internet and email, I was a bit concerned as to whether I would have sufficient technical ability. Having been assured that BobW would do all the real hands on graft and that I would just be coming up with ideas and liaising with other members about what could go on the site, I liked the idea and agreed to give it a go. I was introduced to BobW, we met up at the Nerve Centre and got started. Above all we agreed that we wanted it to be welcoming, friendly and positive and having spent some time looking at other sites I had a few ideas in mind. BobW had already got the ball rolling with the space set up and a Video clip on site to show what could be achieved.

First of all we wanted members and potential members with queries to be able to look at the site and identify the person who could best deal with their question, so I contacted all committee members to ask their permission to post information about their role and contact addresses/numbers, bearing in mind that ME being a chronic fatigue syndrome, they may not wish to have their details made public and receive world wide attention! Some said yes, some said no and some have still to confirm but we got started! I obtained a copy of the group Logo in Word format from our editor at BobW's request. Thanks go to Stella for producing that. Also we wanted to advertise the meetings and coffee mornings to remind people when they are and attract new members. The next issue was whether or not to include copies of our Newsletter. The committee was also canvassed about this and there were mixed views, since some thought it a good idea and others thought that having the newsletter material freely available might deter people from joining. In the end it was decided to advertise the newsletter and say what kind of articles it contained. I already had a few links in mind to sites I had found useful. BobW added a link to the Nerve Centre forum so that people who are currently house-bound can have a point of contact with others. Thus we began! The site has undergone metamorphosis a few times (and many thanks to BobW for his infinite patience with my changes) and no doubt will continue to evolve as new ideas come or we encounter problems with the old ones. Getting a new project started has been fun. How about setting up some more sub-sites, anyone?

Maggie Rothwell
*Thanks to BobB who coined the phrase “3 Bobs”
BobB=Bob Burns
BobE=Bob Evans
BobW=Bob Wainwright

website: http://www.thenervecentrekirklees.org.uk/mesupport.html