How Can we get the Observer Deck Buzzing Again?

[Matthew Lee]

If everyone is ok with the same 15 posters or so all agreeing with each other, and the same two or three that stir up the pot a little bit, please feel free to ignore this post. I know that I have been accused of many things that are definitely not true but I still am fine coming back to this site.

I really do love Lakewood, and the Observer and love the Deck and love what it stands for but feel that so many people have been chased away that this board is nothing but a "pat on the back" board, no matter how great the information is that comes from the posters. There really is a LOT of work that many of you put in to the posts and it really is falling on deaf ears. It is the same people over, and over, and over again all posting and agreeing with each other.

What can be done to get this information out? What can be done to get the people of Lakewood back to this board? Is it too late? Does anyone care that nobody is noticing?

[jackie f taylor]

I don't know if I agree with you or not, I have been a very out spoken contributor for some time now, I don't hide what i I am, or what I believe in. it doesn't matter. I will debate anyone.

[Bridget Conant]

Matthew

I'm not sure sure it's the "same 15 people" on the Deck, unless you are speaking of who POSTS on the Deck.

I think the number of readers is much higher. How do I know? Well, several of my neighbors read here, I know that for a fact. I run into people at Marc's who comment on things they've seen on the Deck, not in the paper, but on the Deck. I've been involved in some activities with other residents and they have commented on some of the posts.

So I believe those who come to the Deck to read and get information is not related to how many actually post. And I think you'd find that is pretty common most everywhere online.

It takes a certain person to have the willingness to put themselves out there day after day. Some people aren't comfortable sharing their opinions. Others aren't sure it's a good idea to be "known" online. There are a myriad of reasons that MOST people who read online do not POST online.

Would it be great if more people posted? Of course. But I think of other places I read or participate online and it's basically the same. I even belong to other boards but don't post on all of them - for a variety of reasons.

I don't think there is a magic solution.

[jackie f taylor]

and I appreciate your thoughts.

[Matthew Lee]

Matthew

I'm not sure sure it's the "same 15 people" on the Deck, unless you are speaking of who POSTS on the Deck.

I think the number of readers is much higher.

Bridget, thank you for that. I definitely want to stand corrected. It is definitely the same, and let's even up to 20, people who POST on the deck. You are correct. Many more view it. But how can we get more participation from the current non-posters?

I can disagree with many of the posters here, and have done so in the past, but have no problem coming back as I believe everyone really has Lakewood's best interest at heart. How can we get more to come and post and discourse?

[Matthew Lee]

I don't know if I agree with you or not, I have been a very out spoken contributor for some time now, I don't hide what i I am, or what I believe in. it doesn't matter. I will debate anyone.

Hi Jackie,

I absolutely agree with you and know that you will debate anyone! And I mean that in a good way. I'm just trying to figure out how we can get others to participate. There are many people that no longer come here and post and want to find out why we can't get them to come back and new people to post.

Appreciate all you do!

[Mark Kindt]

Mr. Lee, I post on a very limited set of topics.

I do so here, because of the utility and convenience of the platform. And, because, it is an independent and open platform.

Other platforms have elected to regulate the reasonable discussion of local public policy issues.

I applaud the team at the Lakewood Observer and the Observation Deck for its courage, community commitment, and open editorial policies.

[Jim O'Bryan]

If everyone is ok with the same 15 posters or so all agreeing with each other, and the same two or three that stir up the pot a little bit, please feel free to ignore this post. I know that I have been accused of many things that are definitely not true but I still am fine coming back to this site.

I really do love Lakewood, and the Observer and love the Deck and love what it stands for but feel that so many people have been chased away that this board is nothing but a "pat on the back" board, no matter how great the information is that comes from the posters. There really is a LOT of work that many of you put in to the posts and it really is falling on deaf ears. It is the same people over, and over, and over again all posting and agreeing with each other.

What can be done to get this information out? What can be done to get the people of Lakewood back to this board? Is it too late? Does anyone care that nobody is noticing?

Matthew Lee

Again I am not sure I agree, Mr. Kindt, Mr. Essi, Jackie, Lori, many are new faces here when you look at the length of time we have been around. Names like Davis and Call are welcome returns, but pop in when they have something to say about things they are passionate about. Others like Markling, Voinovich and Ostroski are unbelieveably busy with real life work that does not offer them the time to jump in. While others like Favre for one, find the speed of conversation on the Deck, troubling. In other words, he reads a post at 9am, and by the time he gets back to a computer at 4pm the conversation has moved way beyond the point he was trying to make.

So how does one make it more accessible than it already is. How do we make it more open, more inviting? All tough questions, but questions I am glad are being asked, and talked about here on the Deck.

We see how desperate the City is to control conversations, and more and more are turning away from that, but are not ready for the rough and tumble mosh pit of word jazz that allows residents to frame themselves with their words actions and posts.

As far as noticing the Deck, look no farther than post on the new piano bar and restaurant, a total of over 10,000 viewers saw that post here, and on FB in 24 hours. I'll put those numbers against any other product servicing Lakewood currently.

While the Observer staff is always open to any idea that makes this project more inclusive, more open and more accountable to the community, outside of providing a welcoming place for any and all ideas and comments, is a hard one to come up with.

I was talking and consulting with a new group working on bringing another discussion board to the city of Lakewood that will be unveiled next summer. It is bits and pieces of everything that exists out there now. A little of neighborhood, a little of Patch, a little of Community board and a whole lot of the Lakewood Observer, and they admitted they are following what we do closely trying to learn. At the end, it appears to be just another way to control messages, posters and make discussion friendly for all. Which thereby leaves out the real heart of the community, and the real essence of those posting. My question to him, was if you have someone that is evil, do you cover for them, or shine the light on them, and what is the duty of the board to the community? If someone sees something wrong and they report it, who makes the decision if that is nice or not? Who sits there and edits each post? The same person that edits every discussion in local coffee shops, at baseball games, at?????

Finally, I find it amazing how the community is fooled into thinking the Observer, especially the Deck is bad and negative. Are those not equally bad and negative comments? Is a place any friendlier if someone attacks another and they let it stay up for 24 hours, before striking it down? When we look at the various comments of negativity against this project, let's not forget we have caught the city, along with various other players working extremely hard on secret agendas, that work against the best interest of the city while catching them red handed in their dirty deeds. I am willing to bet, most of of the negativity against this project are by those caught red handed, and are now unwilling to step up and answer the tough questions and be accountable.

The Observer was banned at City Hall, but we have never stopped the Mayor or City Hall from posting, or sending in articles as we have promised them from day one.

Think about it.

Thanks again for starting the discussion, and look forward to where it goes and any suggestion that comes from it, for their is always room for improvement.

.

[J Hrlec]

Some suggestions....

1) Don't flood "general discussions" with negative posts such as the hospital and council posts. Most of these are by a single author or two. It should have a separate area IMO.

2) Try to nurture topics with a more positive attitude than negative. Yes, both should be discussed at some level but the negative truly wins these boards. Try to be honestly positive once in awhile about something.

3) Take criticism and use it to improve the deck without having to write the same reply of how the LO is so great and well blah blah blah every time input is given.

[Michael Deneen]

The Deck has evolved in the past 12 years along with the rest of the media.
Social media (most notably Facebook) is now the place for basic queries like "Can you recommend a plumber?" or "Did the restaurant down the street close permanently?"
Facebook's accessibility, easy posting of photos, and quick reaction time make it ideal for these types of threads that used to be common on the Deck.

The Deck has become a place for more in-depth research and discussion of city issues.
This format allows the display of screen shots, attachments, and documents to provide information on more complicated matters.....and without the easy "thread drift" that trolls can instigate on Facebook.

If you want analysis and info on matters like the city charter, budget, or elections....then the Deck is the place to go.
If you find a lost cat or want to know "Why are all those police cars on my block?", then the "Lakewood, Ohio" Facebook page is ideal.
If you want Mike Summers talking points spoon fed to you in a happy, positive, "safe space", then Jen Pae's Fakewood page is for you.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Some suggestions....

3) Take criticism and use it to improve the deck without having to write the same reply of how the LO is so great and well blah blah blah every time input is given.

J H

Be the change you want to see, almost made it a sentence without slams.

.

[Dan Alaimo]

A couple of quick thoughts, some I've expressed before.

But first of all, Matthew, "Buzzing?" Really?

The Deck does many things very well. Deep dives on important civic issues, for example. There was a discussion elsewhere after the election about the new charter, and when Pam Wetula and others pointed out some deficiencies, some people were aghast. I pointed out that the topic had been thoroughly aired on the Deck along with responses from a member of the commission (thanks, Stephen Davis), and one person responded, "what's the Deck?"

There's the problem.

Currently we have a very excellent discussion going about the new health foundation, with the participation of Mike Bentley. How many know about it? I don't know, but it should be widely disseminated before the meeting.

So I think we need to make a greater effort to drive people to the Deck, and to sign them up to participate. That's a challenge in that we have stringent requirements for new members - they have to prove they are real people, and, believe it or not, that takes time. There are many who would like to scam the process.

With that, all the other questions will take care of themselves. Some will come, some will go, but the Deck will be stronger for having more voices and readers.

We can live without the missing cat posts, as well as the Mayor's performing monkeys.

I also have thoughts about the organization of the Deck, but one thing at a time.

[Bret Callentine]

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.