Web Proposal

Proposal TO: FROM: Date: RE:

PBS Board of Directors Laura Crockett, Bill Spadea and Tom Mavis March 31, 2007

Blog Director

Summary: We propose that PBS create the new position, Blog Director. This individual will be responsible for updating and maintaining a new blog site for PBS. Together with this effort we are recommending PBS employ the communications tool Constant Contact. This online service enables organization to establish a steady stream of contact with their user base. The Blog Director will be responsible for the maintenance of this service. Cost: Personnel ($25/month) Constant Contact ($50/month) Total Annual Cost:

$300 $600 $900

Discussion Within the past two years, the most effective way to leverage the internet as a communications medium has morphed from the traditional static website into the more dynamic blogsphere. While static web sites remain valuable, more users are now driven to sites that change more often – nearly daily and in some cases by the minute. Sites such as MySpace, FaceBook, and YouTube have emerged as some if not the most visited sites on the Internet. Perhaps the best example of this is the Drudge Report, a news-blog which has evolved into one of the primary catalysts for the proliferation of breaking news stories in the world. Alternatively, instead of expecting users to manually visit websites to check for updates, organizations will provide users with the opportunity to receive updates via email. In short, internet users have grown accustomed to going to sites that contain new, constantly evolving content or to be notified when updates occur. Our proposal therefore is twofold: (1) A new Blog Director (BD). The BD will be responsible for maintaining and updating a new PBS blog site. The new site will be a contantly changing site, akin to a newsletter. Having a BD to take on this role is the crux of this model, because this will provide more time for PBS members to focus on actual content, instead of the intricacies of a website. Absent consitent updates, the model will fail. We submit the BD is paid a nominal amount of $25 per month.

Proposal TO: PBS Board of Directors FROM: Laura Crockett, Bill Spadea and Tom Mavis Date: March 31, 2007 Page 2 of 2

(2)

Deploy Constant Contact (CC). This on-line service manages will manage a list of PBS members e-mail addresses. In this context, “manage” means: a. Collection. As members visit a PBS site they can click on a link which will present them with ongoing communications options. CC then enables the user to enter relevant contact information, e.g., their email address. All of this information is then assimilated into the CC database which is fully accessible by PBS. b. Updates. CC will also prompt users to select whether they wish to receive updates regarding PBS via email. When CC is instructed to send an update, all members are sent relevant emails. Importantly, CC will update its database when it finds an email address is invalid or has otherwise expired. We propose the BD maintain all aspects of CC. Visit www.contantcontact.com for more information about CC.

LC, BS, TM