It is better than Christmas morning around here for me I found out I’m speaking at Altitude Summit on community, and in December I turn 30 AND our new site is coming to town! Team Aeolidia has been hard at work crafting us a brand that represents all the goodness of our community. Our new logo and illustrations above were made by the ever-so-amazingly talented (and lovely to work with) This Paper Ship. Don’t they perfectly show how all our diverse creative adventures meet up on OMHG? I’ve been sharing the design process as we go along on Facebook & Twitter and now it is time to really share our plans and get your wish list for our new creative community.
::::::The Master Plan for the new site::::::
Is to make a home for what we already have built here on OMHG! We’ve outgrown our bloggy first apartment and have become a real community where creatives of any stage can share their knowledge and questions in a welcoming friendly place. We are a community centre for & by global creatives! Those who get creative with pixels, or css, or numbers, or letters, or law, or marketing… as much as those who create with their hands and pencils, fabric, clay (and of course us crazy folks who do both). So both aspects of our community are getting their own spaces where we can support and connect with each other.
Check out our new homepage design by Lauren Hardage (I’m telling you, she’s a genius). One of my biggest creative inspirations & friends Zoe Rooney is doing the coding, this is truly a team effort! Click the picture below to get a closer look, then find out more about the big changes & how you can help!
Oh My! Member Community
A lot of the new site changes were inspired by questions, suggestions, and ideas that have been brought up at many #OMHG chats and by lots of friends and contributors. The hands down number one most requested feature has been a forum or private community where people can post ideas, collaborations, questions, new work, start conversations, meet-ups, book clubs, study groups etc…, in a supportive and knowledgeable space. Like a mini virtual co-working space for creatives or the student union in a seriously quirky school. How exactly that works is where we need the most input from you now!
Your turn: What would be most valuable to you in a member community (ability to post topics/threads, chat rooms, exclusive content, courses, critiques etc)? What do you consider a reasonable monthly or annual membership fee?
Oh My! Marketplace of Services & Supplies
Our Guide to Businessy Goodness was a major success & the current online guide will be getting a big makeover to become a searchable marketplace of fabulous services & supplies for creative entrepreneurs. Everything you need to build, run, manage, and prettify your creative biz in one awesome space. Vendors will apply to join our market, be reviewed to meet our high standards of awesome, and pay a reasonable rent to set up shop. Roll out the awnings!
Your turn: What would you like to see in our marketplace? What services & supplies do you want to be able to shop and search?
Oh My! Shop
Our digital guides will be moving to a much prettier and user friendly space. Even better, you will also be able to shop on and offline classes + events (think ticket sales, baby!) offered by myself and other teachers. Classes will be reasonably priced and accessible to all levels of creative entrepreneur, we’re making school fun again!
Your turn: What kind of classes do you want to see on OMHG? What type of delivery do you prefer for online classes (private online classroom, video classes, real-time chats with teachers, all digital/downloadable content, etc)?
Wahooooo!!! On top of all this our contributors will be getting their own fancy pages to show off their wonderfulness, comments will be getting more interactive, and our weekly #OMHG chats will get their own place of honour too. I hope you are as excited as I am to move into our new community and play house! Pretty please, come sit on my knee and tell me what you want from OMHG for Christmas and I’ll do my very bestest to make it so!
Happy community wish list making! I’ll see you in the comments!
I’m so excited for this site and for the new look. It’s going to be awesome, but what I really love is that a new face isn’t all you hope to accomplish. The growth you’re inviting and hoping for is going to be the best part.
To answer the questions in this post:
1) I think I’d really love to continue to see the critique posts and maybe even see that grow into either a forum-like section or a regular part of the site. The before, process, and after potential of seeing businesses change and grow is always both inspiring and educational. (I may also really want to participate … heehee.)
Chat rooms could be fun, especially if they have themes such as business brainstorming, designer Q&A, etc. in order to put people in touch with the part of this community they need to be talking to in the moment.
2) I would really love to see just a building on that resources list from a couple of #omhg chats ago. Having that sort of index is really valuable for everyone, especially if it can continue to grow through reader input.
3) I think it depends on the type of class, but I really like all kinds of formats. Sometimes, it’s nice to have downloadable content I can study at my leisure. Other times, I like the interaction of being able to chat with someone teaching me. Other times, it’s refreshing to watch a video or listen to some audio lessons. I, for one, have never really been to events or social gatherings, and I’d really, really like to one day. 😉
As far as types of classes and educational material, I think there have already been some awesome things coming from this site: branding/marketing guides, finance lessons, packaging/design classes, etc. are all great directions to further explore.
So excited for 2013!
Thank you so so so much Tif! Those are all absolutely wonderful do-able ideas-some are already in the works like connecting privately with mentors! So excited to watch these ideas come to life & see our community settle into a new home. I’m thankful you are on this adventure with us:)
Love, love, love it! I agree with just about everything tif says above. I will have to get my thoughts together and come back when I have some quiet moment to sit and type. 😉
I can’t wait to hear your ideas Lisa, you are always a fountain of awesomeness!
What a beautiful design!! I also agree with Tif on all points. The critique posts are incredibly helpful-as we are all learning from each other. Really looks so easy to navigate and I can see *BIG* things ahead!!
Oh, my goodness – this is breathtakingly beautifully amazing! Over the moon happy for you & this wonderful community!
I’ll brainstorm some thoughts to your questions but I know I’d personally love classes on how to improve our own blogs & sites with graphics, simple coding, etc…
You rock Jessika and I am totally celebrating with you! And my passport is updated and ready for an OMHG party! xoxo
The new site looks, as Michelle Ward would say, AMAZEBALLS!!! It’s beautiful! Love it, love it, love it.
I’m all for more classes and critiques. Anything to help us learn behind the scenes type things with business. Taxes!! Definitely at the top of my list.
As for a monthly membership amount… I’d say, under $50 a month… depending upon the amount of new content each month.
Thanks so much Jess! Can’t wait to see it all unfold!
Love the amazeballsness Meagan! The new contributor pages & features are going to be so sweet! Thanks for your input on membership fees I was think more along the lines of 5-15:)
How bout a 5-20 dollar name your price, like the guide?
Great idea Fiona! I love the concept of a sliding scale & will see what our genius developer thinks!