Sincerely, Losing Georgia
In the past two months of time a predicament has arouse that puts into question the future of the Losing Georgia Project: whether continue on a limited basis or end it all together?
What began in the summer of 2005 as a way to visually document and express the changes occurring within Douglas County has become a repository of community resources through personal voluntary efforts for over two years. Various issues have been addressed with interactive community feedback, sometimes striking up some controversy.
However the minute hand’s edge has slowly carved a pressure point that needs relieving. I have always felt an obligation to craft and present at least two articles a week after the hiatus in February, while producing mapping resources that took months at a time to develop and working on several other projects. These strains have evermore become present, lending to two options I am pondering about.
Option 1 – Limited Involvement
A part of me yearns to keep Losing Georgia going in some form that I can comprehend with while attending to my full commitment towards writing the life and legacy of Lt. Robert G. Hunter and other projects. I certainly want to keep pursuing the neogragraphy part of the project as it has done very well, winning multiple awards and recognition.
In return I will sacrifice writing articles and the efforts of independently researching the lost history of Douglas County. The RSS feeds for local government meetings are still a viable option to maintain and the snippets section is up in the air for the moment. Updates on the project’s success would arrive at weeks or months at a time.
Option 2 – The End
The other half of me suggests that this is the time to end the Losing Georgia Project once and for all. There are issues in my life right now that are taking more precedence than feeling the obligation to keep up with the changes that are ongoing in the county. I know some people out there would enjoy seeing Losing Georgia go away.
I thank all those who have sent e-mails throughout the course of this endeavor congratulating me for my work and urging me on to continue. To this day I struggle with the decision I have to ultimately choose. What are your thoughts as a reader?
As a avid reader of losing georgia I honestly say this site would be missed ! If you stop that is exactly what will happen , Douglas County will lose ! You are a vocal conscious for douglas county , that is why many would like to see you go ! When they are done tearing up our county thye will move on to another . I hope you can work things out to come back !Sometimes people go along with the flow because they dont know what is behind the pressure , you dig up all the goings on in the county and shed light !
September 27th, 2007 at 4:51 pmHey Buddy,
you have to do what you have to do. the site is great and everyone knows that but if its taking up too much of your time then maybe its time to take a break. mybe think about letting readers contribute, i’m sure there are a lot of people out there that would be interested in writing for the site. its just a thought. anyway, i know your busy, call me sometime.
September 28th, 2007 at 8:17 amI can’t imagine the time that you have put into this website, but I certainly have enjoyed it. I come here time and again for info - and I have sent several of my friends here. But I also understand having things change in your life to where you have to shuffle your priorities. As Josh said, maybe somebody else out there will step up and write for this site - I certainly hope you leave up what is here for reference.
September 30th, 2007 at 12:40 pmHere is what I have in store for the moment…
- the website will stay up, I have no plans of removing it
- I’ve tried twice in the past to allow readers to write up articles, but no one responds… but I like the idea
- I don’t plan to write any extensive articles in the near future
- I am working on a large-scale mapping project that ties into Losing Georgia
September 30th, 2007 at 5:06 pmThis is one of the most informative sites for a locality that I have ever seen…I feel that most of the Douglas county folks must not be aware that it is here, or it might have made the SPLOST funding ballot, and added a few cents to our sales taxes…These cents would have been well deserved by your efforts, if you recieved a cut of the money…A LARGE CUT…
October 1st, 2007 at 9:48 pmA job transfer took me away but a visit to your website is like a visit back to Georgia. I have lived in several places and have never seen a site with the depth of information that you provide. Suburban sprawl is a problem in so many places. As long as affordable housing for the working class remains elusive, sprawl (and the hit and run builders) will be a driving force in the suburbs.
Live well and prosper! You deserve to pursue other projects with the talent that you have. You surely will be missed.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:28 amTHE END!
October 9th, 2007 at 1:22 amAndrew,
October 9th, 2007 at 11:42 amEven though I only recently discovered Losing Georgia, I appreciate all you have contributed and look forward to anything further you can add. I hope you don’t have to end it completely. Thanks again.