I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere

"The Activity and the Ingenuity" [ILLU]

<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.illustriousclients.org"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5108427372086584786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPsX2vw7tDSND3lZ5A_PMtcr7EqvcDOYk3FYYnXO5U2rtyJ2FUqPHykdns0IkV2lSAE5MVosxOnHjmr-bh5vO68ITfFOsbx3iNW5EtSHN3dsOvkcLxIGkVIxngaRfDWnFYOlpkmCJAbwf/s200/clients_logo.jpg" style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" /></a>A little over a week ago, I noticed a new web site spring up, but I kept quiet during its beta period, until the official launch was announced. Well, today is that day, so I'm sharing my secret with you.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.illustriousclients.org/">The Illustrious Clients of Indianapolis</a> now have a web site! Well, to call it a web site is really understating the effort Ann M. Lewis has put into it. It's much more than a simple destination; it's more of a hub and a two-way communication vehicle for this venerable Midwest scion society. This is a great example of how a scion society should embrace interactive media and forge into the 21st century.<br /><br />Expect to hear more about new developments in the Sherlockian world that are going to shift the way we think about online communications. I'll be covering these changes and announcements here as well as on <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/">I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere</a>, which I'd love you to subscribe to.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Features Abound</span><br />You'll find all of the standard offerings there, like meeting updates, upcoming events, links, etc. But where this site stands apart is how it integrates aspects of social media. For example:<br /><ol><li>You can register on the site as a member. It's free and doesn't require any sensitive information from you. Registration allows you to interact with other members on the site. You can post information to your profile, such as a web site, email address, or just something you'd like to write about yourself, as well as a picture.<br /></li><li>Everyone can view the photo gallery, and members can upload their own photos. It's a great place to put faces to names or to see what happened at events.</li><li>There is a section for articles and a downloads section which currently contains a PDF of the society's flyer.</li><li>A news section contains announcements of meetings as well as the latest trailer for the <a href="http://wessexpress.com/html/g2b.html">From Gillette to Brett II</a> conference. Anyone in the community can also add their own news story as well.</li><li>You can contribute in another important way: in the section called Blogs. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Every member can create his or her own entries and write about and share anything that comes to mind.</span> You know I couldn't resist and opportunity like that. <a href="http://www.illustriousclients.org/index.php?name=Blogs&mode=display&id=1">Here's what I wrote</a>.</li><li>There's an RSS feed of both this blog and of my podcast, <a href="http://www.ihearofsherlock.com/"></a>for which I am grateful. What? You just don't understand RSS? Then please do me and yourself a favor and spend a quick 4 minutes watching this:</li></ol><br /><center><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0klgLsSxGsU"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0klgLsSxGsU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /></center><br />If it doesn't show, I'm very impressed with what Ann has instituted on behalf of the Clients. I've often wondered why they've never had a site, because they're an active society that publishes regularly and has a fairly dedicated base of members. Indeed, this is the home turf of Mike Whelan, the head of <a href="http://www.bsitrust.org/">the Baker Street Irregulars</a>.<br /><br />I'm glad to see that they've come blazing into the 21st century with a real winner of a site. Get over there and register. More importantly, join the conversation there, or here, or any other site that allows you to raise your voice. The wonder of the Sherlockian world is the degree with which we interact with each other, and current technology is giving us the opportunity to keep the conversation flowing 24/7.

"The Activity and the Ingenuity" [ILLU]

A little over a week ago, I noticed a new web site spring up, but I kept quiet during its beta period, until the official launch was announc...