Us, on Old 71
I wanted to keep the about page to the point. I think my reasons to start this project are worth a short piece.
First and foremost I like the area. I like my neighbors. I wish I had met them under different circumstances.
The Elephant in the Room
The current HOA of Double Eagle Ranch (DER) is infamous--literally. On a visit to Tuff Shed Bastrop the sales representative cringed when she heard where I lived. She said, "You may have problems building there."
Our leadership can't even scrape together the most basic form of 20th century communication--a free website--like our neighbors at The Forest and River Crossing. This is an internal problem, and I honestly don't want to write about it. However, it was a catalyst.
Working with my neighbors to improve our neighborhood is what introduced me to many of them. I hold no malice to the folks in charge. In a weird way, I'm glad it happened.
What to Write About
We have quite the spectrum of view points in the Old 71 area, but we have more in common than not. This is what motivates me to investigate and write about what goes on around here. I admit now that I look around the area with the idea of creating articles, I find things to follow up on.
I didn't just launch this with no thought. I've got a few stories in the works, but I'm one guy! If my blog is any indication, we're looking at 1-2 articles a year. I hope the first articles generate interest to bring in other authors. A news site isn't worth much with a single view point.
The Project
Old71.us does not exist to make money. There is no subscription fee or ads. To feel comfortable about donations the project would need to be contribute something back to the community--I don't expect that to happen soon.
I'm a nerdy guy and was able to set this up for only the cost of the domain, about $15 a year. I do think it's a snazzy domain too. I pronounce it like "old 71 dot us", because it's about us! It runs of a computer in my home, so I guarantee it will go down. I suspect the uptime will be good enough to handle the load for a while.
Closing Remark
I'm still working out how far "Old 71" extends as a community. There is more to explore than expected. I'm looking forward to see where it goes--even if it fails.