Marc Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 STORY OF HUSKY OWNERS Early last year me and my wife Sarah decided that we would have a husky (more my wife than me lol) as an addition to our family home. Because of this Sarah started joining groups on the popular website facebook and spoken to quite a few other owners around the country. This then sparked off an idea. I have been running websites, and more so forums for quite a few years and do so as a hobby. I have never particularly been fond of having pets, and Sarah has never been particularly fond of the time I spend on the internet at home. Sarah whilst sat there on facebook one day mentioned that it would be a good idea if we could get a few people together for walks with their huskies by using a website. This is where both our interests hit each other and husky owners forum was born. Husky owners forums was brought online 85 days ago, on 28 of october last year. Since then the site has changed its look to be a more professional looking website, new additions have been added, and members have been joining on an almost daily bases. As someone with many years experience in website design I can say this place is growing at a very very good rate. Rather than the original idea of people in the UK meeting we have started attacting members from all over the world. OUR AIM On starting the forum, this was never meant to be a big project. Now however I would like to become the biggest name on the internet when it come to huskies and their owners. Sounds like a big jump from nothing to massive, but I know the site has the potential to get that big in size. Our first meeting will be taking place later this year in the UK, and hope that people from other countries will eventually start to do the same as we gain more members that are local to one another. After all this was originally the intention of the site Sarah had wanted, and therefore we are going to keep in on this track. WHAT DOES HUSKY OWNERS STAND FOR? I have had a look around at various websites and forums regarding huskies and indeed other breeds and it seems there are a lot out there who are very much into the breeding of huskies, proffessional and experienced information and not a lot else. We want to get away from this. We are a site for the owners of huskies. People who have a husky as a loving pet and can share their experiences with other owners. People who can share the laughter and occasional problems that all dog owners have. More than anything a place where like minded individuals can come online and have a good laugh with eachother. Who wants to go online and be bored to death? lol HOW CAN YOU HELP? There are many ways in which you can become involved in the success of husky owners, however I will list a few that are of more significance than the rest. Join in - Simple as it sounds this is what makes the forum what it is today. If you havent posted for a while, come and say hello. Reply to a few threads. If you replied to only 2 threads you contribute massivly to the forum success. Create new topics/threads - In my experience a forum is only as good as the threads/topics that are created. Building good content on the website is good for us all. If we all do it, then we all have plenty to talk about Give suggestions - If you would like to see something on the forum, or you think we could improve something that would be better for the community, please feel free to suggest it. They may not always be implemented however most of the current changes have taken place because of user suggestion. Yours may be the next big hit. Donations - This I hate putting on a forum, however the fact of life is that a website costs money to run. I will later today have a donation system where people can use paypal to donate if they wish to do so. Any amount is good even if its very small and will all be put back into the forum whether its in hosting costs or new features that we can pay to have on our site. I will of corse be giving donators small extras on the forum such as donate tags, extra pm storage, the ability to hold more pictures in albums etc as a thankyou. Please dont feel that you have to donate however as this is simply not the case. Your being here is a big donation in itself to us all. Overall I would like to thank everyone who uses the forum currently for the forums success. A forum is only as good as its members we have an excellent set of members on here. I look forward to seeing how we look in 12 months time if this is the level we can achieve in less than 3 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austinville Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Its good to know who's behind the scenes and why! I, for one, sincerely appreciate all your hard work and dedication to the forum. The dedication to the breed that you, Sarah, and other members display is awesome. Thanks for creating a great place for husky-lovers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 When it comes to donations you could look at making things like a HOF calendar featuring members dogs. You can make them really easily by uploading the pics to a site like redbubble, and you can chose to sell the calendar at cost price or with a mark up. I've done it with other forums (we do it for zero profit though as its just for fun) and the calendars from RB are particularly high quality. An example of one: http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/7139500 Just an idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqwidge Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 I didn't realise the forum was so young...you have created a remarkable place so quickly and long may it continue growing. I'm now addicted and have to come on everyday! (most of the day!) Thank you very much for your hard work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 wow, excellant speech Marc! It is nice to read about how it all started and what the aims for the future are so we can all pitch in and help this become THE place for every husky owner, lover, breeder, racer, exhibitor to come and meet other people who share the same interest and passion for this addictive breed and to also have a general laugh about everyday things and make new friends. I persoanlly love this site as I have made so many friends on here and although I haven't met anyone, yet, I feel as though I have known many of you for years! Thank you Husky-Owners Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyrayn Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 well said Marc... i have seen the forum from its puppy days grow to be for me an addiction stronger than cigarettes... i cant go a day without logging on.. even if only for my daily amount of Sarah's abuse.. donations are great idea.. as im sure every one will agree .. what ever you donate its a small price to pay for all the knowledge that can be gained and friends that can be made.. ill keep doing what ever i can in the south to promote it.. and here's to 2009 getting stronger and stronger.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex T Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Wow Fab speech! So young and yet so full of wealth, I have learnt so much from the forums here - in fact proabably as much as my research gave me! One of the best things of being here is that you know that everyone else will have had a similar experience/ question and will be able to share their knowledge! Roll on 2009 and the growth of this site! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 I have a quick question about the donations. I don't have a card which I can use over the net (only have a cash card - due to some money probs I had in the past) so would it be possible to maybe create another way of donating for people like myself such as making cash / cheque donations when we do the meet ups? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 Hi guys, thanks for you replies so far, I'm glad everyone is so thrilled with the way the site is progressing and i can't wait to meet some of you very soon, depending on how many turn up i may let Marc buy you all a drink! I have made some great friends on here in a short space of time and value other peoples knowledge of the breed and for life in general and am really looking forward to watching the site grow throughout 2009. With regards to the donations, one thought i had was yes, the cost of the license, monthly host fee's etc is growing as we need more space on line, but, any money that we get from donations that is surplus, I would like to put to the husky wealfare association, or other charities, maybe even do a poll so that people can choose where it could be sent to. Receipts can be posted on the board so that you can see that the money has gone to the charity requested? Anyway, you hear me babble on here all the time so I will let you get back to doing what you do best!! See you all soon guys, and a bit thank you for all you're doing for the breed and for the site! Love Sarah xxxxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqwidge Posted January 20, 2009 Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 I think thats a great idea Sarah...forgot to say that i would be more than happy to donate a little here and there for the site... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Posted January 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2009 @Amy ... You can setup a paypal account without a debit card. All you need is a bank account as they will directly debit from that account. Worthwhile having one to be honest, it makes online shopping a lot easier ... One thing I did forget to mention in my HOW CAN I HELP section ... was probably one of the biggest things. Invite your friends who have huskys. Advertise us in your local petshop if they will let you do so. promote us in any way that you can. A little things like the petshop add doesnt seem like much when you consider that only 1 person may see and do something about it, however when you get 100 people do so, thats 100 new members for us to chat to. Donation link has now been added to the sidebar .... Donating members will automatically be added to the donators usergroup and additional extras will be added at some point tomorrow once I announce the system properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted January 21, 2009 Report Share Posted January 21, 2009 Thanks Marc, will have a look at one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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