Louisa
LouisaElectronicVillage.net was the second TOP community network to be opened to the public in June 2003. The Louisa site has experienced continuing growth in total visits and in the number of civic and nonprofit organizations that have chosen to post their meetings or activities on the Community Calendar. The posting of all 4-H activities is attracting youth to the site. The unique accomplishments of the program in Louisa County are described below:
- Early on the Louisa TLT developed a community survey to estimate about how many families in Louisa had computers and Internet access. They also hoped to learn more about community training needs and use this information to plan the content of the community readiness workshops to be held later in the project. The survey was posted on the web site and distributed to community and civic groups across the county. The King and Queen TLT later adopted this idea of posting a computer needs and use survey on their web site.
- The Louisa TLT developed some marketing strategies for raising community awareness of their site that could be a model for other counties and future projects. The VCE leaders worked with the Louisa TLT to develop a PowerPoint presentation to market the web site with community groups. Each TLT member was asked to visit five organizations in their immediate community and use this presentation to promote participation in the Louisa Electronic Village. The original TOP proposal emphasized the importance of a diverse membership on the county TLT, with the intent that members could carry what they learned back to the individual community and organizations that they represented. The goal of the Louisa group to have each member visit several local government, social, or civic groups built on this idea.
- The Louisa TLT developed an orientation packet that included basic information about the Louisa Electronic Village and sign-up forms for the villager, business, and organization directories. Each TLT member received a packet for use with the organizations they visited. Packets were also distributed to various citizen groups. The Louisa TLT developed an attractive postcard to advertise the Louisa Electronic Village. This was a unique idea for cost-effective marketing as the postcard could easily be distributed by businesses, in schools, or at recreational events.
- The Louisa TLT sponsored several workshops and activities to promote community access and information about the web site. A demonstration booth at the annual Chamber of Commerce community picnic reached both youth and adults. A workshop describing on-line marketing techniques provided information to new business owners looking to establish a web presence through the Virtual Business Incubator and supported existing businesses in their efforts to market their products or services in Louisa or across Virginia and the world.
- The Louisa TLT has reached out to civic and business groups in the County. The Louisa Chamber of Commerce has included updates about the Louisa Electronic Village and forms for registering on the business directory in their regular newsletter. Updates on the community network appear in the quarterly publication of the Louisa Parks and Recreation Commission. The Public Information Officer of the Louisa County School District serves on the TLT and acts as a liaison for continuing cooperation and the potential development of student internships with web site design and community training.
- Over the 14 months that the site has been open to the public, there have been a total of 5,665 visits by 3,190 unique visitors. The Business Directory has received 1,422 visits although there were fewer visits (954) to the Community Directory. The Louisa site has been highly successful in attracting postings from many civic and social groups. Service organizations such as the Lions, Rotary, and Ruritans, interest groups including the garden, car, and historical societies, political parties, and Friends of the Library all post their regular meetings on the Community Calendar. County 4-H activities are included on the Calendar for the convenience of both youth and their parents. The Commission on Aging and Parks and Recreation Commission post all meetings. Other governing boards such as the Planning Commission, Board of Supervisors, School Board, or local Town Councils may be encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to post meetings and agendas.
- The Louisa program has assisted in the development of tutorials that will accompany a new web site design program and web content management system soon to be available to all TOP counties. The Blacksburg Electronic Village is finalizing these programs to simplify the process for businesses and organizations who wish to develop a web site and also reduce the time and effort required of the volunteer web site administrators. The Louisa Extension agent who recently participated in a web site design class provided peer review with suggestions for making the tutorials more user-friendly.