What modicum of success I have here at Mad Utopia I owe in large part to the kindness of others. My original site was built on TikiWiki, an open source package that integrates an array of useful content management tools under one roof. Without the volunteer team of developers I may not have gotten off the ground.
Once I decided on using TikiWiki I found I needed help in getting it set up and configured properly. I also wanted to do things with it that are not typically done. A very good friend of mine, Susan Chambless (@mathsinger on Twitter), took me under her wing, and either showed me how to do things, or went ahead and did them for me when I gave her a particularly blank look. She in effect became my personal tech guru. Without her help that website would have withered and died.
When I started #fridayflash we had a few people get involved, but it did not grow very fast. Then I asked Maria Schneider (@mariaschneider), at Editor Unleashed, if I could do a guest post on her blog. She very graciously agreed. After my post ran participation in #fridayflash shot way up. She gave me the visibility I needed to make a go of it. Now we have a vibrant community of around sixty regulars participating, if not weekly, as often as they can. I attribute the success the meme enjoys largely to the good graces of Maria and that guest post. She is one of the brightest lights on the Internet.
As much as I love it, I decided that the TikiWiki blog just didn’t cut it. The commenting system is too antiquated. So I decided to switch to WordPress as my blogging platform. Again, an open source project, made available to me through the kindness of others.
However, I did not want to lose the look and feel of my old site. I was using the Eatlon Theme (another freebie provided by the kind hands of strangers) which was TikiWiki specific. So once again I tuned to my personal guru, Susan, and once again she worked magic. She not only did the hard work of converting the Eatlon theme to WordPress, she at the same time devised a method for people to enter their #fridayflash stories into a report generator (still run via TikiWiki), saving me hours of time each weekend. I cannot thank her enough.
So thank you TikiWiki developers. Thank you team WordPress. And thanks to Maria, Susan, and the dozens of others who have contributed in one way or another to this blog. I hope to start paying back some of that karma in the near future.
OK, end of schmaltz. Now, back to writing.
~jon
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Well, it was lovely schmaltz.
We in the #fridayflash community can never thank you enough for all of your invaluable hard work with this project.
I echo Laura’s sentiments. You’re already paying back Jon, with your superb guidance and generosity. #Fridayflash has been a huge inspiration to me, and has made me many writing friends, many of who have helped me grow as a writer. Without that, I may have let go of the dream of writing fiction.
So, Thank YOU!
Aw, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside now, I love it when people acknowledge those who have helped them, it makes me appreciate just how many wonderful people there are the world.
x
Jon, I was one of those people who, new to Twitter, found my way to Maria. She, in turn, led me to you!
So I AM very grateful. To Maria, to you, and to all the other wonderful writers that make up the #fridayflash community. They’re a great group of people who share, inspire, and entertain. Couldn’t ask for more.
Well, off I go. Must write story since you’re too nice of a person to tap your foot tomorrow, hold out your hand, and ask why my flash is not ready!
#FridayFlash gives me something to look forward to each week. Even though I haven’t been able to participate as much as I would like, I am always thinking about what I might write next. Just doing that has brought my ideas for writing and creativity to a new level. So, THANK YOU!
I, too, found you through the awesome Maria, and I am soooo grateful to you both. #fridayflash has completely changed me as a writer. I never, never thought I could come up with a flash a week and here I am
So, thanks for the hard work on your end and the confidence and space you’ve given us to write with!!! Plus, you know, the whole twitter thing seemed very otherworldly to me. Now, at least I have a purpose there.
xoxox
shannon
Jon – so glad you’ve come through the website migration unscathed
Youve done a terrific job pulling together #fridayflash and I, for one, am eternally grateful. I like a challenge and in order to do a fridayflash each week in addition to my other commitments, I have really had to incorporate writing and editing into my daily / weekly routine. Let us know how we can support you and #fridayflash as it continues to grow.
I still have a bit to do with the website migration. The main problem I have now is that I had nested pages on the old site (such as Free Reads). I’m not sure how or even if I can do that with WordPress. And I need to make Mad Utopia on the old site banner point here. But all-in-all, I’m pretty pleased with how it stands now.
Best way you guys can help is to just spread the word, and keep participating.
~jon
I, too, am grateful for all your hard work. I had never tried flash fiction, but thanks to #fridayflash I tried my hand at something new. It helped me get into the habit of making time for fiction writing on a weekly basis. Thank you so much for all your hard work. I hope you realize how very much you are appreciated.
Jon,
Thank you so much for the schmaltz. It is good to know my efforts are appreciated.
The theme was an interesting puzzle, and now I am off skinning MediaWiki for my own site.
Best,
Susan