Random Ramblings
Created | Updated Jan 31, 2008
Fußball ist unser Leben, denn König Fußball regiert die Welt.
Wir kämpfen und geben alles, bis dann ein Tor nach dem andern fällt1.
Don't panic, this is not about a German football team. It is about an English team which could have written the quoted song. And if you don't know which team I'm talking about: it's Havant & Waterlooville FC, nicknamed the Hawks, a club of part-timers from the south of England, who've made their dream come true and played Liverpool, aka the Reds, in the FA Cup on Saturday, 26 January 20082.
So ok, they didn't win in the end, but they fought for their dream, and with a remarkable result.
And this brings me nicely on to hootoo and something I mentioned in my last Random Ramblings: the importance of having a vision, a dream, and working (hard) in order for them to come true. We have a saying here, that 'things don't just fall in your lap'; so if you want to see results, you have to work for them.
This is something a lot of people here are doing all the time: they work to make some dream come true. Just like the players from the H & W football team, many hootooers give their free time: be it the volunteers, all those who write for the Edited Guide, the Underguide, the h2g2 Post or those who participate in the weekly Talking Point. The possibilities to reach a common goal, mainly that of a thriving community, are manifold; h2g2 caters for all. Now success may not always be so obvious for many; depending on what they're doing people may not be in the limelight at all. However, this doesn't mean that their contributions to the site are any less worth than the contributions with visible success, like an edited entry on the Front Page.
To get back to our football team3: it's true, the scorers are in the centre of attention, and maybe the goal keeper, and the coach, but they'd all look bland without the rest of the team. Hands up: how many of you know Titania? She's an essential part of the Post team, but works silently in the background, keeping the Announcements pages up-to-date. They're the first place you should go if you have planned a meet, or founded a new club, or if you just want to know what's going on on hootoo. True, they're maybe not in the focus like the editorial, but the Post would be much poorer without them - and without Titania.
And just like our football team needs its supporters, the fans who give feedback and show the team that there are people who are interested in what they do, we need you. Supporters are essential for sharing our failure and success - a victory that isn't noted by anybody doesn't really seem to be worth the effort. Our reward may be shown on the Front Page, we may even get a t-shirt, both of which are visible rewards, but they are short-lived. On the long run, it is much more rewarding if we manage to get people involved with h2g2, in whatever way that may be. Comments in PR, or feedback for a published article or one of the new videos from the AViators are always welcome, so don't hold back, join us, or, failing that, give us your constructive criticism: it's our reward for all the hard work we put into the site.
Oh, and just like the AViator videos the Beeblecast is getting on nicely, with quite a few things being planned, so watch this space.
