On my mind… - Photographic Society of America news includes the design and production of a new Web page for the society

PSA Journal, Dec, 1997 by Pauline Sweezey

As time goes on we will need good, strong images for the pages. We need to keep two steps ahead of what we need. Pictures being used must have impact, simplicity, and broad appeal. They are technically superior. They show the wide variety of photography being done by PSA members. They show the creative talent of members, and unusual angles to a traditional shot. They show humor, human interest, beauty, and the documentary. In other words, they are our interpretation of the world around us.

So saying, if you have a picture you would like considered for our web page, send it to me. Every job description has a final line: "other duties as required." I seem to have become the unofficial coordinator of web page pictures for the moment. Bill Papke has been scanning slides for the web and has prepared a good supply to draw on in coming months. But we need more.

How will we get people to visit our page? Two ways. First of all, by publicizing our web site in the PSA Journal, by getting mention in chapter and club bulletins, by telling people and generally publicizing its availability. This will probably account for the fewest visitors, however.

The more powerful means of attracting visitors is through "links." Web pages have "links" to other web pages. This has two advantages. First of all, the work of maintaining up-to-date pages can be assigned to different people.

Second, we will be putting links on web pages maintained by other groups and even some companies so people checking into those domains can click on PSA and find out about us. It is a wonderful way of getting information out to the public relatively simply.

You may be asking why we bother with a web presence. The age of worldwide information is upon us. Web surfing has become the way to find out what is going on. Companies are getting information out to the public through the web page. Clubs are attracting members by the same route. People tell people about the sites they checked into. There are millions of photographers and would-be photographers out there who own cameras and want to learn but have no idea where to go. This is our way of reaching out to them. It is a tremendous means of communication and one which should serve PSA well as time goes on.

I hope many of you will take the time to check out our new site. If you don't have a computer or web browser, get together with a friend and see what it is all about. I think you will like what we are doing. PSA is moving into the 21st century, and this is just one more step to bring us in line with the age of technology.