We’re a week into Global Sisters Report and we’re feeling pretty darn good. We’ve had visitors from more than 100 countries, which means that thousands of people around the world are discovering GlobalSistersReport.org.
But how are you feeling about it? What do you like? What not so much?
Send your thoughts to letters@GlobalSistersReport.org. Help shape the conversation – and help us build out a website that serves your interests. Tell us what you think about a story or column; suggest a feature.
We’ll post letters, especially ones that comment on or move forward an article or column on GlobalSistersReport.org. We also want to use letters in GSR Today, our staff blog, and as idea-generators for columns and reporting. And we’d appreciate any suggestions you have for getting more voices and opinions on to GlobalSistersReport.org.
It’s all part of our mission to build an online community.
It’s also an early step to foster respectful discussion, especially when disagreements occur. In later phases of this three-year project we’re planning a closed forum where women religious can speak with each other about stories, columns, issues and ideas.
A few people have asked why they can’t comment at GlobalSistersReport.org right now. The answer was pretty easy for us.
Early in the planning for Global Sisters Report, we made a strategic decision not to allow open commenting. We wanted the voice of the site to be inviting and its tone to be thoughtful and inclusive – and we didn’t want to deploy resources managing offensive or disrespectful opinions. It’s sad, really, but some people would rather hijack a conversation with irrelevant or hateful remarks than risk making a thoughtful opinion.
And seriously consider our Facebook page as a place available right now for open discussion about articles and commentary on GlobalSisterReport.org.
Readers were already finding their way there. And within a few days of the website launch, the page had more than 5,000 “likes” and visitors from 45 countries.
Facebook is a favorite for people using mobile devices, which means either tablets or smartphones. In fact, thirty-four percent of our visits are coming from mobile devices.
That’s good news for those who want a clean and easy experience with GlobalSistersReport.org on their mobile devices. And it’s good news for us and our efforts to truly reach an international audience, one in which the predominant way people access the web is on their phone or tablet.
[Mary Lou Nolan is managing editor of Global Sisters Report.]