by Justin Hall, ITPC Committee
18 April 2002

The next version of the FCCJ web site should have two levels, a public level and a private level. A public level will allow us to present ourselves as a newsmaking institution. The private level will allow us to offer expanded digital services to journalists increasingly accustomed to working with computers and the Internet.

The public level would mirror the current site, with club announcements and general information. In addition, this public level should offer:

Online digital archives of the Number 1 Shimbun.

The paper is produced electronically; exporting it to PDF (or HTML) and archiving it online should be facile. I've done this with other electronic publications; if some expertise and training is required I can help. If making the Number 1 Shimbun available to the world raises too many thorny issues, we should at least make the contents available online to members only (see private section below).

Online digital archives of our press conferences and speeches

Pending the development of a strategy for recording and digitizing the talks on an ongoing basis, we could provide digital copies of the events at the Club for members and web surfers to benefit from afterwards. Then eventually reaching back into the club archives as well. This would be a great way to present the Club as an active exciting place.

The private level of the FCCJ web site would require a username and password login. By limiting access, we can provide some expanded services to journalists and associate members (and distinguish between the two, if that is important). Once people have logged themselves in, we can offer personalized digital services, such as:

Club Email

Members can have individual @fccj.or.jp email accounts. They would check their fccj email account and send from it through a web interface after they have logged in.

Club Forums

In the private section of the site, we can host member-only discussions, online bulletin boards. These could cover both serious business (an ITPC forum, for example, limited only to committee members), and more casual matters (posting of sayonara sales, discussion of good restaurants in Yurakucho).

Calendar

The listing of club events and functions could be associated with individual member calendars. For example: you look over a list of the upcoming financial Tuesday events, and you click to add the next one to your calendar. Then you are reminded by email or when you next login to the site just before the talk. Committee meetings could appear on all committee member calendars (subject to individual approval).

Member Directory

An online member directory, listing up to date information with a photograph and links to articles, if members care to update it. Also, keywords. Bob Neff might have "onsen" listed, along with a link to his book on Amazon.com. So if I needed some information on onsen, I could search through the FCCJ member directory and email Neff-san to ask him a question or see that I can buy his book. Perhaps this could function as a sort of internal portfolio for freelancers viewable only by other club members.

Member Web Sites

A few members have their own web sites. Others are curious but unsure how to set up a proper place to publish. For example, Swedish photojournalist Per Bodner would like to have a small portfolio of his digital photographs online. A limited amount of space for small personal web sites would be valuable for some members.

File Storage

If users are logging into the server, we can offer them a limited amount of space to store documents. Today in the Club, members are occasionally leaving their documents and digital photos on public computers which makes sharing these computers difficult at times and a computer crash disastrous. If we offer 20 megabytes of storage to each member, for example, that is more than enough to store quite a few articles in progress and even some digital photos. They could then access those files from any computer in the club. This could be done with a minimum of system resources. In addition, we could add these member file storage areas to our system backup routine, and thus promise members that their critical files will be protected against data disaster.

Help Section

With these expanded options comes some complexity. There should be thorough online documentation of the features available and the procedures for accessing them.

It is possible to look at the collection of curmudgeons and troublemakers at the Club today and imagine that these kinds of digital services would only make for headaches and staffing increases and perhaps these people wouldn't even figure out how to use this stuff, and either way they would definitely figure out how to break it.

If the club is going to expand its web site and put money into digital security and computer upgrades, it is worth offering these digital services to journalists. After the initial, invariable phase of adjustment, many of today's journalist members would be over-joyed to be able to reliably check their mail through a web interface, store their documents and access them from any computer in the club, and experiment with having a personal web site. In addition, as the membership is often traveling, dispersed all over the world, an online member directory and forums would allow the Club to continue invaluable socializing and information sharing online.

We could argue that it is not the Club's business to become an email provider and file storage site, and so forth. But this is essential infrastructure provided by any modern office. Digital services would be a compelling reason for journalists, especially freelancers, to join and use the club. If we elect not to provide these services in a coherent, regulated fashion, we are likely to continue to see other thorny ITPC problems arise when members attempt to create their own technology solutions.

Besides site design and management issues, along with data storage and hardware selection, there are these matters to be resolved:

Staffing

If we become the email provider and calendar provider for Club members we will need to have someone available to help members with inevitable troubles. Users will invariably suspect that their calendars have broken, their stored documents have been lost, their entry from the membership directory needs to be updated. We will need to provide them with clear information online and a person to email or call when they believe there is a problem. Also, members will likely lose their account information and passwords, especially at the beginning. They should be able to retrieve this information in a timely, secure fashion.

User training

The current generation of active members is somewhat computer savvy. Passwords and logins are a minimum complexity for people accustomed to dealing with Internet email accounts. But to encourage people to use the calendar, club forums and understand all the available digital services, classes and tutorials will be necessary. I've done extensive computer education in the past, I'm more than happy to coordinate a user training program for a new Club web site.

Public access and user tracking

There should still be limited guest access permitted from public terminals around the club - perhaps only access to using a web browser.

It would be nice if we could some day offer these digital services:

Internet-based voice mail

Members get an FCCJ voicemail box they can check from anywhere through an Internet interface. This technology exists today.

Questions? Suggestions? justin@bud.com.