Oh, the Possibilities!

24 Oct Oh, the Possibilities!

Granted, it’s a bit of a letdown to have my parents gone back to Telluride but their absence has also given me some time to reflect over the past couple of weeks. Here is what I notice first and foremost – we work well together. There are strong opinions on all sides that sometimes differ, yes – and through it all we share a common value of wanting to achieve "rightness" more than we want as individuals to be right. Perception of who is right or wrong doesn’t even enter into it.

It’s a great value to have and it helps keep us moving the right direction. No one is afraid to ask anyone else to explain themselves and if the reasoning is logical, that’s the way we go. If both sides have merit, we look for other ways to accomplish seemingly contradictory objectives. I’ve worked in enough different corporate environments over the years to recognize when colleagues are able to establish an appropriate sympatico/challenging balance and this seems to be it.

It was downright fun working through the questions together and tackling the issues that came up in our work while they were here in Bellevue. It feels like we’re on the right track, that we’re doing something useful for Telluride and that is both enjoyable and sustainable for us.

Susan and Clint are doing the bulk of the writing right now and I am so grateful for Cynthia’s steady contributions. You’ll hear more from Kjerstin and me too as time goes on. There is still a lot to be done behind the scenes to make it all it can be and as we begin to hit cruise speed, we’ll be coming up for air a bit more often.

Some of that behind the scenes work? Author bylines can be found at the top of each post now and each author’s contributions are collected on pages of their very own (accessible from the Our Writers page for now). This is new as of yesterday and I anticipate it will be a great feature as we continue to build a body of work and writers develop a personal following. 

Speaking of developing a following, we’re pursuing all sorts of creative ideas for getting the word out about Telluride Inside. Clearly Cynthia’s popularity and the high-profile nature of many of Susan’s interviews will help out in that department. As Clint says – Telluride is a unique crossroads. In fact, outsiders are already discovering us through internet searches and they’re not just interested in finding new people to spam!

We’re also thinking of making various promotional products available, starting with our very own first class Telluride Inside… and Out postage stamp. Order some today – show pride in your status as a Tellurider and spread the word. We’ll let you know as other products become available down the line.

Ultimately we intend for spreading the word about Telluride Inside to benefit the community in many different ways. For starters, it will certainly provide a forum for covering and discussing as a community various important local stories and thereby increase exposure for them that way.

We’re also successfully serving ads now, which we expect to increase exposure for local businesses too. Although currently the ads are coming from Google Adsense, the space is built programmatically to carry direct advertising orders which we should be able to support right away. Not that you need to understand the technical details – it just means that with such a strong and vibrant focus on Telluride region, lifestyle, events and people, the local businesses and non-profits should be able to hugely expand their advertising reach in ways that haven’t been available in the past.

These are all good for the community, and helping the people and organizations of Telluride thrive is a major focus of this project.

Imagine – these new developments are just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty more ideas to follow up on now and still more fresh ideas where these came from. Truly, we are limited only by our collective imaginations – yours as well as ours. If you have questions about Telluride Inside and Out or suggestions for the website, I know that Susan, Clint, Kjerstin and I are all interested to know what’s on your mind.

Take care in the meantime and be sure to check back often – or better yet, subscribe to get email notification of updates so that you don’t ever miss a story – and when you find something interesting, be sure to pass it along!