shrey.puranik's diary

So the term has come to a close, and Portsmouth suddenly seems empty.

A late night/ early morning Java session has led me to post on this blog which, lets face it, like many of the UPSU blogs, does tend to go unnoticed. Christmas is here, the holidays are in, and yet, I know that there is a lot of work that is being done by students within the Union. 

 One such example is the Pure FM Christmas Panto which is due to be released from the Pure FM website on Christmas day. Directing the pantomime has been good fun, and its an experience which has taught me a lot in terms of management. As this blog is being updated, the final scene is being cut and will soon be added to the final product. Radio enthusiasts will be interested to know that a certain member of the BBC has a role in the pantomime and thanks to our script writer, a little bit of history will be made-only one way to find out, and that is, of course, to download the podcast on the 25th!

I don't know what else to say, apart from to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This has really got me thinking.

For those readers of UPSU.net, who may not know, members of the web-team can add things to the website via a restricted Content Management System (CMS). UPSU.net runs off the Mambo platform and was created, tweaked by last years MAPO Alex, and is now under the management of Mr Tom Worman. I didn't know that much about CMS's a few years ago, but maintaining a few websites has given me an understanding of what they can do, and how easily they can just slot in and 'do the task in hand'. 

A lot of CMS's happen to be free and heavily customisable and I guess this website's is no different. 

What really intrigued me however is what else we could do with this system that could allow our Union's website to be the best it could possibly be and at the same time improve the relationship between the website and its users. Now the following ideas may be looking way WAY into the future, or some may not even work, but I hope you'll be able to see where I'm coming from. 

•  Profiles-UPSU Profiles already is a firm base for what could potentially be a 'restricted/limited' rival to Facebook. I really like the fact that there is a calendar function on the main website which displays the forthcoming events and dates. Facebook, of course, is notorious for its events and group pages, but can we do something with the profiles and the Union? Imagine being able to add yourselves to these events within UPSU.net and then have reminders et al sent out to you. Whilst Facebook is awesome, we can't expect it to be up forever and with it being events within OUR Union, I reckon having the event management withing OUR website would improve the exclusivity. 
• Still on the topic of UPSU Profiles,would it be possible to have some form of status updates like on Facebook/MySpace/Twitter.  These status's could then be imported directly onto the front page under a 'What are YOU doing?' style box so we could have: 'Joey Bloggs is getting ready for Purple Wednesdays'. The only problem I can see with the logistics is that people may end up promoting other nightclubs/bars outside of UPSU/UPEL which isnt really ideal. 
• Fred Bradley mentioned an idea about using Twitter to allow the Sabbs to update the website easily. In my opinion, that is a superb idea as it keeps things ticking nicely and even if there is no major breaking news in Portsmouth one evening, it would still be nice to see the page change with the latest news on who's turn it is to make the hot chocolates!

On that note, I think I'm going to go down to the kitchen and make me a cup of hot chocolate!

I spent some time with this years web-team editor Luke Simmonds working on adding new content to the revamped Pugwash Online (formaly UPSU.NET NEWS). The new design looks superb and it's going to be exciting as we get into the flow of regularly adding new material to the website. 

 Speaking of websites, I am loving the new front-page design for UPSU.net! The toggle menu at the bottom of the page, in addition to the new navigation menu, really make the website more easy to use, and it works so well with the big box. Needless to say that Fred Bradley's cool Schedule gives everyone the latest show information all the way from www.purefm.com !

Why hello, and welcome to my something that resembles a blog page.

I've been at Portsmouth a year now, and can honestly say that its been a brilliant experience. I suppose it's slightly nostalgic that I'm writing this entry on the first night of this years 'Secure A Home' event, which I attended last year, but anyway, onwards and upwards!

For those of you who are new to the Union and are wondering what on earth am I doing writing my first entry in the early days of September, well, I came back early :-)

The soceities at UPSU are a huge part of the vibrant lifestyle that the Union offers and this October see's the return of one of the best events of the year. I am of course referring to Freshers Fayre (1st and 2nd Oct!) which will be held in Ravelin Park, just behind the University Library. Joining a society is a superb way to make new friends and also fill some of that time you have after lectures and uni related work-its a must!!

Thats about it from me on this very brief post. I'm sure I'll return at some stage with more news and ramblings!

S