Sorry if this has been done before,but just intrigued how this site was set up.IE How did you all meet afka,lookout,stanmore.Is this the complete mafia family or are there any other members of the elite.What made you set the site up was it hard work and is it still hard work.Are you in discussions with a foreign investor with a view to a buyout? I am curious as to what drove you to do this as in has become an important and fun part to my day to day life.
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Originally they were thinking about setting up a site aimed at the nocturnal visitors to Hampstead Heath, but luckilly for all of us this Charlton site eventually got the nod. I believe the other site is still on the back (door) burner.
Hope this helps to plug the hole in your knowledge.
i'll post up the background later this morning
*Note: Monetary prize to be awarded at the discretion of myself. In fact, there is no prize, apart from the warm glow you'll receive from knowing you've made someone, somewhere laugh.
AFKA and Lookout met in Iceland. Suzi was on the checkout, and bing bonged because a stroppy customer (Lookout) wanted a refund on a bag of peas that had a split in it. AFKA (deputy store manager) dismissed the claim immediately, but noticed a Charlton badge on Lookout's jumper, and a Geeks Guide to Conquering the Internet book in his hand......
I seem to remember that either AFKA or Lookout sent me an outline for a disertation they were doing for a PHD in sociology and which included a project that would have film, recorded interviews of fans, histories, etc etc and be an interactive site using cutting edge technology. And either AFKA or Lookout was going to do a fanzine.
So like the genius who said "we have phones and we have cameras. I know, why don't we put them together?" I introduced one to the other at a City Addicks meeting and it was love at first site. The rest is history
I may have misrembered, have been economical with the truth or greatly over emphasied my role in some parts of this statement but I claim my £1m or a suitably brand model car.
Me and Lookout both used to post on another site that had lost its way a bit. About April last year he had an idea about starting up a website, that had more of a community feel, and with a strong promotion of history that would interest long standing supporters, but also help involve new fans. So he drew up a kind of business plan, which he sent to Henry Irving to see if he had any thoughts on it.
Henry didn’t, but said it might be worth running past me. I was quite advanced in my plans to launch a paper fanzine for last season. At the time, it looked like I’d never be able to play sport again so wanted to try getting myself a new hobby.
Why a fanzine, I’m really not sure as I had no print knowledge, and had never wrote a single article in my life. But I thought I’d give it a go, had flexible work hours, and had managed to get a good team of people involved (working title was The Covered End Crier, out of interest).
The intention really was to go through our plans, and see if there was a way we could help mutually benefit each other. So we met up and got on well. Though completely different backgrounds etc, we seemed to look at all things Charlton similarly, and also what supporting a club should be about. I said I’d go thoroughly through his plans as I didn’t think they would work in their current format, offer some new suggestions, and we’d meet again in a few weeks.
Then my job changed, and where I was on flexible hours before, I was now going to be on much longer hours, with little flexibility. I seriously questioned the amount of time I’d be able to spend to the fanzine, and i really didn’t want to do something if I didn’t think I could do it justice. The more I was going through the website plans and getting ideas, the more I was getting into it. So when we met up again it was decided that I would dump the fanzine idea and concentrate fully on the site, with it being a 50:50 partnership. Then just to complicate things, Lookout immediately got posted back overseas, and up until last week the only communication we have is a couple of phonecalls and a million whispers.
So that’s really how we got to where we are. Charlton Life was Lookout’s brainchild, and he also is the technical drive behind it all. I needed him as I know jack all about computers, and I think he needed me because he’d run out of steam with it all, and didn’t really know other supporters like I did. A lot of my friends gave us a chance once we launched and without them it would of all of died on its arse within a week, and we’ll always be grateful with that.
We met again this week, we realise that things have stalled a little away from the forum, and we’ll be working hard in the next few weeks and months to deliver some new features.
So there you have it !
Oh, and Stanmore is Lookout’s dad.
Oi! I seem to remember giving him lots of useful feedback and suggesting a cost benefit analysis would be a good idea :-)
He still cant quote properly after over a year.
It's OK, Mother AFKA will tidy up after me as usual : - )
not, returns to Bermuda next week.
MCS was waiting in the pub to meet him last week, and everyone who walked through the door he kept going 'is that him' no, 'is that him' no.
Eventually a mate of mine walked in and i told MCS 'that's him', so Ollie bounds over and starts chatting away, my mate hasn't a clue whats going on etc.
Went on a few minutes, very funny.
Like a fair few people it has to be said-
I had no involvement with the start of this forum, I was invited by Lookout to help out early on just to keep an eye on things and provide moderating cover for AFKA
As AFKA says, Lookout is the real techie, just have a conversation with him about Mac!
AFKA is very much the creative driver, and main user of the phrase "Guys" when things start getting a little unruly. He also starts the most ludicrous amount of threads to keep us entertained!
One of AFKA's more creative posts me thinks-
But made me chuckle.
I'm actually his grandad ;-)
LOL
god i'm good sometimes. I won't say who, but someone asked me last week how it was all working out with the club now running the site. I didn't have a clue what he was on about but then i remember dropping it in as a joke about a year ago that the club had insisted on running the site....
Yeah, yeah AFKA. Say what you like but we all know the truth.
When the site took off, we were finding it hard to process the amount of people registering as its not done automatically. We needed to get someone else involved on the admin side for when one of the two of us wasn't on line.
We needed someone who seemed sensible etc. I suggested Off It, Lookout insisted on Stanmore.
As AFKA says, Lookout is the real techie, just have a conversation with him about Mac!
You could have asked me about mac i know it all. He got returned home after going through a big field of wind turbines