Out In The Mountains : Arts & Entertainment - Staying Connected with MPM

On November 1, 1999 Mountain Pride Media relaunched its Web site at www.mountainpridemedia.org. The redesigned site is more colorful, easier to navigate and boasts several new features.

All the news articles, editorials, columns, and features from the print version of Out In The Mountains are still there; they’re not only reformatted for easier reading, but now feature pictures from the paper as well. In addition, you can browse OITM classifieds online (and even submit one, should your heart desire). Information resources include our community events calendar, an up-to-date Souweather forecasts for towns across the state – as well as for key vacation spots. An online subscription form means you’re just a few clicks away from supporting our community’s newspaper and the convenience of finding OITM in your mailbox every month.

The MPM site also features an updated OITM advertisers page that lets you find contact information for advertisers. Even better, the site has also added online ads strategically placed throughout. Businesses and organizations can now reach readers beyond Vermont, and readers can keep an eye out for great online offers.

These improvements are just the tip of the iceberg. The Web project is one of Mountain Pride Media’s major initiatives this year. Thanks to the support of the Haymarket People’s Fund, the Gill Foundation, Physicians Computer Company, and individual donations; the Web Team continues to help build community and to make Mountain Pride Media and its services more accessible to everyone, regardless of location.

In the near future, even more features will be appearing, including the complete Out in the Mountains archives – every article from every issue of our community newspaper’s 13-year history. In addition, electronic meeting rooms will be developed and made available to individuals and by reservation to any GLBTQ organization in the state, so we can all stay in touch no matter what the weather!

In addition to the community commitments already mentioned, MPM’s year-long project includes practical partnerships with three other non-profits in the state. The Web Team is helping the Vermont Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights, Outright Vermont, and Vermont CARES reach out to their members and to the GLBTQ community at large. The Web Team is providing various degrees of site development support, from a brand new site for VCLGR to increased functionality and improved design for Outright and CARES.

Another community connection is VTPRIDEnet, our family of listservs that let people stay in touch, discuss issues, and make announcements via email. Instructions for joining and participating in any or all of our discussion and announcement lists appear on www.mountainpridemedia.org and in every issue of OITM.

None of this would be possible without the dedication of the MPM Web Team staff and volunteers: project leader Roland Palmer, MPM board members Carrie Rampp and Jim Petrie, Jennifer Ponder, Web editor and designer Mack Roark, and Web consultant/trainers Andrew Allen and Paul Hendler. Their efforts help ensure that Mountain Pride Media continues to find new and innovative ways to keep everyone in our community connected and is always open to suggestions.

For more information on any of the topics mentioned above, check out www.mountainpridemedia.org. For information about advertising on the Mountain Pride Media web site, contact ads@mountainpridemedia.org.