Since 2007, we have provided proofreading, editing and layout for MLTF’s occasional membership newsletter, OnWatch.

In 2008 we began to work in conjunction with MLTF volunteers to redesign and update the group’s website. This will involve analyzing and organizing a large library of articles and resources, converting them to Wordpress posts and building a web site that will serve as a hub for attorneys, legal workers, GI Rights counselors and law students to access up-to-date information about military law, GI rights and related issues.

This was another site development project that called for using free or low-cost options. The site is hosted at Google Sites, which offers an easy and moderately flexible interface for those without coding knowledge to post content. The advantage of Google Sites to other free web hosts, like Homestead and the now defunct Geocities from Yahoo!, is that, at least for now, there are no ads (unless you put them there using another Google service, AdSense.).

Photos for the site are hosted at Flickr.com, a photo sharing service owned by Yahoo! (free, with a pro upgrade option).

We set up a Flickr group where different party members can collect their photos on one page, even have a forum to discuss them. All these offsite content sources are aggregated or linked on the main site’s front page, producing a fairly comprehensive web portal for members and supporters, for not a lot of money.

Google Sites does not have an RSS feed feature, so we created one by using Dapper.net. We also helped the group create an online calendar (Google Calendar) and a Facebook presence for the main party and the Young Democrats chapter. Free, free, and free!

There’s even a Twitter hashtag.

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