Where Do We Go From Here? – Yale Class of 1969

The reunion is over, but this website will go on.

What does that mean for you? For the Class? For this website?

Answer:

The website will morph from a “magazine format” with occasional contributions from classmates to a “community website” with occasional articles of general interest.

At inception, your class leaders asked for a website with a dual purpose:

to coordinate all aspects of the Reunion (survey, ClassBook, reunion attendance, etc.), and
to enable and build connections among and between classmates … to create a “virtual commons” where we could meet, interact, discuss, etc., privately.

They did not want a simple “reunion website” that expired on June 2nd. They wanted a “virtual meeting place” where we could communicate with each other easily and perhaps rebuild the sense of community we shared in 1969.

The good news is that you-classmates have really responded to the website. Readership is very good. Over 530 people contributed to the 50th reunion ClassBook and almost 700 to the Class Survey. “Time on site” continues to climb.

Any “community manager” of an online community will tell you that TRUST is the coin of the realm. Google Analytics doesn’t have a measure for that, but based on the numbers of comments, “likes,” Memories-and-Observations submissions, and feedback received during reunion weekend, I believe our trust in each other is growing. We are ready to reveal more about ourselves, confident that we are among friends.

I’m reminded of the line from the Eagles’ Hotel California, “We haven’t had that spirit here since 1969.”

Richard Tedlow, in his remarks on Thursday afternoon, made the same point: He asked, “If you met someone in your day-to-day life, and discovered they were in the Yale Class of 1969, would you feel a special kinship with them, even if you didn’t know them?” The overwhelming answer from the 200 people in the room was “yes” … and he used his Socratic teaching methods to tease out the detailed reasons.

The reality is that we did have a sense of common bond in 1969. The intervening years, family and career (and the culture wars) dissipated that feeling, but many people are discovering that now a great time to re-establish those bonds. Further, they are surprised and delighted to find that their classmates feel the same way and are ready to make the same effort.

The website is being re-formatted to support these renewing bonds.

In September, we’ll reveal a re-designed website, preserving existing content but presenting new content in a fresh way. Right now, the website is organized as a sort of magazine, composed mainly of articles with occasional comments and “Memories and Observations” posts from classmates. In the future, I hope and expect the ratio of articles to user-generated content to shift more to the latter. Yes, the website will continue to host “news,” Class Notes, obituaries and other articles of broad interest; but we are hoping that you will “participate” and not just “consume” — that you’ll write and not just read.

Everyone Contributes – Let’s Document What Just Happened

Let’s get started RIGHT NOW. We need to document what happened at the reunion, mainly for the many classmates who could not attend for medical or other good reasons.

We have some volunteers writing up reports on events like Classmates In Concert and the Class Survey presentation. But we need MORE of you to volunteer and help document the reunion. (See “Everyone’s A [Photo-]Journalist” for tips.)

Did You Take Pictures? – If so, please send in copies of your pictures, especially the good ones. Email them to support@Yale1969.org or upload them using the contact us form. We will feature your pictures over the next several months.
Report From A Particular Event – If you attended a lecture, a tour, a panel … any event that triggered thoughts or observations, pro or con, please write it up! If you are expressing an opinion, we’ll call it a “review.” If it’s more factual, a “report.” Either format will do. There were 60+ events on the calendar and some were very worthy of being shared with those who couldn’t attend. Ask yourself, “What 1 or 2 events at the reunion did I find ‘remarkable’ (in all senses of that term)?” And then ask, “Can I write up a few paragraphs about it?” If you can answer “yes,” please volunteer to work with me to create a 500-word article (plus or minus 300 words). Your classmates will love you for it.
Memories And Observations. Most of you guys are great writers. At the reunion, many of you mentioned something that jarred a memory or triggered a poignant compare/contrast as between 1969 and 2019. Well, it’s likely that your friends will want to hear about those thoughts. If you have anything on your mind that others might appreciate, please write it up. I’ll help you upload it and groom it for online reading. Email me at support@Yale1969.org or use the contact form.
Discussion Groups. Harry and I are working on features to support more discussions, even those that might tread into controversial territory. We webmasters need to support civility in the design and functions of the site, but we’ll need to rely on your good manners, carefulness and thoughtfulness to maintain a dialogue that is constructive. That said, “sacred cows make the best hamburger,” The Yale Daily News reunion edition that reprinted stories from 1968-69 certainly makes that clear! We were a rebellious bunch! Such is “that spirit here since 1969.” 😉

Boola!