Our First Month: A Review
“Finally! And thanks!” was the response of one reader to the setting up of The Micah Mandate Website. There was a buzz on the internet, so much so that if you google “Micah Mandate”, you will see our site listed on the first page.
As the chap managing the site, it was exciting to see the sudden surge in visitors, receive registrations and read the comments. One never really knows how something like this will be received until it is launched. Then it is out of your hands, and in the hands of Joe Public.
Since that first week of our launch when more than 1,300 visits were recorded, we have received nearly 2,500 unique visitors, visiting more than 4000 times and viewing more than 17,000 pages for the month of May. Interestingly the peak visit days of the week are Tuesday and Wednesday, indicating that visitors are more likely working adults than students. (I know we have said that the website will be updated every Friday but in view of this I might recommend that we change it to Monday.)
In the space of 4 weeks we have put up 48 articles by 25 people (or sources). As another reader wrote, “This is what I like about this website: common people have a voice. There are two or three known writers. But the rest seem to be unknowns. Ordinary citizens having their say with gusto. That I find to be very encouraging indeed.” Interestingly though, our most prolific writer is an 80plus-year old man who, in his time, has brought to fruition many important Christian projects. Surely we are not going to let him carry yet another project on his back? We would like to see more articles, people.
After the home page, the most popular page viewed is the response page, followed by the "about" page. This tells us that first time visitors want to know what the website is about. It also underlines the fact that people want to know what others are saying.
Speaking of response, we have more than 50 people who have registered themselves and so are able to share their comments. But the 25 comments we have received thus far has come from only 17 persons. This is the most disappointing data. A prelude to action and involvement is a point of view. And we would encourage our visitors to take up positions and engage in lively discussion. While it is typical to want to know what others are saying, let us go one step further to let others know what we are thinking.
Keat Peng, one of the five initiators of this website, has this to say:
“Looking at the first month’s statistics, there is some encouragement for us who initiated The Micah Mandate, thanks be to God! We started the project rather quickly, feeling that there was a need for a website which will engage with issues of universal concern for all Malaysians, seen through the lens of individual Christians and tempered with the prophet Micah’s charge to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
“We are still finding or feeling our way. Micah Mandate is not a church newsletter or an organ of the official Christian community as such. It is a forum for all Malaysians, Christians and others. We don’t want it to become a partisan political organ but rather a place to express concerns and engage in the political process as citizens whose opinions and views matter in a democracy.
“The editorial content has not achieved the kind of balance and mix I had first envisaged. For that to happen we need more writers from their respective stations in life and for them to just send their articles or comments in. I hope that Micah Mandate will be a place for ordinary people from all walks of life to pen a few paragraphs or lines on matters which lay upon their hearts. We want to hear from more people, regardless of race, creed, gender or so-called status. The voices of ordinary people must be heard. But how to encourage them (especially Christians) to speak up is proving to be a difficult challenge. In this respect, the reluctance of readers to post comments is a major concern to me.
“Another thing we wanted to do from the start was to have a BM edition, as one of our main objectives was to involve people in the indigenous churches of Sabah and Sarawak. For that, we are in need of translators and BM writers. Please contact us at webmaster@themicahmandate.org. We need more hands to take this project forward. My prayer is that more people will get involved in this website, in community service, in the affairs of the nation.”
The website is an evolving project, and what it becomes will be significantly impacted by the participation (or lack of) of those who share the same concerns. So how do you feel about the website? Where would you like to see it go? Do let us know.
Note: for those of you who like statistics, you can view our May statistics here.
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