The General History Project

As some of you may know, (or not no since I haven’t posted here about this) I have recently completed a project with my friend Laura Lee Huttenbach, a friend of mine from University of Virginia. My role was to build her website, which I would like to share with you:

http://www.thegeneralhistoryproject.com

It’s been really fun to work on developing this website because it gave me the opportunity to flex the engineering and CS skills I have.  You know the moments where you just want to build something and see it work?  This fulfilled that urge!  This project, I learned how to integrate WordPress into the actual website, using the same header and sidebar options; I obviously know how to install wordpress on my own site, but integrating the design was something new for me.  I also installed PHPList and embedded the form into the website as well, all while working on my design aesthetic.

I saw this as a project with a lot of opportunity.  Not just for developing my own skills, but also to test out online marketing, and social media’s ability to cull a few dollars from many to fund a worthwhile venture.  When I received LL’s initial email asking for help, I immediately thought, “If President Obama can raise a $30mm surplus in campaign contributions because he made it so easy for people to donate, then Laura Lee and I can figure out a way to raise $5000 for her to write this book”.

Laura Lee’s  goal is to  record oral and cultural history in developing countries. Her first trip will be to a tea farm in Kenya, where she plans to record the life story of an 88-year-old man they call “The General”; she met him while traveling through Africa in 2006-07. He was a leader of the independent movement there and has an inspirational story to tell.

I thought you may enjoy learning about the project and checking out what I have been up to in my free time the past month or so. I definitely believe in what Laura Lee can do and obviously think this is a project worth doing since I volunteered my time to build her website.  Please check out her website, share it with others and make a contribution to her cause (and make my work worth it!)

Related posts:

1. Fulbright Research (Background)
2. Project M Course is Listed at the I-School