As I said earlier, I've been thinking a lot about the site since Vegas. I'd like to see JC's primary focus continue to be one that links those with a career in aviation to those who pursuing one. But I think we need to make an effort to bring fresh faces to the forum.
If I could offer up a few things I'd like to see the site accomplish in its next 25 years it would be the following:
My first visits to the site began with the profile pages; a forum introduction then progressed to on/offline networking with other members. Those writeups helped me identify with existing members and it made joining the forums a natural transition. So I would echo the sentiment to bring them back along with developing additional aviation career content.
Many of us can trace our career path back to JC and would love the chance to 'pay it forward' by extending a hand to those coming up after us. If we think big for a moment, I think there's an opportunity for us to do more with the career profiles than we previously did. It would be great to have a dedicated set "trusted members," "mentors," "ambassadors" whatever you wanted to call them. Nothing too formal. Maybe they have forum mod capabilities or maybe not. Just a system where if a new career changer posted, a designated member like
@killbilly or I reached out in a DM.
Also, identity is everything. I think it would be very cool to see this section of the site enable a more diverse set of people to connect with existing members. There has been a tremendous effort to diversify hiring pools but when was the last time a female student pilot posted on the forum? Hell, when was the last time a female besides Kristie posted here? Would our LGBTQIA+ friends say JC is a resource to connect with others? I think it's important to intentionally cast a wider net for new members. Wouldn't it be amazing if OBAP or NGPA had their house forum hosted on JC?
A part of getting people here and getting them to stick is to make sure the conversations we are having are at the level of professionalism we seek in our career field. I think there needs to be some discussion around the scope and tone of conversations allowed on the site. Back in the day we treated this place like Doug and Kristie's living room. Somewhere along the way a small number of us lost that decorum. I'd hate for a new member's intro to the site to be some of our lav topics and the virtrol found within them. I think there are members of the site who are great professional resources but candidly, don't belong in the lav.
I hate to sound like I'm handing out tasks to
@derg. JC and its community occupy a very special place in my heart. Especially with the goals I've achieved this year. I'm always up for the challenge to help make this a better place. So anything I can do, let me know.
-TheDo
