Would you opt in for the Baller Directory?

[Horton]

One of the many ideas I have hatched for making this site more of a resource is a user directory. The directory would be opt in from your current account (or maybe from another log in). Your data would be visible only to other Ballers and you could control what data they see.

 

So what is the point? You could search for other Ballers by state or city. You could search by profession. You could search by what ski they ride (this is kind of silly but maybe). You might use it to find a ride when you travel.

 

The part I like best is by profession. If you were looking for a film maker you might find Ryan Sawyer. If you were looking for a graphic artist you might find Terry Winter. If you were looking for a wholesale car dealer you might find Ham Wallace. If you were looking for a total wackjob you might find Eric Lee.

 

I see it as the inverse of LinkedIn. With LinkedIn you are connected with people you know by profession and then by acquaintance. With the BOS directory you would be connected by skiing first and then what ever.

If you hate the idea you can simply just not participate and I am sure many will not. My question is do you think you would opt in or out. Like a lot of stuff this is still on the drawing board.

 

 

 

[Chef23]

I would be in as long as it was only visible to logged in members.

[Horton]

@Chef23 yes for sure

[Chuck_Dickey]

I'm in.

[klindy]

How about using this - mapservices.org/myguestmap

 

[tjm]

Great idea

[colo_skier]

I really like the get a ride when you travel part of what this could become.

[BraceMaker]

Yes. Use baller points to gain access and hide it before a number.

 

Lock it for those who get negative feedd

[Razorskier1]

Based on information I've shared on various threads, y'all know how to find me already anyway! Might as well make it easy.

[Wish]

I like the idea. USA water ski gave out CDs and the actual hard cover member directory one or two yrs that I've used to locate folks. This obviously would be much better. Really like the idea of looking for a professional that I may need to hire from a list on BOS. Who can you trust if not a Baller.

[andjules]

Yes, if members only and the communication mode is private message on BoS. If an idiot starts to abuse it, @Horton bans them and we're not fighting spam for the rest of our (email address') life.

[Horton]

Yes @andjules I am writing the spec for it now and I think sharing your email would default to opt out.

 

And yes I have no problem banning trouble makers.

[Horton]

@Wish exactly

[Brady]

@andjules. I am so excited to get all your info. Let me give you a teaser. I am working with some very successful business developers and they are expanding their business in your area. (Where do you live again?) And they are looking for a few key people to help in their expansion. I don't know if you qualify, but I would love to come and sit down with you and your wife and go through the details with you. (That is what all the idiots that were trying to use and abuse me would say. I think I have the lingo down right!) ha ha

 

@Horton. Please ban only trouble makers and not smart asses.....I really want to stay!

[Horton]

A draft of my request for custom software estimate is below. I am afraid the bill for this is going to be more than I can afford. We will see.

 

Data is entered by the user from the current “Edit Profile” interface => currently titled “More information”.

 

The user should be able to opt in or out of the directory. Default would be opt out.

 

The user should be able to opt in or out to expose email address. This already exists in profile settings.

 

The default would be for all directory entries to be visible only to other users. There should be the option for specific profiles to be visible to non-users. This would be admin controlled. The profile records that are visible to the public would be marked as commercial.

 

The admin needs to be able to designate some fields as free form entry (as they are now) and some as defined values from a dropdown menu. The predefined values ensure clean grouping criteria.

 

The user should be able to go to the Directory Page and choose a Grouping. Examples: “Group By State” or “Group by industry” or “Group by Commercial or Non-Commercial”. Groupings would be created only for fields that contain predefined values.

 

The entries in the directory should be included in the existing forum search.

 

[Brady]

@Horton. Charge those who want to opt in. I would rather pay a one time charge rather than a monthly charge. I still think there would be enough who would opt in. Or, I can continue with the one I am working on. That one will accomplish what you want, but in a more basic form. You can use that data on a future iteration. We could still only make this one available to active ballers by password protecting it

[Waternut]

I'd be willing to pay for this service. Being able to search for local skiers would be awesome. I know quite a few people who like to casually ski or wakeboard but finding people who are serious and want to ski the course would be awesome.

[Horton]

@jfw432 Feel free to donate to the site but this will be a free service.

[A_B]

@Horton, this might be the way to get the greograpical list of lake owners and locations, if they choose to opt in. A sub-category that could be a drill down and sorted by geography?

[Waternut]

The purpose of my post was to say if the bill is high, I'd certainly contribute to the fund. I will try to make a donation when I get home in a few days so I can help out since you've done so much to keep this site going.

[Horton]

@AB sort by state is a must. Not sure about adding GPS data. Maybe

[Razorskier1]

@Horton -- maybe just add the fields to the profile and make the profiles searchable?