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History of Los Bleedos |   |
The roots of the Los Bleedos website can be traced back to the spring of 2003. Here we give you a quick run-down of the major milestones of the project from then to now.
2003
April: The Danish Haemophilia Society files an application to the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs for a grant to support the development of a website for young members. The application is written in cooperation with the Danish Society for Epilepsy.
June: The grant is awarded and provides funds for a 2½ year project with a total sum of 1.4 Mio. DKK (approximately 190.000 € / 240.000 $).
August: A full-time project consultant is hired.
September: Young members of the two organisations are encouraged to attend an information meeting, where the project is presented. At the meeting a project group is formed. Initially it consists of 6 people with two more joining shortly after.
October: An online survey is launched to help plot the course for the project. Young members of both organisations are asked to answer a range of questions about their interests, use of computers and internet and how their condition affects their lives. Meanwhile, project members study the literature and websites around the internet to learn what makes a succesful community.
The project group at the first all-weekend meeting.
2004
January: The results of the survey are analysed and presented in a report, which will guide much of the work for the next six months. In parallel, work is begun to define the content, structure and functionality of the coming website.
March: Production of content, i.e. writing of articles, contacting potential authors etc., is well in progress. Initial planning of the marketing effort starts and is coupled with development of ideas for marketing material.
April: The requirements specification defining the functionality of the website is completed and is sent to a number IT suppliers with an invitation to tender.
May: Among the received tenders, the winning bid is selected and a contract is signed for the development of the technical foundation of the website. The winning bid incorporates a sponsorship from Sitecore, which allows the website to be built on a more advanced platform than would otherwise have been possible within the budget. In cooperation with the supplier, the structure and functionality is further refined.
June: The graphical design and overall structure of the website is agreed upon. First drafts of the marketing strategy and marketing material are ready. The marketing material consists of a flyer (small brochure) and a A3 size poster.
August: The website is taking shape and is undergoing test, while work progresses on preparing and editing articles and other text on the site.
October: The website is officially launched. It consists of a common portal, named "Kronisk Ung" (literal translation: "Chronic young") with two subsites: one for people with epilepsy and one for people with haemophilia. The subsite for haemophilia is dubbed "Los Bleedos". The official launch of Los Bleedos coincides with a Nordic-Baltic youth meeting in Aalborg, Denmark. At the meeting, the web site is introduced and the participants are given a chance to have a first hand look at the website. The marketing material is mailed to all registered members of the two organisations and distributed to medical treatment centers.
November: User profile number 100 is created. At the end of December 2004 this number has risen to 150 and the number of posts in the forum has passed 200.
Official launch of Los Bleedos at the Nordic Baltic Youth Meeting in Aalborg, Denmark, 1st October 2004.
2005
January: Marking the transition from a development project to a more maintenance-oriented project, a new project structure is introduced. It has more groups whose focus is specific. This transition is designed to make it easier to recruit and keep new project members. There is now one editorial group for each subsite as well as a shared technical group and a coordination group. New project members can join the group that most closely matches their interests. On the website a chatroom is introduced. Considering the limited number of users, it is remarkably succesful.
March: A follow-up user survey is conducted. This time we asked the users of the website a number of questions about how they use the site and which parts they like or do not like. The conclusions from this survey were used to guide the development of new functionality.
June: Initial ideas about an English language version of Los Bleedos are discussed. The farmaceutical company Baxter agree to provide financial support.
October: An upgrade of the discussion forum is launched. It adds a number of new features and is easier to navigate in. Part of the upgrade was done by an external supplier and part by the project group.
November: In preparation for the end of the project, a handbook recording much of the experience gained during the project is written. The handbook gives a range of practical advice for others wanting the start a project based mostly on the work of volunteers. Elements of the handbook are presented at a conference for charities.
December: A comprehensive Christmas theme is launched. Among other things, it includes a Christmas calendar with one new article every day from the 1st to the 24th of December. This is the first time that the project members have developed a large theme without any help from the consultant.
Plans are made and reviewed at a project group meeting in the autumn of 2005.
2006
January: Work on the English language version of Los Bleedos commences.
February: The original project is closed as the 2½ year funding period has come to an end. This also means the end of the employment of a full-time project consultant. Some of the roles of the project consultant are passed on to employees in the two organisations, but most are taken over by the project members.
April: User number 450 signs up and there are close to 950 posts in the forum.
May: The English-language version of Los Bleedos is launched at the WFH World Congress. This new addition aims to be the number one forum for exchange of experience and information among young people with haemophilia around the world.