Waving thanks to all our Eventing Nation readers!
It's been about 7 months since little itty-bitty EN began, back at Fair Hill 2009. My, how things have changed since the nation's last major three-day event! Back then, John was live-blogging by himself, read only by a few friends (well, the paid ones) and random people who stumbled upon the site through a Google mis-direction. Fast-forward to Rolex, where EN is big enough to stand alongside the Chronicle of the Horse to provide competition coverage to 5,600 visitors on Sunday. It's been quite a journey, and we would like to thank each and every reader who has helped us on this ride.
So, as we take a (quick) breath between Rolex and Badminton (oh yeah, and that thing called DERBY), let's examine the Eventing Nation Progress Report.
PROBATIONARY EMPLOYEE
(we run on a limited budget here, so I just copied a sample form from somewhere on the net)
NAME OF EMPLOYEE: Eventing Nation JOB TITLE: Online Eventing Site
UNIT: Equestrian Insanity Division
REVIEW PERIOD -- FROM: Oct 2009 TO: May 2010 NEXT REVIEW DATE: WEG 2010
PERFORMANCE CATEGORIES
1 (Not satisfactory) 2 (Needs improvement) 3 (Average) 4 (Above average) 5 (Mastery)
COMMUNICATION/INTERACTION WITH OTHERS:
Communicates clearly and positively with co-workers, supervisors, and others.
4. There is pretty good communication here at EN...especially at 1am, I'm convinced John never sleeps.
Listens carefully to instructions.
3. Um, there were instructions? I thought we kinda made this up as we went along...I KNEW John should have stopped and asked for directions at that gas station!
Employee is receptive to feedback from supervisor.
5. I think we do a pretty good job listening to readers' comments, what do you think?
QUALITY/QUANTITY OF WORK HABITS:
Works at a consistent pace regardless of presence of supervision.JOB KNOWLEDGE:
5. There's a supervisor?? Who knew...! We try to stay consistent, around 3 posts a day. Unless Oli Townend changes his facebook status every 2 hrs, that may require more posts.
Completes work assignments in a reasonable period of time.
5. I think we get our info up pretty quickly, most of the time. At the expense of sleep, or our day jobs, usually.
The quality of completed work is satisfactory.
3. Eh. Depends on the definition of "satisfactory" I suppose...
Employee readily begins new assignments.
4. There's ALWAYS a new assignment, that's for sure. Badminton coming up!
Uses work time efficiently.
3. Nope, not really. Unless it's 3am, then things tend to get very efficient.
Employee can adapt to changes in priorities and/or schedules.
5. Priorities and schedules, haha. As if those EVER stay the same! We do our best to manage the site, maintain paying day-jobs, ride our own horses, oh and compete a little on the side. Life? What's that?
Has demonstrated that he/she has the skills and abilities to do the work.
3. We've demonstrated a lot of things, I'm not sure you'd call them "skills," per se. But I've become very proficient at surfing Craigslist. Does that count?
Performs work in accordance with FM policies and procedures.
5. I have no clue what FM policies are. But I assure you we are in accordance with them. Or that's what John told me to say. We are mostly in accordance to FEI policies, at least, until they changed 30 minutes ago. No, make that 30 seconds ago... to bute or not to bute? It's still an unanswerable question.
Practices knowledge of safety procedures.
5. Air vests, frangible pins, and styrofoam logs: check. And we never write without our ASTM helmets, either. You never know when a Fatal Error message may occur.
DEPENDABILITY/ATTENDANCE
Prepared to begin work at beginning of shift.SUPERVISORY FEEDBACK (attach additional comments if necessary)
4. I wouldn't call it "prepared;" more like, thrown together to sound intelligent. Yeah. That. As long as it sounds good, right?
Independently follows through on assignments.
5. You have no idea how much work it is to follow through some things...like the Bracket Battle...but we do it anyway. That's the exhausting part of this gig. It's easy to start something, it's the finishing it that keeps you up til 3am for days on end!
Provides adequate notice to supervisor for using vacation/sick leave.
3. You mean we get sick days and vacation??? Where was this in the contract? Sweet!
Submits accurate sick leave and vacation reports in a timely manner.
3. I'm still excited about the prospect of vacation days. When do the benefits start?
1. Describe examples of outstanding work performance or areas of work performance that will require additional attention. Please use specific examples of work performance and/or expectations.
I may be biased, but I think this site has filled a unique niche in the eventing news category. John started this site with a vision to bring all members of the eventing community together: one place to share news, insights, and information with the humor and fun that makes our sport special. We want to keep you in the loop, bring you with us to the Fork or Rolex, and still make you laugh along the way (whether it's Craigslist or Santa). Hopefully you'll visit a few minutes a day, to get your daily dose of news and absurdity, and keep coming back for more.
We fully admit we're learning this as we go. None of us are journalists or tech geeks; we're riders, horselovers first and foremost. This is just our way of giving back to the sport, helping it grow and succeed, sharing it with all of you. The site doesn't generate ANY income, we are not paid in any way (John's forced to keep his "Night Job" to pay the bills) other than your heartfelt appreciation.
Thank you so much for reading. To our new visitors: welcome! Kick back your heels and stay a while. To our old standbys: I hope you've enjoyed watching the site grow over the past 7 months, and who knows how far we still have to go. We appreciate everyone who clicks, and the depth of audience is really amazing: from the 12-year-old Pony Clubber, to the Olympic Gold Medalist, sometimes it is a bit overwhelming. When you find links to something you wrote on horse sites all over the world; when you hear strangers at events quoting your grooming tips; when a Big Name Coach comes up to you and asks "wtf is up with Chattahoochee's Five Star??" after an April Fool's joke. It is humbling and inspiring.
We aren't anything special here. But we are part of a very special sport, and a very special Nation. For that, we are most thankful.
Keep reading, and GO EVENTING!
John (et. al.)... you know you are moving up the levels in cyberspace when your readers start making EN their homepage. Congratulations on a job better-than-well done!
I do have one issue with you however, if EN continues on this track of information & frivolity, I may be forced to contact the Bureau of Substance Abuse, I am already addicted and fear others may fall victim to the fun.
.... Kick On!!