Maiden Voyage
Hello World and welcome to the maiden voyage of my very first blog post. I have been working very hard at building a brand new site that has a lot of new things to offer. I think we have come along way from the original Scotchat and I am quite proud of the outcome.
Scotchat was an IRC chat room initially part of a larger Scottish Community established in 1996 or possibly prior. I joined in the fun around 2000 but in 2002 they allowed their domain to expire and it appeared the now active chat room and community would die with it. Being technically inclined I decided to create a place for everyone to meet and purchased our domain name, establishing a forum and chat room for people to use. We have slowly formed a community and have several members still active that were from the original site. I’ve upgraded the site a few times and have decided to add much more to it in a hope that the site will become more active. The brand new SCOTCHAT is born in 2009, still grounded in it’s forum and chat room roots but also much, much more.
Here is what it has to offer:
- Blog – As you are reading this article you have noticed this blog is a new feature. I am new to blogging so will be taking this slowly but for those interested in blogs, watch this space – it could get interesting.
- Forum + Forum Photo Gallery - As always we offer a Forum with the ability to upload photos to the gallery. It’s the same forum just a new look. You don’t have to re-register, I’ve moved everything over from the old site. It’s just been repackaged in our lovely new design.
- Chat Room - We still have a Chat Room and are hoping our jazzy new digs will encourage more activity.
- Articles – We have created an area for articles pertaining to Scotland or along Scottish themes. Members can register as an author and write their own articles about their experiences, Scotland in general or historical accounts. We would like to build up high quality content about Scotland as this resource will add value to our website and possibly attract new members to our forum and chat room. We believe people interested in Scotland may come to our site for information and find our wonderful community on the forum boards. We are taking this new venture very seriously and will be reviewing every article submitted and choosing the best written articles to feature on our site. We hope this method will make us a trusted platform for information. This section also features rating and commenting to provide an interactive environment. We encourage any aspiring writers or seasoned authors to showcase their skills and become web published on our site. We are considering hosting some writing contests so watch this space.
- Videos - We have our very own Scottish Themed video section fed from YouTube. Members can search through categories and view videos related to Scotland.
- Our very own Amazon Shop - For those interested in Scotland and all things Scottish, this shop is focused on Scottish music, books, DVDs, jewellery, and we hope to continue to expand this to as many Scottish items as we can pack in there. Payment for items is operated through Amazon.com, a very trustworthy site.
- Zazzle Merchandise - These are products designed by myself focused on Scottish Themes as well as Scotchat merchandise. Products such as mouse mats, mugs, stickers, T-shirts and more.
- Red Bubble - Many of you may not realise I have a photography hobby and have taken pictures around Glasgow and Scotland. These I have made available in Print Format that can be ordered via Red Bubble you can also order the photos on T-Shirts. I will be adding new items to this site on a regular basis.
- Discounted Travel - For those interested in visiting Scotland or elsewhere we have a new section that offers discounted travel deals. This site is a division of Hotels.com a trustworthy site.
- Wallpapers- I’ve created/designed wallpapers with Scottish Themes that are available for free download.
- Map of Scotland – For handy reference we also have included an interactive Google map of Scotland.
