Photo courtesy of Dietrich../..(flickr)

Back in June I made my last post for Ground Control celebrating our 2000th member on the Commons.  It was an exciting time for us on the site as we watched our community nearly triple in size since the Community Team was officially formed.  Since then so much has happened; many on the team have become parents, some of us have moved into new positions, sister projects have sprouted up at various campuses, and wrapping up an already successful year was the big news about the Commons partnering with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop the Commons in a Box.  From the beginning Ground Control was designed to be an ambitious blog of many hats.  It was part behind the scenes look at how we, the Commons team, managed the site and tried to steer it while also being a soapbox for issues that were dear to us.  With a new year upon us and so much momentum at our backs this seemed like the perfect time to revisit the mission of Ground Control and share the process of the Commons team with a new set of community members who are with us now.

If you’re a long time reader the first thing you probably noticed was the makeover.  In order to better share the Commons team experience with you I’ve invited a number of new voices to pitch in each month.  With new faces to the blog comes a better format to accommodate everyone and grow the site in new directions.  Going forward we’re going to feature multiple articles on a variety of topics relating to the site, its administration, and its every evolving mission.  I’d also like to reach out to you in the community and get your thoughts on what the site means for you and your own work.  In the future look forward to interviews with staff members, highlights of community projects and in-depth discussions about what’s up next for the Commons and open source culture at CUNY.

To kick off the new year and a new life for Ground Control I’ve asked the team to write about the things they’re looking forward to in 2012.  Our Project Director Matt Gold @admin shares his vision for the upcoming ‘Commons-in-a-Box’ and what it means for CUNY, education, and the open source movement.  Our User Experience Designer Chris Stein @CStein checks in with the community to tell us about some of the challenges involved in keeping the Commons experience user friendly.  Our Wiki Wrangler Scott Voth @scottvoth talks about the intersection of the Commons with Open Access and our Outreach Coordinator Michael Smith @MSmith makes his plea for a Commons tour bus.  Finally, don’t miss Sarah Morgano’s post on expanding your learning network.

Watching this site and the CUNY community grow over the last two years has been a privilege.  It’s so exciting to watch the energy build here and I’m looking forward to bringing the Commons team to you each month here at Ground Control and seeing what we can build together.

-Brian M. Foote

Community Facilitator