Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
A Quiet 10th Birthday for Harringay Online
10 years ago this week, I launched Harringay Online as a way of helping neighbours connect more easily. This was in a time when social media hadn't really happened and the internet hadn't yet come of age. Twitter was just getting going and it was less than a year after Facebook was opened to everyone over 13. The local press was contracting into a shadow of its former self.
So something like Harringay Online seemed like a pretty good idea. When I set it up I thought that we might even grow to as many as 200 members!
With nothing else like it locally, and little like it anywhere else in the country, HoL quickly proved much more successful than I ever imagined. It now has over 12,000 registered users. So successful was HoL in its first years that by 2008 Liz and I were handed an award by the Prime Minister and I was a guest on the Daily Politics Show alongside Ken Livingstone.
The site managed to make some great connections between neighbours and it was instrumental in helping Harringay move in the right direction, including several successful change campaigns. For the first few years we had regular socials at The Salisbury and by 2012, it had also become a hyperlocal news hub. HoL's Twitter account was even the go-to destination for national news channels during the Haringey riots.
Another change that I'm delighted to have been part of was the strengthening of the identity of Harringay. In 2007, few people knew what Harringay was and how it differed from Haringey. Even fewer had any sense of where it began and ended. I dare to hope that we've come a long way since then, due both to HoL, a dedication to getting Harringay on Google maps and perhaps the ridiculous number articles I've written on Wikipedia about Harringay. These both clarified what and where Harringay is and for the first time ever told Harringay's previously untold history.
A lot has changed over the past ten years. The internet and social media has come to dominate our lives in a way few of us imagined. HoL has developed into a more sedate middle age and now sits alongside younger social media hubs backed by multi-million dollar investments. Most of the community-run local websites that were set up around the country after HoL are long gone (though most of the Haringey ones that modelled themselves closely on HoL are proving pretty resilient).
Both Liz and I certainly spend a lot less time on HoL than we used to. Every now and again I wonder if it's time to rethink or move on, but each time I suggest it, people convince me that the site still serves a valuable purpose.
So here we are moving into our 11th year with all the advantages and disadvantages of any forum-based website. If anyone has any low cost, minimal effort ideas about how we can zhjush things up for the next few years, I'm all ears.
In the meantime, here are some links to some established HoL pages about HoL:
The Story of Harringay's History
Before I go, a big thanks to Liz, whose help in running the site is warmly appreciated each and every week!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Happy Birthday. Big school next year!
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Permalink Reply by Neil Thompson on
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Great work. Keep it up...please!
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I've been looking at the very early members of the site and it's a testament to HoL that many are still active 10 years later.
http://www.harringayonline.com/profiles/friend/list?page=572
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Happy Birthday HOL where are the candles ?
Andy
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Permalink Reply by Ruth on
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Very well done Hugh and Liz for all your time, efforts and dedication. HoL led the way for hyperlocal sites.
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Great achievement!
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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Happy birthday HOL!
Thank you for all your hard work and dedication Hugh and Liz, it is much appreciated.
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Permalink Reply by Mavic Starfish on
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Happy Anniversary Hugh and Liz - a great site, a daily must read
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Permalink Reply by Karen Alexander on
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Happy birthday HoL and thank you Hugh and Liz for all your hard work over the last ten years.
HoL started about a year after I was first elected as ward councillor for Harringay ward and it has been invaluable as a great way to keep in touch with residents, pick up problems, offer guidance and advice - it certainly made my life as local councillor much easier. Its a great site - don't ever change.
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