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The idea of launching loyolites.com sparked in 2004.
The previous year, as president of the Old Boys’ Association (LOBA), I had seen that:
- an increasing number of Loyolites were moving out of Kerala after graduation;
- the internet was enabling inexpensive, faster, frequent, and direct communication among old boys;
- LOBA was rapidly growing in size, yet failing to attract volunteers to run it; and
- the needs/expectations of old boys varied across generation and location — a Loyolite from the 1970s based in Kerala expected LOBA to do x, while his classmate in California wanted LOBA to do y. And then there was the Loyolite from 2000s, who wanted z.
My reading was that the alumni movement would soon shift — from a monopoly model to a network model. If in the past, old boys looked to LOBA for meeting all their needs, in the future, they were likely to pick-and-choose the best ventures to meet each specific need. So in 2004, after stepping down as president, I bought the domain name www.loyolites.com.
By 2007, e-groups, batch websites, and e-communities have sprung up, thanks to enterprising Loyolites with energy and ideas. loyolites.com, we hope, will make the mela merrier.
Splendid to hear about the new blog. I think it would be worthwhile if we could make this a community blog in the genre of Sepia Mutiny (http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/). We have quite a few good writers among us who can chip in with interesting stories, anecdotes, etc. about Loyola.
Regards,
Deepak
Deepak,
When a Loyolite wishes to start a blog, community blog or website relating to Loyola, I can create a suitable URL at loyolites.com (and install WordPress for the blog). Design, customisation, setting up rules, etc. can be done by the volunteering individual or a team, right? Good to hear that other Loyolites will contribute to a community blog. If one of you can take the lead to run such a blog, please post a comment here.
Wow, it’s great that we can actually do that. I sure hope we can get at least half a dozen guys to make the start. It should be fun reading all those anecdotes and articles.
Dear Ashok,
I am not sure whether this is the right place to access you or rather “post” matters.
You are free to edit, delete or modify portions which may be of personal touch.
However, the urge for spending some time is “nostalgia” as literary stalwarts put it.
May be true.. Otherwise, I wouldnt do it. I wanted to be in Trivandrum on the AGM day… and Im here.
This AGM seems to be different to me for one point in the Agenda …. a place for Deepa Pillai…. successor of Maya Thomas and Chittoor as a good English Teacher. Thats the best benchmark I can give..probably the best one for us belonging to 1974 Eleven-year ISC batch. I had written an article on “Lady Macbeth – Oru Swabhavapadanam””in our School Magazine 1974, inspired by Literature classes.
Let me point out that I too had opportunities for interacting with her by contributing towards the School Magazine as well as during other occasions much earlier, but not with the effectiveness as you did. I dont know whether she remembers all this.
Her popularity has kept me tantalizing.. is there any chance of attending her classes ? Some special classes for older old boys ?
Moving on to the mode of communication and about being in touch. Long back, there was a time when I used to write letters .. I mean with the pen on an “inland”and post it promptly to my friends,relatives and others.. including individual Loyolites…thro what we call as snail mail today. I still wonder, why I am lazy now… and why many of us are. Lazy…Thats the correct term.
I remember with gratitude the role of Chandrans in helping Dr. Murugan and me in kicking off the Electronic Database of our Members… not forgetting my wife Sheela ..in upgrading and maintaining the database.
I feel happy about kicking off the first sort of website concept for LOBA with your help through NOBLES. I dont know whether people are able to recollect this. Now, as you rightly pointed out, we need a network of hitech platforms … and more importantly motivating the older old boys to become soft… to visit websites .. to visit blogs… more importantly have an email id and to use it.
You are doing a wonderful job as far as the networking of Alumni .. ..Old Boys..a better usage. Please coordinate with LOBA Office Bearers, always.
I am currently with Bureau Veritas Certification (known as BVQI earlier), attached to Bangalore Area Office My job involves extensive travelling … I love it… and I have to visit Kerala often.
For the sake of those who do not know me.. I belong to the 1974 Batch of Loyola School. I have served as President and Secretary of LOBA. Currently, I am a Committee member.
Karnataka Mobile:99720 14100
Kerala Mobile: 94473 44100
Personal email id: pradeepsheela@eth.net
Any Loyolite coming to or passing through Bangalore, may contact me to refresh our Loyola days in the Loyolite style – not forgetting the fact that there are other Old Boys in Bangalore!
Please send me all the known contact particulars of Old Boys in Bangalore. We are planning the next Regional/Chapter Meeting shortly.
With Best Regards
M. Pradeep Kumar,
1974 ISC Batch
Pradeep, you have done so much for the alumni movement, primarily through LOBA. I would rank the database as the biggest of your achievements. Yes, I recall how you provided updates for the LOBA page on the NOBLES website (in those initial days in 1998-99 when we were at http://members.rediff.com/nobles). Best wishes to LOBA.