Slice: Integrating Online and Offline Content

By Christine Spinder, Zoe House Media
May 2001

An urban street youth literacy organization, Slice, was worried that they would not be able to produce enough content for a Web site, and that it would drain already short staff and volunteer time. Slice produced and sold 400 copies of the Journal's 40-page quarterly writing and art journal, occasionally held performances and readings for small audiences, and attracted media coverage now and again that was quickly forgotten by non-members.

A small Web site mirrored what they already produced, organized into

• The Journal
• Events
• Reviews

with plenty of archive space in each section to grow over time. While Slice did not have the staff time to create new Web pages for every item in the journal, a full table of contents and portions of the best material went online, especially pieces that would be read or performed at their events.

Slice cross-promoted by:

• Announcing on the Web site home page the Journal publication date for four weeks before it "hit the streets."
• E-mail "flyer" announced the publication date and event dates to people who subscribed went they picked up the Journal from vendors, and linked to the Web site.
• The Web site address was prominent on the Journal cover, front and back.

Promoted online, the Journal's distribution and sales doubled in two seasons. Soon, Slice performances were packed, since their supporters could always find out when and where they were.

Outcomes

• The kids loved seeing their work on screen. They found other kids like themselves. The issues that the youth wrote about were the same for youth in other cities who also had Web sites.
• They initiated their own listserv with other street youth organizations.
• Listserv discussions prompted them to explore the same themes in the Journal.
• The Journal samples that went online made readers want to find the whole stories in the print version and at performances.
• Media reviews of the Journal and the performances noted the maturity and quality of the writing, and the youth gained confidence.
• Many people who were unsure of reading about or exposing themselves to street youth issues read the archived media reviews online.

Impact

• Slice began to work equally online and in traditional print, and began video taping their performances and casting them out over the Internet.
• The rate of the Slice youth completing high school grew, as they had a reason to stay with the Slice program.
• Slice's funding had previously been very insecure, but with the permanent presence of the Web site, funders could see the success of the program, and committed to maintaining regular support for ongoing training of new participants.

Unfortunately, it lasted only three years. Just nearing self-sufficiency, the government changed, and the funding was cut. While some months later the Journal was resurrected, the project has never reached its former height.