The  Horley Views went digital with its first post  “And There Was A Secret Horley Fest” on 17th August 2014. Actually it was a repost of a blog that Carlie Lee wrote a year earlier about Horley Fest. Since then we have put up over 150 posts on the home page newsfeed (blog) and created 61 pages about Horley on the website. Most of the content has been provided by our villagers who organise the many groups and activities. THANK YOU for your efforts; you are the backbone of our small but perfectly formed community.

We Brits are not big on that “praise thang” however everyone that Di and I have spoken to about thehorleyviews.com have said that they really enjoy reading it. We also know that over 80 of you that follow via email and wordpress, as well as just over 200 on Facebook and Twitter. Some of you have told me they have book marked us as a favourite and check in regularly.

One of the reasons social media is so brilliant is that we can instantly see if the content is being looked at. There are stats for the number of views, visitors, whether they come direct or via another media. We can create graphs such this one below showing by country the 10, 500 views that, 9,500 as you would expect are in the UK.  We can be pretty sure on who is viewing in the US, France, Bahrain and those down under but who knew our little corner of North Oxfordshire was so global!

Another aspect of social media that helps is the fact that we instantly share the posts with our twitter feed (@horleyviews) and Facebook page (horley.views). We also follow with other Horley groups such as the Horley Cricket Club site, or on facebook Horley Playgroup , these and many Other Links, Local Villages and Gastropubs as seen in the right column, be sure to scroll down.

We have a rising star in out midst as Judy has not only found fame on our website and Facebook pages but now even has her own twitter hashtag …. #SelfieWithJudy

What started out as an online news feed for Horley Views Magazine has become a website for all our activities and where Horley Parish Council can openly share its information. We are also really pleased to be able to share some of our Pub’s successes and events – Dave and Natasha are really at the heart this village. But our boundaries don’t stop at the 30mph sign – we also have close ties with our neighbours especially Hornton and Hanwell, and families and friends who live there and nearby.

So what’s in store for our second digital year???

Well it’s up to you; it’s your resource and you can share whatever you would like, in whatever format. We would love to get more people involved and support any ideas you may have. You don’t have to understand the technology you just need to be passionate about something and want to share it.

It could be anything about Horley Life,  or something you are involved that would be of interest.  How about a living memory history of Horley? Photo Album? Country life and farming? A history group like Hornton?  Or a guess the baby photo competition , yes that right  I still have them from a village fete years ago! Let us know, Di & Deb …………….