Once Bev and I decided to create we heart zihua, it was time to make the difficult decisions concerning exactly what the website would become. We wanted to develop a site that compliments the current Zihuatanejo-Ixtapa resource websites, but that also provided fresh insight with new perspectives. We knew that we'd rather publish indepth information about select venues than just "skim the surface" about every restaurant, hotel, and activity in town. Our decision to include subjective information in all aspects of the website - including the directory - might be considered a narcissistic one. Who are we to think our opinions would matter to others? That question is quickly answered every time we meet a visitor or new transplant and we're asked the same questions:
Which beach should I go to with my kids?
What's the most romantic restaurant?
How can I find wifi for my laptop?
Can I eat raw vegetables at restaurants?
Do I tip the taxi drivers?
Who makes the best margaritas?
Where can I meet hot surfers rent a surf board?
Our opinions are sought out every time someone learns that we live here. In fact, whenever we fly into Zihua after a trip, we've often found ourselves serving as guides to our aisle-mates, writing out directions, offering our own list of "must sees and dos" and reassuring first-time timid tourists that they'll be able to order a cervesa and guacamole just fine even though they don't know any Spanish. As residents of Zihuatanejo, we have become ipso facto experts.
Our area directory not only provides the facts - locations, hours, contact information, etc - but also includes personal observations. This means that we have personal experience with each business, venue, or service listed in the directory. Of course, this also means that our directory is not a comprehensive, all-inclusive listing but will be an evolving look at "our" Zihua as we continue to explore the community and discover new reasons to "heart Zihua". Right now, it's just the two of us editors writing our directory entries so the evolution will be at a leisurely, sun-soaked pace. Bev and I are a good "match" as co-editors not only because we are great friends but also because we offer very different perspectives as a culinarily-inclined, on-the-go Mama and a night-owl artistic geek. Of course, we welcome suggestions (please!) of places for us to check out via our submission page. Ad interim, we'll continue writing about the restaurants, hotels, and other businesses we stumble upon.
As we started writing entries for the directory another question came to mind: What if we want to get even more indepth than our "the lowdown" allows? That's where "travel essentials" comes in. Road trips, thoughts on specific aspects of Mexican living, and cultural observations can all be found in that section of the website. The articles listed here are thoroughly researched but will also often include personal photographs, tips and tricks, and a few embarrassing interesting anecdotes.
The area directory and travel essentials sections of our website, in addition to this "from the editors" notes/blog area, are all run on a tweaked and tricked-out version of Movable Type 3.31. I've used Movable Type extensively for previous design projects but never for such a large endeavor. Using community plugins - and a little bit of my own geek voodoo - I was able to create a simple interface for us to enter in all the information about each directory entry and all of our articles in one centralized, easy to use location. Now I just have to find the time to teach Bev to use it! Using Movable Type allowed me to implement some features of the site that we felt were really vital to having an efficent website including both section-specific and site-wide search engines, RSS feeds, and having an easy way to include our guidebook-esque* icon system.
While the rest of the website focuses on Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa as viewed through our eyes, we want "talkback zihua" to be an authentic interactive experience. It will certainly take a while for the community to come together but we're optimistic that it will become a vital part of not only the online dialogue about all things Zihua but will transcend cyberspace and lend itself to forum social events, cultural lectures, and community service involvement. In order for our forums to be unique and to fulfill our online community wishlist, I was faced with a real test of my web design skills in the customization and management of Invision's Power Board software. This was my first attempt at dismantling and rebuilding a message board and - as evidenced by my continued tweaking and the occasional error messages - it was a messy, sweaty, tequila-fueled, mistake-riddled journey. In other words, it was just like moving to Mexico! We hope that people - that would be you! - will start asking questions, making comments, and driving discussions in the community forums, thus making we heart zihua a panoptic experience.
*Guidebook-esque??? One of the best things about being the editor of my very own website? I get to make up words!
