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socal78

socal78

Well-known member
... and a time to every purpose under heaven. (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

I have some happy news, People.

Talk Irvine is returning to its roots!

Yes, you read that right!!

For those of you who may remember and those of you who may not know, this site was created as an off-shoot of the old forum at Irvine Housing Blog. When the Father of IHB, Omkar a.k.a. Zovall, needed a new home for the site's members, he reached out to me. As a result, Talk Irvine was created in 2009.

I was once an Irvine resident like many of you. Last summer, I posted the news that I bought a home in a different city. That created a bit of an "uh-oh" situation for me. I was no longer passionate about Irvine - or, more specifically - Irvine real estate which has always been a dominant theme here. That's sort of a problem when you run a site called "Talk Irvine", isn't it? The members, however... the members... I was always passionate about. I spent months searching for a good solution, exhausting all options. Not one to give up easily, I was determined to find the best outcome for everyone involved.

I identified three goals:

  • Survival
  • Sustainability
  • Growth

... but who could offer that?! I noticed the buzz from members wondering aloud if TI could merge back with IHB. You spoke and I listened. IHB has recently undergone some changes of its own. I, too, wondered if maybe... just maybe... this could be the right time. So, I contacted my old friend, Omkar. I asked him if he'd be willing to work with me by finding any possible way to make this happen. Now is the time that I need to call in a favor. I realize he's been down this road before. He's a smart guy. He knows it's not all incense-and-peppermints all the time. We can be a handful. Things would have to be different this time around. We talked. For. A. Very. Long. Time. At the end, an agreement was made. This agreement is what I would call an ideal outcome. I really couldn't be happier. Omkar meets my very definition of all three goals. His technical skills blow my hat off. The traffic from IHB combined with TI would allow for growth. He is full of ambition. Omkar is also equipped in other ways that I am not. He can give Talk Irvine everything we need to continue. It is in the best possible hands with him. I am just so thankful he put so much of his time and effort into working things out just to make us all happy.

Of course the members here will wonder how all of this affects them. The short answer is that it won't - at least, not for a while. There are technical things to be sorted out. I'm sure a lot will depend on how it goes with that. Omkar is the best person to ask about technical-related questions. He can explain it better than I can. He has created an account here so that he can pop on and address such questions.

Those of you who know me know I tend to be overly-wordy. So, I'll stop here. Questions from the audience? I'll be in & out today but will reply as best I can.

I hope you are all happy as I am. I have had several members here become friends of mine who have offered lots of moral support. Any of you who support me should support Omkar, too. He's gone out of his way to help us.

Thanks,

Amber

 
Great news!

Not sure how the two sites will be integrated but I'm glad we can go back "home" and continue to build the community on both sites.

Thanks to the old time IHB'ers who stuck around and helped build TI and thanks to the new TI members who may not have really known much about the IHB but have contributed much to TI's content and growth too. And this goes without saying, but also thanks to any old IHB or TI members who are no longer active but did much to build IHB/TI.

I look forward to the new TalkIrvineHousingBlog era (TIHB!!!!).
 
Thank you for the warm intro Amber!  For those who don't know me, I'm Omkar (or zovall for those familiar with irvinehousingblog.com).  I've been an Irvine resident since 1999 and there are many things that I enjoy about living in Irvine.  I started IHB in 2006 and launched the forums there about 5 years ago.  The greatest thing about the forums was the tight knit community that developed over the years.  It is wonderful to see how Amber has done that here at TI.  I would like to see that continue to be the case.

That's all nice.. but what is going to change?  Running a popular site like IHB or TI takes quite a bit of time, effort and money.  There are many businesses that can benefit from participating here and if they'd like to participate, they will be asked to give back.  Both Martin (USCTrojanCPA) and Scott (IrvineRealtor) are on board and have agreed to a referral fee for any business that they generate here.  We will likely work on similar arrangements with others.

Is TalkIrvine going to merge with IHB?  The plan is to eventually merge the forums and have them reside on IHB.  There is so much great information on both forums that it doesn't make sense to keep them separate.  Merging the forums is not going to happen immediately - there is quite a bit to consider in regards to the different software, member logins, etc.  So things will remain the same for a while.  This also applies to the self moderating aspect of the site that Amber put in place.

If there are any other questions, please let me know.
 
Omkar, you were pretty silent the last time, when we were being evicted... how will things be different where we might find ourselves homeless again...

not to be negative, i'm not opposed to merging or am criticizing you personally...

thanks, man...
 
To keep a website running sponsorship is needed. What if the sponsors object to the viewpoints of the posters and would you censor the posters' content to keep a prosperous venture?
 
irvinehomeshopper said:
To keep a website running sponsorship is needed. What if the sponsors object to the viewpoints of the posters and would you censor the posters' content to keep a prosperous venture?
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I spoke with Amber and Omkar about this and they both stated that the goal is for the forum to remain as they are, where there isn't censorship of any competing viewpoints.  Obviously if something is going to get nasty and start to get vulgar then that's a who other story.  I welcome the transition and think it will be beneficially for all of us.
 
I had a couple questions come in to me through e-mail. I thought I'd share them here in case anyone else was wondering the same thing.

- "TIHB"

That was not something I wrote but appeared in a reply to this thread. That should be taken in a joking manner. Since IHB has absorbed Talk Irvine, it would fall under the IHB name.

- Regarding contacting me to set up referral agreements:

Please be advised that you should contact Omkar directly to do that. As inferred above, this is NOT... I repeat NOT... a partnership between Omkar and myself. He will be working solo as a "one man band". My status is now that of a regular member.

Any other questions? If it's directed to me, please write my name before the question.
 
RC, I'd like the focus to be squarely on the community.  It is something I've always valued (from the first IHB meetup to the first TI meetup). 

IHS, yes, sponsors definitely help keep a website running.  In order for a business to participate here, they'll need to sponsor the site in some manner.  But whether that sponsor sees success depends on their skill in proving themselves to and participating in the community. Members should not hesitate to post any viewpoints even if those viewpoints disagree with a sponsor.  One valuable feature of a forum is being able to share your insights and experiences with others so that they can make more informed decisions.  That's one part of IHB/TI that I really enjoyed and I hope people continue to share with others.

It is interesting that so far on this thread, I've met every single one of you in person. It has been a pleasure and I hope we can meet up in person again soon.  :)
 
But you'll still be around, right Socal? Just not running the site, right? But you're not leaving? (Can you tell I'm not good with goodbyes?)  :)
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
I spoke with Amber and Omkar about this and they both stated that the goal is for the forum to remain as they are, where there isn't censorship of any competing viewpoints.  Obviously if something is going to get nasty and start to get vulgar then that's a who other story.  I welcome the transition and think it will be beneficially for all of us.
Click to expand...

If I may point out: while I have my own hopes for how things may go and have expressed them to Omkar, I did not place any demands on him. We share many of the same views but I acknowledge and understand that he will need to do as he sees fit even if it doesn't jive with what I want -- no matter what the Topic Du Jour is. He has no contractual obligation to abide by my wishes. That said, he's a very approachable & reasonable guy.

 
SoCal78 said:
- "TIHB"

That was not something I wrote but appeared in a reply to this thread. That should be taken in a joking manner. Since IHB has absorbed Talk Irvine, it would fall under the IHB name.
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Hehe... yes... that's my bad... when tech companies buy out other tech companies, the tech blogs do that a lot (like HPalm, ATTMobile and Google-rola).

I have no idea what's going to happen to the domain names... but from what I'm reading here... it will eventually go back to IrvineHousingBlog.com.

Although I am thinking about opening BKvsIHO.com (that's another joke).
 
traceimage said:
But you'll still be around, right Socal? Just not running the site, right? But you're not leaving? (Can you tell I'm not good with goodbyes?)  :)
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Aww, thanks for thinking of me!

I don't know about you guys, but as Irvine has grown, instead of telling people I'm from "the greater L.A. area" like us Orange County residents used to do, I tell them I'm from "the Irvine area". It's changed that much in the last ten years. So, in a way, I still feel T.I. is a very relevant forum to visit even for someone like me who doesn't live precisely within the city. (Mr. SoCal still works in Irvine, though.) Irvine and TI / IHB have been a part of my life for so long that I can't imagine I'd have the willpower to stay away for good. You'd probably have to kick me out to accomplish that. So, yeah, if you all would still have me around, I would like to come back now and then to say hi to everyone and see how you are all doing.  :)
 
SoCal78 said:
traceimage said:
But you'll still be around, right Socal? Just not running the site, right? But you're not leaving? (Can you tell I'm not good with goodbyes?)  :)
Click to expand...

Aww, thanks for thinking of me!

I don't know about you guys, but as Irvine has grown, instead of telling people I'm from "the greater L.A. area" like us Orange County residents used to do, I tell them I'm from "the Irvine area". It's changed that much in the last ten years. So, in a way, I still feel T.I. is a very relevant forum to visit even for someone like me who doesn't live precisely within the city. (Mr. SoCal still works in Irvine, though.) Irvine and TI / IHB have been a part of my life for so long that I can't imagine I'd have the willpower to stay away for good. You'd probably have to kick me out to accomplish that. So, yeah, if you all would still have me around, I would like to come back now and then to say hi to everyone and see how you are all doing.  :)
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Glad to hear you'll still be around. :)

You know, I really think the "Irvine" designation in Talk Irvine is just a name only. I think this forum is really more about greater Orange County than Irvine specifically, with a particular emphasis on real estate. I would welcome more topics about non-Irvine issues, and I'm sure most other posters and readers would feel the same.

 
Zovall,

Any plans to also have OC Reader merge with IHB?

Technical limitations aside, is the plan to move all the archived posts on TI to IHB forums?

What is the approximate time frame for this move?

Thanks in advance.
 
SoCal78 said:
traceimage said:
But you'll still be around, right Socal? Just not running the site, right? But you're not leaving? (Can you tell I'm not good with goodbyes?)  :)
Click to expand...

Aww, thanks for thinking of me!

I don't know about you guys, but as Irvine has grown, instead of telling people I'm from "the greater L.A. area" like us Orange County residents used to do, I tell them I'm from "the Irvine area". It's changed that much in the last ten years. So, in a way, I still feel T.I. is a very relevant forum to visit even for someone like me who doesn't live precisely within the city. (Mr. SoCal still works in Irvine, though.) Irvine and TI / IHB have been a part of my life for so long that I can't imagine I'd have the willpower to stay away for good. You'd probably have to kick me out to accomplish that. So, yeah, if you all would still have me around, I would like to come back now and then to say hi to everyone and see how you are all doing.  :)
Click to expand...

Thank you SoCal for creating this site when all was lost at the old IHB and continuing to run it despite difficulties. Hopefully we see you around our new home as well.
 
iacrenter, No plans for a merger with OC Reader - I really haven't kept in touch with much of that crew although it was very nice seeing some of them in person at a friend's housewarming last year.

Yes, I'd like to move all the TI posts over to the IHB forums and continue over there.  I really don't have a time frame in mind as there are some non trivial (at least for me) technical issues to consider.  Things seem to be going well here and so I'm not in a rush to take that on.  I don't anticipate that happening for at least a couple months.  Hope this helps!
 
iacrenter said:
Thank you SoCal for creating this site when all was lost at the old IHB and continuing to run it despite difficulties. Hopefully we see you around our new home as well.
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Thank you. I owe a lot to 2 guys who helped me all along the way.

Omkar - he helped me from the very beginning to brainstorm ways to get started. He taught me all about the various forum software choices available, which I knew zilch about. He was always available to offer help & advice. I think it's a bit of a misconception that he just sent us packing on our merry way. He helped us relocate. It did not benefit him to do that but he did anyway. I do not take his help for granted and I hope nobody else does either.

Mr. SoCal - he did software maintenance. Without his help, I would have been lost when we  transitioned from the first temporary software we used to this current one - SMF. He's also seen me at my worst during times I was questioning myself and what I've gotten into, tears and all... and yet, he's still around... imagine that!  :o He could have "gone to the store for a gallon of milk" only to never return - but he didn't. Amazing.

And of course thanks to the members with the good hearts who are nice to new members and each other. That is what keeps people coming back & the site growing. We like to have fun and bust each other's chops sometimes but at the end of the day, we are still friends. It's love that matters most.
 
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