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A brand new website, Hobbyworldunited.com, aims to put these people in touch with each other, provide a forum for them to discuss their projects, to talk about articles they have read and to showcase their work to a global audience.
The site is the brainchild of Chris Leighton who, after completing her photography HND course in Norwich, England, wanted to rekindle the interaction she had been having with her fellow students.
“I had appreciated being able to talk to other photographers about the work we had all been doing and the articles we had been reading,” she said. “I recalled an article I had read about an online dating agency and thought it was a pity there was nothing like that on the web where hobbyists could be put in touch with each other to discuss ideas. Hobbyworldunited.com fills that gap.”
The website is being launched with over 30 hobbies, including Antiques, Art, Astrology ,Astronomy, Card Making, Clock Making, Collecting, Cooking, Crafts, Crochet, Cross Stitching, Dolls House Making, Drawing - Painting, Fishing/Angling, Fish Keeping, Gardening, Genealogy, Hat Making, Jewellery/Beading, Knitting, Lace Making, Metal Detecting, Model Engineering, Patchwork /Quilting, Photography, Pottery/Ceramics, Literature, Remote Control, Rubber Stamping, Scrap Booking, Teddy Bears, Upholstery/ Soft Furnishing, Walking, Wood Working., etc with scope to add more to meet demand.
Chris said: “Most people who have a hobby tend to read magazines devoted to them, and the success of our site will be the partnerships we are forming with the magazine publishers. Not only will the people who sign up to the site have the chance to discuss the articles they have read, they will also be able to have a preview of the projects or features that are coming up in future editions of their favourite publications.”
Chris and her team have already secured reciprocal agreements from magazine publishers in the UK, US and Australia and are keen to develop more.
As well as discussing articles, members can upload details about themselves, start their own blog and add pictures of their projects to show them off or to ask advice about them. A busy news section will carry articles about the various hobbies and an events guide will provide opportunities for promoting shows, exhibitions, meetings, courses and holidays. A private internal message system will allow hobbyists to retain anonymity if they wish to do so and there are also opportunities for them to get involved as a moderator for the various forums or by submitting articles.
Subscriptions to Hobbyworldunited.com are free during the initial phase until its international launch in January 2007, when a year’s membership will cost £9.99.
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