Should we promote Sutta Central project to Western Buddhist temples?

[SarathW1]

Recently I spoke to a monk living in Australia. I mentioned to him about the Sutta Central project and Bhante Sujato. He did not have any clue about SC.
Considering the fact SC project launched in Sri Lanka, this was a very surprising finding for me.
Perhaps we should send some mail out to Western temples about SC so they can pin the news to their communication boards.
Or perhaps we can create a one-page information leaflet so people can send to relevant temples.

[sujato]

Thanks so much for the kind thought!

To be honest, I’ve never given much thought to promotion, I just kind of rely on word of mouth. Messaging the monasteries in an area, whether it’s Australia or somewhere else, would be a lovely idea. But it’s not easy to reach everyone!

[SarathW1]

@sujato

To be honest, I’ve never given much thought to promotion, I just kind of rely on word of mouth. Messaging the monasteries in an area, whether it’s Australia or somewhere else, would be a lovely idea. But it’s not easy to reach everyone!

Perhaps we have to think about this for the people who have little dust in their eyes. This can be easily done by using a mail house or using an internet platform. Isn’t it?
It is pretty amazing how I get emails immediately when I inquire about something.

[Mat]

@SarathW1

pretty amazing how I get emails immediately when I inquire about something.

Some might find popups appearing while on the internet unacceptable so SC will get poor reputation among certain communities.

Word of mouth and an internet based approach as @sujato says might be best. We could as you say send out small leaflets or posters.

Is it possible to get a list of temples/retreat centres etc. to send out a mail-shot? It doesn’t have to be limited to a single country?

[SarathW1]

@Mat

Is it possible to get a list of temples/retreat centres etc. to send out a mail-shot? It doesn’t have to be limited to a single country?

I beleive there are mailing houses specialising in this matter.

[Rosie]

@SarathW1

Perhaps we have to think about this for the people who have little dust in their eyes.

As a person probably with a few dust motes left in my eye, I just wanted to say that despite not remembering how I found this most lovely fountain of knowledge which has fed my spiritual ‘appetite’ for a few years now how VERY GRATEFUL I am for this my refuge…my sangha. Namaste

[Viveka]

In my prior professional capacity, we would ensure that we were listed in the resource pages of all peak bodies, service directories, etc. This may be another approach, though I have no idea about ‘hub’ style services in Buddhism.

Small adds/promotion in some of the main magazines/journals might be another way to go…

[sujato]

Yes, all these are good things. I’ve done one or two interviews with Buddhist magazines, but I think there’s much room for improvement.

[Mat]

Maybe we can get started by obtaining a list of the monasteries in Australia and sending out an A4 sized poster for the notice board.

Two tasks are created: designing the poster or flyer, and finding all the monasteries/religious institutions. Any volunteers?!

[UpasakaMichael]

I know that there is some rightful objection to using social media to promote SC, but it seems that most individuals and entities with good and positive messages these days are using social media in order to disseminate positive content and to raise awareness of positive and skillful projects and ideas.

For example, @ pacifichermits has a Twitter page. @ BuddhistGblRlf has almost 3 thousand followers. Then, there is Facebook with many venerables posting each day.

Even today I mentioned Sutta Central on my personal Facebook . My friend and colleague Dr. Eric Jones posted something, and I responded with a reference to Sutta Central. He’s the director of NIU’s Center for Southeast Asia Studies, and many people follow him. So, today, maybe a few will check out Sutta Central for the first time via this casual reference. The influence of social media is powerful these days, and admidst the many negatives, there are many positives. PS…the SC podcast is going to be brilliant!

Sutta Central is just too brilliant, too powerful and too important to have it become known only through word of mouth. The Dhamma can be a game changer for many, and a life saver for some. The way that the Dhamma is presented here is just so positive and powerful, that in my mind it’s just too important to keep hidden in the seams of a robe, like a jewel.

[Mat]

@UpasakaMichael

The Dhamma can be a game changer for many, and a life saver for some. The way that the Dhamma is presented here is just so positive and powerful, that in my mind it’s just too important to keep hidden

I agree with this! I use suttas with links to SuttaCentral.net all the time on social media.

[Metaphor]

A colleague of mine in the Religious Studies Department at the university where I teach is teaching an undergraduate class on Buddhism this semester. The course studies Buddhism, as opposed to offering students instruction in Buddhist teachings, but I think students would benefit from having access to the resources offered at Sutta Central, so I am going to send the instructor a link both to SC and the Discuss & Discover sites so that students can avail themselves of these resources. By the way, later in the semester the students will be taking a field trip to the Wat I attend and I will be accompanying the class so that students can see an authentic Thai Buddhist Wat thriving in the United States.

[Mat]

@Metaphor

so I am going to send the instructor a link both to SC and the Discuss & Discover sites so that students can avail

That’s good! I did the same with the handouts I created for dhamma school at Thames buddhist vihara, London.

[SarathW1]

Yes when I watch Dhamma talk on You Tube etc I give the link to forums.
It is good to monitor the trafic flow to see how SC is growing.

[Mat]

@SarathW1

monitor the trafic flow

Do we have any statistics on visitor numbers?

[Viveka]

The system is set up to record quite a few different statistics in an ongoing basis. I’m not sure if it is set up to generate reports on request, Perhaps a question for @Aminah or @sujato

[Aminah]

I haven’t read the thread, so am just giving a quick (semi-)answer to Mat’s Q: in short I don’t know enough about the matter to say, nevertheless, I believe SC currently uses Google Analytics which should give stats like that. Although, if I understand correctly Sujato would like to stop using it.

[Snowbird]

Wait, SuttaCentral doesn’t have a Facebook page?

[Mat]

@Snowbird

Wait, SuttaCentral doesn’t have a Facebook page?

Doesn’t look like it. But there are affiliates like the Anukampa Bhikkhuni Project and Ajhan’s personal pages set up by third parties. Is anyone is interested in setting it up?

[Nadine]

@Snowbird

Wait, SuttaCentral doesn’t have a Facebook page?

I’m going to guess that Bhante would not be keen on having a Facebook page.

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With as many forum members as we have, we should each be able to reach out to any Buddhist, or Buddhist leaning, groups in our own geographic area. That would cover quite a bit. Take a 100 square mile radius around your house, research the groups in that area, and contact them. Go in person if you can. Send a letter in the mail or find their website or social media account and get in touch that way if you can’t travel there. I find that acting locally gets a very good response.