Heads Up on a Huge Centenary — Chatter away, friends!

Jun 10, 2013

The medical side isn't my area of expertise, but I do know that the sheer scale was unprecedented. Great leaps in medical science were made just in coping with the volume and variety of injuries.

I found this, which may be illuminating: Factors Influencing Rehabilitation of British Soldiers After World War I. I also have a vague recollection of seeing a documentary, which said that strides were made in psychology in treating the shell-shocked and other mental traumas.

Some biggies though:

Blood transfusions were quickly made viable during WW1
Research and funding were poured into the prosthetic limb industry (it had been little more than a cottage industry thing before)
Harold Gilles is the big plastic surgeon hero of the First World War in Britain. Archibald McIndoe was his pupil.

Jun 11, 2013

Woah! that's brilliant Jo. Will take a look into the weaponry and try and come up with something about them during my vacation.

Jun 11, 2013

The Germans invented the flamethrower for this war. Tanks were used the very first time too.

It was the first war fought on an industrial scale. It taught us that wars fought on an industrial scale is a very stupid idea.

Looking forward to reading what you uncover, Brandon!

Jun 11, 2013

Did anyone see the 'Time Team' episode related to the HUGE flamethrower installed by the British that sent flaming diesel oil across the entire no-man's land into the German trenches and/or the one that dug into the remainders of trenches dug under the German trenches - to place hundreds of tons of explosives there, detonate them and obliterate great swathes of german troops? Horrifying!

And when did that war become known as 'The Great War' and laterly 'WWI' - what was it known as at the time?

And what a way to cross-fertilize Wizzley (.com, .co.uk) and Pagewizz articles - the perspective from different sides / protagonists could be enlightening, engaging and empowering!

Jun 11, 2013

I haven't seen that episode of 'Time Team'. That was quite a distance to cover! I knew about placing explosives under German trenches, but not how it was done. I pictured miners going under there. *shudders*

You'd be amazed when some of these titles came into being. World War, for example, was first used by a German writer in 1904. There's an article in there for somebody. :)

It occurred to me too that some cross-fertilization could go on. I was in Skype last night with Paul, trying to work out how it could be done. I thought that an historian from Pagewizz and I could collaborate on an article from opposite sides of No Man's Land. Paul pointed out, quite correctly, that our readers would have to be bilingual, and where would we place such an article?

It does seem a golden opportunity though, doesn't it?

Jun 11, 2013

KISJP

(Keep It Simple, Jo & Paul)

Jun 11, 2013

You don't need to be bilingual today ... you can get enough of an idea of the gist of an article just by pressing 'translate' in Google Chrome etc.

And, again I come back to my point that collaboration can be achieved already by producing two articles and x-reffing them - that way both sites get additional promotion, viewers, links, cross-linking etc etc

Jun 11, 2013

That works as well!

Now we just need an ambassador to nip across, make some friends and pair us up with like-minded topic writers! :D

(And thank you for being enthusiastic about ideas. I've had the sort of day which has made me understand very well why someone might want to buy a one way ticket to Epsom.

I'm so sick to death of apathy, dumbing down, people preferring to struggle through myriad problems because they're unwilling to countenance changing a failing system, patronizing arseholes who would rather make everyone else feel incompetent than admit that its them who don't understand etc etc. Nothing to do with Wizzley. This is real life crap spilling into my mood here.

But enthusiasm! Enthusiasm! My kingdom for some f-ing enthusiasm!)

And Achim, I get that my idea here was crap, but see above as to why 'simple' isn't in my vocabulary today. Try me again when I haven't been surrounded by apathetic, patronizing idiots all afternoon.

Jun 11, 2013

I wouldn't call your idea 'crap', Jo. Not at all. It's just that we have a certain setup on our site, and we should spend our energy on improving exactly that business model (individual, useful pages, geared toward the English-speaking world). Pagewizz will get a comprehensive makeover. If we're happy with it, we may apply it to Wizzley, too. Simon and Hans have been working for weeks (and will need several more weeks) on the new design. There's no way they could stop now and consider a new business model with shared authorship and new revenue percentages. Please don't take it personally.

Jun 11, 2013

I think it's a super idea Jo and I am trying to think about how I can work it into some of my niches. One of the things I have decided as this year has unfolded is not to get distracted by "oh I must write about that new niche" but rather see how I can work it as a micro-niche of what I create content around.

So Doctor Who WW1 appearances etc etc

Jun 11, 2013

Achim - Oh! I wouldn't want them to! I've recoded much smaller sites myself, and I know how much work was in that. We're all good. <3 But my idea was still crap in my form, as it wasn't feasible. It's much better in Chaz's form, because it is feasible. :)

Paul - That's perfect and precisely what I'd love to see everyone doing here. World War One is so broad a subject that it can incorporate just about everything, often in very surprising ways.

Dr Who during the First World War. I'm looking forward to reading that.

Jun 11, 2013

JoHarrington: 06/11/2013 - 12:51 PM

Now we just need an ambassador to nip across, make some friends and pair us up with like-minded topic writers! :D

Just join Pagewizz and access their forum with the query / idea in German and English! keep it simple and see what the response is - maybe 100 years since WWI is not as great a milestone for them!

Jun 11, 2013

I don't know. Look at Achim and Sam both commenting here about the potential articles. Definitely some Teutonic interest there! :)

There are people here who write for both already. Any volunteers to ask on PageWizz for us?

Jun 11, 2013

I wanted to suggest this topic to Simon - for our next Pagewizz contest. If he wants to do it, we could weave the collaboration idea into the contest post.

Meanwhile, check with GermanUtopia and CADoerr, two (smart) Pagewizz authors who try to create English pages on Wizzley.

Jun 11, 2013

Jo. Look what you made me go and do

http://wizzley.com/shot-at-dawn-battlefield-executions/

Jun 11, 2013

... and/or the one that dug into the remainders of trenches dug under the German trenches - to place hundreds of tons of explosives there, detonate them and obliterate great swathes of german troops? Horrifying!

Lochnagar Crater in the Somme.

That is all.

Jun 11, 2013

Dr Who during the First World War. I'm looking forward to reading that.

I just had an idea related to reviewing an alternate universe novel based on WWI. Just let me find the time to dig the ms out (I edited it) and I'll have an article pretty quickly thereafter.

Jun 11, 2013

Meanwhile, check with GermanUtopia and CADoerr, two (smart) Pagewizz authors who try to create English pages on Wizzley.

Oh yes! Christian Doerr is a great guy, brimming with ideas in both German and English. Recommended collaborator for anyone who wants to try. He's on Twitter too, if I recall?

Jun 11, 2013

I don't know if he's on Twitter, but he's a PM away here on our site. BTW, Christian is Austrian, Karen (GUtopia) is German.