|
Welcome to swPenna.com Southwestern Pennsylvania's Community Guide |
|
Welcome to Southwestern Pennsylvania… The intent of swPenna.com is to provide information and insight about the Pittsburgh area & its countryside to visiting tourists as well as locals who are interested in learning more about their hometown area. The backbone of the site is a collection of external links to attractions and events, organized geographically. Together these links provide a recreational guide for the various counties and neighborhoods in the region. In addition, historical information, folklore, unique content and interesting “tidbits” are being added to enhance the guide and provide the users with a sense of heritage and a feel for the specific area in which they are interested. In the Beginning… swPenna.com was created in 2001 as an area guide for “things to do”. It was a large undertaking to attempt to catalog all of these things within a 12 county area, and it became very cumbersome to research and maintain. All the while, internet search engines were evolving to the point where the original intent of the site was becoming outdated. Therefore it was decided to overhaul the site and slightly redefine the concept. |
|
History and Heritage… Upon inspection, the current site was too broad-based and did not provide enough depth. It was decided to eliminate certain categories of attractions that were smaller and more typical – basically things that can be found anywhere and everywhere. In their place, a new emphasis on historical attractions and information was implemented. It has been found that one of Pennsylvania’s strengths as a tourist location is it’s heritage and back road attractions, and that visitors have a desire to immerse themselves in this culture. |
|
The future of swPenna.com… The vision of this website is to create a vibrant hub for the area, with numerous attractions, events and related information being added and updated continuously. In order to achieve this, partnerships with like-minded organizations will be a priority, in order for promotion as well as obtaining unique content. Part of the vision is also to develop the forum into a virtual community, with people posting everything from upcoming events to memories of their hometowns. Forums have become an integral part of creating community on the Internet and will hopefully become an integral part of swpenna.com |
|
About the Author… As a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, I have always loved this area and have enjoyed exploring the city and countryside, always looking for something new and interesting, at least to me! I especially enjoy the beauty of the countryside and driving the back roads. For these reasons, I have created this site, and am enjoying learning more about the region in doing so. For now, this site is a hobby and I never seem to have enough time to put into it, but am still working hard to develop it into what I believe it can be. Some facts about myself: I am married with two young children, living in the North Hills of Pittsburgh (despite being from the South Hills originally – yes, I’ve learned to cross rivers!) I am employed as a Civil Engineer in the Transportation discipline. If you have questions, comments, or would like to add to the site, feel free to email me. Brett Cobbey Owner / Webmaster swPenna.com |
|
| Copyright 2008 |