ThirdGoal.com Service Restored
September 14th, 2009 by Jason Pearce.Dear ThirdGoal.com users,
This past week the website suffered a failure during a software upgrade. Users were unable to view the website or tell their story.
I apologize. I believe I have resolved the issue.
The outage does make me wonder if the website still serves a useful purpose to the Peace Corps community.
It has been more than five years ago that I developed the site to make it easy for Peace Corps volunteers to share their story with others (the third goal of the Peace Corps). By serving as a community blog for many volunteers, the site has enjoyed a lot of traffic and exposure, helping many visitors learn about the Peace Corps experience from the perspective of volunteers actively in the field.
But in the past year, fewer Peace Corps volunteers are using ThirdGoal.com to write about their experiences. So I ask of you, is ThirdGoal.com still of value? In what ways could it be more useful? Or has its time passed and should it be shut down?
Thank you for your feedback.
Jason Pearce ThirdGoal.com Owner/Creator
December 13th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I was searching for this very type of website for an English essay I had to do. I thank you for making it. It was very helpful.
December 16th, 2009 at 4:15 am
I would say that it is useful, but that sites like facebook & twitter probably absorbed many peace advocates & gave them an alternative way to share their messages. I would also guess that many more of them have their own blogs because of sites like blogger & wordpress.
If you find that you do want to close down the site, send me an email to peace read @ gmail . com. I don’t have a very large amount of money to spend by any means, but I would be able to pay you some amount of money for the site and would continue it on as a peaceful resource.
January 7th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
I do not think you should close this site but I do think it should be restructured into something like an open forum or message board. The reason why I think that is because thirdgoal.com is basically, a very complex blog. With so many countries and so many writers, most who are unable to constantly blog about their experience, it’s very hard to come back and look for the writer of one particular blog. At the same time, there are plenty of other Peace Corps blogs where readers can follow a single volunteer about their whole Peace Corps experience.
A open forum would be beneficial for this site as I noticed there have been plenty of questions about life as a Peace Corps volunteer and the process of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer. At the same time, it will make it more user friendly and it will turn this site into a more online community.
April 30th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Hi, This is of some help to someone who is wondering about the peace corps. My son just told me that he is considering the Peace Corps. I’ve skimmed the official websites, there is lots of positives. But, I am a Mom and need to know what percentage of volunteers are rejected, get a disease in the country they are sent to that is not understood and treatment is not available, give up and come home prior to the end of their assignment, have been harmed intentionally in their time of service. Almost everything I read so far is positive and insipirational. I need to know the risks, the downsides. I really admire those that volunteer, but as a Mom, I am terrified and wonder if there is a risk my son will find it difficult to get a job when he returns home.
Thank you, Mary Jo F.