Directions: Describe the setting and expectations for your project, taking a long-range view. How will the world it lives in look by the time you graduate, or maybe 10 years hence? What sources will be available to serve and complement your project? What will your readers or customers expect? It should be suitable as a background page for your project. If you have set up your website already, just send us a pointer to it. Written by Truc Nguyen on April 9th, 2009

In a world where we are inundated and often obsessed with the technology that pervades everyday life or busily going doing our work, we forget about how simple activities can enrich our lives. One of these simple pleasures is kite-flying, which has existed as cross-cultural recreational activity for thousands of years. Once a popular mode of recreation, kite-flying must now compete with modern diversions such as video games or the internet. The Stanford Kite-Flying society was founded in order to revive this activity on campus, and more broadly, to educate people about the historical and cultural significance of kites in society.

Kite-flying remains a beloved past-time for kids and adults worldwide at the time this article was written, but it will face stiff competition from activities people can pursue in the virtual world. The kite itself has evolved as developments in materials science and optimization of the manufacturing processes have made kites cheaper and more accessible to the general public. Modern designs have improved the aerodynamic quality of kites. Though kites have changed in form thanks to scientific discoveries, the basic process of flying a kite remains the same regardless of the type of kite being used. Kite-flying cannot offer the varied experiences or visual stimulation that say, playing Halo 3 does. You can't beat down, shoot or throw grenades at people with a couple taps of the fingers like you do in video games. However, kite-flying has to potential to be a fun and relaxing activity, which is what I believe the Kite Flying Society can get people to see.

By the time I graduate, I expect kite technology to become more advanced as people find new uses for kites beyond just having fun with them. I project that recreational kite-flying will remain much the same, and will decline in popularity. However, I expect there to be a new members every year who will learn about the workings of the club and be competent enough to continue the traditions of the Kite Flying Society of years to come. The activity of kite-flying with continue not only within the Stanford chapter, but hopefully this website will inspire people outside of Stanford to partake in kite-flying independently, with friends or to even start their own local chapter. The website will grow and expand in the coming years as new people will contribute to the site. My goal is for it to become a consortium of knowledge about kite-flying.

The website will be built with three purposes in mind: 1) to educate people about the kite throughout history, 2) to teach people the joys of kite-flying, 3) to facilitate the administration of the Stanford chapter of Kite Flying Society. The site will contain articles about the history and uses of kites, media representation of kites. There will also be a page devoted to why kite-flying is a worthwhile activity aimed towards inspiring people to fly kites, after which they can go to our how-to guide to gain information on the process. There will also be do-it-yourself (DIY) manuals on personalizing and creating your own kite and shopping guides for those less inclined to DIY. The website will be a useful tool for the Stanford chapter as it will list information about upcoming meetings and events. The sources that I would draw from include books, internet websites and periodicals. To supplement the site, there would also an online store selling branded apparel, coffee mugs, and other paraphernalia as well as kites. The store would not be meant as a capital venture as the Kite Flying Society is a non-profit organization, but instead would be a supplemental source of funding. The site would include messageboard, a key feature, as it allows fellow kite-flyers to interact with each other.

People who visit my website can expect to gain knowledge of kites in ways they would not expect. For example, they might not know that kites have a wide range of military purposes. From reading our how-to guides, people can expect to learn how fly their own kites and get information on how to start a chapter of Kite Flying Society. Stanford students can find out ways to get involved with the Stanford chapter and be in the loop on when chapter activities are happening. The website is meant to appeal to both the casual reader, anyone with an inkling of an interest in kites, as well as the kite expert. Its purpose is to promote the activity of kite-flying and to unite an online community of kite enthusiasts.