At the August 6, 2026 Zoom event that Billie hosted, I presented my work using AI to create a potential new website for South Texas Mensa (STM). Our webmaster passed away suddenly in December 2025, so our site is static now (PHP-based) with no webmaster to step in. I am a consultant or advisor of sorts for special projects and ideas; I can't commit to recurring activities like webmastering or running events. BUT, I can explore and help others if they let me.
Here is access to my draft site and ideas:
It includes:
- A landing page for "Website Development & Staging" - which is the overall concept I am exploring with AI assistance.
- Link to our current static live website - https://southtexas.us.mensa.org/
- My "Site Development Dashboard," which explains workflow, AI assistance, involving the ExComm for reviews, etc.
- Webmastering is not a one-person job! It involves content authors writing, members using and reviewing, ExComm approving, and inspired team members helping connect dots to internal and external communities!
- The workflow is designed around a 3-5 day "once-per-month" cycle, ingesting the published group newsletter into AI, and AI recommends all site page changes!
- The draft STM site that AI created per my instructions. (drafted for May 2026 publish) - https://castlemist.com/stm/sitedraft/drafts/20260501/
I know there are great ideas for building websites in Wordpress, etc. For this effort, I just wanted:
- Use the newsletter as the primary information source for each month's update.
- AI to build and maintain the site code with a few simple pages in php/html and make it easy to upload via FTP.
I use Gemini with Expanded AI Access (not a free account) coupled with a Google Workspace for Business Standard subscription (not free). I get lots of AI tokens.
- I like this approach because ALL information I provide to Gemini AI and Google Workspace is proprietary to me. I am basically a Business of One -
- BEWARE, this is not the case for FREE Google accounts even if you buy Gemini Expanded AI Access ($20/month).
- My total cost: $34/month/user (one user for me).
Has South Texas Mensa taken this on for a new website yet? No unfortunately. A call is out for a new webmaster. When we get one, I can help them get started.
Thoughts anyone?
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Jerry Thompson
San Antonio Metro Area, Texas
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