As the Tell Me Project, a unique initiative which aims to record the Island's social history, nears the end of its second year, the technical work enabling it goes from strength to strength.

At the heart of the project, which originated from the Freedom to Flourish stable, is its website, www.thetellmeproject.com.

It's been designed, built and managed by Chris Redman (pictured), senior systems developer with AXA Isle of Man, who are co-sponsors of the project with the H&S Davidson Trust.

Chris works closely with Tell Me’s moderators, a group of AXA volunteers who approve, assess and categorise the audio and hard copy interview submissions.

He comments, "The website is very much the hub of the project. Pupils and teachers provide the content which, depending on their IT skills, they either upload directly onto the site or submit CDs or DVDs of their interviews to me."

Describing the development of the website, Chris says, "From the outset it was important the website looked professional and that the search facility offered quick and easy access to every interview.

"Also, it had to accommodate streamed video and audio clips and easily accept interviews in a variety of formats.

"Each year I review the site and I’m currently looking at making it more interactive, given that the project is growing in new directions, such as the Island’s Guides providing content in their centenary year and Tell Me attracting interest from schools in the UK.

"In essence, I’m working on building in more automatic functions to broaden the scope of how content can be uploaded.

"Tell Me’s server is kindly hosted by Manx Telecom and has plenty of spare capacity. This allows for the website to be scaleable to accommodate the project’s planned expansion."

Once uploaded, the interviews are checked by the AXA moderators for broadcast and content quality, following guidelines set by Manx Radio’s Mark Tyley.

"The professional standard of recording equipment the project uses is such that the broadcast quality is generally very high.

"And what’s surprised me is how confident the students are for their age, the Guides especially who spent an afternoon this summer interviewing Trefoil Guild members."

The Tell Me Project 2009 book is now in preparation, each audio interview being transcribed by Judy Norris and the transcripts edited by Hugh Davidson, who first conceived the project.

The book will be launched on Monday 19th October at Ballakermeen High School’s studio theatre.

Visit the website to learn more and find out how you can get involved.