Encouraging Others to Use the Free Services of PrisonSuccess.com
I’m very grateful to my sponsors and my wife for having built PrisonSuccess.com. This is a social networking Web site that we designed with hopes of helping other prisoners prepare for law-abiding lives upon release. It costs inmates nothing to participate on the site, yet allows them to document the progress they make through their years in prison.
My web site, MichaelSantos.net has been extremely valuable in helping me open relationships throughout my 20 years of imprisonment. Before the Internet existed, I used to document my progress through a printed portfolio that described my background and the steps I take to grow through my imprisonment. With copying and mailing costs, that portfolio was expensive to produce and distribute. Besides that, it could not contain descriptions of all my work.
With the Internet, I am able to keep a current record of my efforts to prepare for the obstacles that will follow my quarter-century in confinement. Prior to the new technology that we now have, each time I made a change or addition to my Web site, I needed to retain the services of a Web programmer. Now I can rely upon my wife to keep the site current. I am really pleased that through PrisonSuccess.com, this same opportunity exists for every prisoner. My hopes are that others will recognize the myriad ways that the Internet can open opportunities, and that they will use the free services available at PrisonSuccess.com to build their own Web sites. All that they must do is send their content to a family member or friend with Internet accessibility. Their family members can build and update the inmate’s Web site at PrisonSuccess.com as easily as they can send e-mail.
I would like to offer a course here at Taft Camp that would show inmates how to use their Web sites as a tool for success. Without staff permission, however, I am prohibited from leading any classes. I urge those who have a family member or friend in prison or on supervised release to use PrisonSuccess.com as an integral strategy. By looking at my Web site presence, they should see how the Internet can open opportunities and help individuals prepare for law-abiding lives upon release.