CommunityCentral Update

New homepage

Catherine.Cotter — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 15:36:18 +1300

CommunityCentral Update

CommunityCentral Update Issue 7

David.Barrow — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:33:54 +1300

Today is CommunityCentral 'More-vember' day!

If you checked your CommunityCentral desk calendar, you'll see that today is the Tuesday 31^st of November. But rest assured, it's also Tuesday 1^st of December...it's got both dates there. Oops! ...apologies for the error and hope you enjoy the extra day with our compliments.

So, we thought what a great oppportunity to update you about what's happening on CommunityCentral.

Your survey feedback

In recent weeks, we've done an evaluation exercise involving an online survey of CommunityCentral users. We were delighted to get over 90 responses-about 20% of our members. Thanks to those of you who took the time to tell us what you think.

Below is a summary of feedback. You can access the full report online, if you are interested.

Nearly three quarters of respondents had heard about CommunityCentral either by word-of-mouth or via the internet. 82% rated the ease of registration very highly. Over 70% rated the home page as welcoming. Over half have registered to receive e-newsletters from CommunityCentral, though a quarter had still not used any of the site's other features. 60% told us that they had some or a lot of experience with online networking prior to joining. 60% rated their satisfaction from visiting the site as either a 3 or 4, on a scale of 1-4, with 4 being highest. A similar number said that they have found useful information via the site. 80% have told us CommunityCentral has helped them with their networking and 80% rated as either a 2 or 3 that they will continue to get value from returning to the site.

Three quarters consider that it would be useful to list their organisation, and also see a directory of all organisations on CommunityCentral. Around 60% told us that it would be useful to find other people on CommunityCentral with similar interests and be useful to send in short items and events in to appear on CommunityCentral.

Also, we have analysed the results of the feedback received from the workshops we held around the country during September. On a scale where 4 is "Very useful" and 1 is "Not at all useful", 81% of workshop attendees scored CommunityCentral in terms of its usefulness as a 3 or 4, with half giving it a 3.

We can also tell you that after attending one of our workshops, we learnt that over 90% would either 'certainly' or 'probably' browse the site to see what is available; 70% would 'certainly' or 'probably' join to receive email newsletters. For each of the following, 80% would 'probably' or 'maybe' join a discussion network or private workspace; use CommunityCentral to distribute their email newsletter; use CommunityCentral to establish a discussion network or private workspace; or use CommunityCentral to profile a collaborative project.

Again, we're delighted to know you think that CommunityCentral is useful for community organisations to work together.

Improvements are underway

We're making several changes to CommunityCentral in response to the feedback you have given us.

Here are some examples. The registration process will be simplified for those signing on for the first time. We're also going to enable all CommunityCentral members to add the organisation/s you are a member of, as well as your interests and be able to find others with the same or similar interests. We think this will improve the 'sociability" of the site and help you all to better connect with others.

Just over a quarter of the survey respondents found it hard to remember the fullstop between the first and last name when you sign in-so that is on the to-do list!

Our next CommunityCentral Update will tell you all about the completed improvements and what's coming next in the pipeline. Thanks again for the feedback, we are finidng it particularly useful.

Our latest statistics

As of yesterday we had well over 600 members on CommunityCentral, with 9 e-newsletters, 31 Private Workspaces, 9 Discussion Networks, and 4 Collaborative Projects. For the month of "More-vember" there were: 1,558 visits, with 834 unique vistors and 10,533 page views.

CommunityCentral Update

CommunityCentral Update Issue 6

David.Barrow — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:39:16 +1300

Please respond to our CommunityCentral user survey

We're inviting you to answer a short survey about CommunityCentral. We want to know how satisfied you are with the site. We'll use your feedback for a formal evaluation and for adding improvements next year and beyond.

Please spend a few moments to answer the multi-choice questions, they don't take long to fill in. We are looking forward to finding out what you think! Click here to open the survey.

Our presentations have been a success!

To those of you who attended one of our recent workshops, thanks for taking time to attend and to learn what CommunityCentral is really about.

We've now run workshops from Auckland down to Invercargill and we've certainly seen a good level of interest. Lots have taken the plunge and signed on as members since we've been out on the road. It's great to have you on board!

We've also been in contact with several new groups interested in trying out what the site has to offer them (see opposite feature on the Generosity Hub).

We appreciate that as busy people we're not all able to quickly find time to learn new things - especially when it comes to new electronic tools!

But if you haven't yet done so, we suggest you sign up to receive a range of sector e-newsletters. We also urge you to consider whether a private workspace or discussion network would be something for you, your organisation and the other groups you work closely with - just to help streamline your online communications.

Remember also that CommunityCentral provides a platform to enable you to better manage and distribute your email newsletters as an alternative to using email software and having to manage your own subscriber lists. Just contact our Web Coordinator to get this set up.

More and more things are happening on CommunityCentral more of the time. We think we've put together a very user friendly tool for community groups and we are always looking for ways to improve it.

We hope to see you there!

New collaborative projects coming on CommunityCentral

Check out this section of the site to find out about the Generosity Hub, CommunityCentral's latest collaborative project which aims to create a better awareness of giving in New Zealand.

Your questions answered

We've received heaps of questions during our travels around the country over the last few weeks. We've posted some of these as FAQs for everyone to read on the site. Go to: http://communitycentral.org.nz/faq

Here's a good example: Why is there a dot in my name when I sign in?

Answer: CommunityCentral has to cater for thousands of people signing up. For the system to be able to recognise each and every member, we need to create unique user name. The simplest way of doing this is to have all names separated with a dot, e.g. "firstname.lastname". So, remember to put a dot between the first and last name of your name and the names of others when signig on and using CommunityCentral.

Help is always at hand!

There's no need to be daunted when using CommunityCentral. We've devised comprehensive user guides and put them on the site to help you make an easy start. These are also available to download as Word documents so you can print them off and have them beside you to refer to as you work. This self-paced learning makes it a lot easier to participate and manage discussion networks and private workspaces. And we're only an email away should you need more direct assistance.

CommunityCentral Update

CommunityCentral Update Issue 5

Catherine.Cotter — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:58:54 +1200

We're bringing CommunityCentral to a place near you!

In the next few weeks, the team from CommunityCentral will be travelling round showcasing the site. Right now we'vee booked venues and times in the following centres - Wellington, Whanganui, New Plymouth, Waitakere, North Shore, Dunedin & Invercargill. We'll be running two-hour workshops to show you what CommunityCentral offers, how it can benefit your organisation and how you can use it.

We'll update the itinerary as soon as we confirm further locations, so check out http://communitycentral.org.nz/workshop-dates for the workshop in your area.

If you would like a workshop in your area and there is not one listed here, then please contact us.

Wellington
Hosted by NZ Federation of Voluntary Welfare Organisations
Friday 28 August 2009 10:30AM-12:30PM
NZ Federation of Family Budgeting Services Meeting Room, Suite 4, Level 3, Anvil House, 138 Wakefield Street, Wellington
To tell us you're coming email us at: info [at] nzfvwo [dot] org [dot] nz
Telephone 04 385 0981

Whanganui
Hosted by Volunteer Whanganui
Monday 31 August at 10:30AM at the Wakefield Conference Room, 2nd Floor, Community House, 53a Ridgway Street, Whanganui
Local contact: Murray Neilson
To tell us you're coming email: manager [at] volunteerwhanganui [dot] org [dot] nz
Telephone 06 347 9430

New Plymouth
Hosted by the Bishop's Action Foundation
Tuesday 8 September from 10:00AM-12:00 Noon at the Quality Hotel Plymouth International, cnr Courtney and Leach Streets, New Plymouth.
Local contact: Patrick Edwards
To tell us you're coming email: ictgateway [at] bishopsactionfoundation [dot] org [dot] nz
Telephone 06 759 1178 X 13

Auckland

Waitakere
Hosted by Community Waitakere
Monday 7 September from 1:00PM-3:00PM at the Waitakere Community Resource Centre, 8 Ratanui Street, Henderson
To tell us you're coming email: mandy [at] communitywaitakere [dot] org [dot] nz
Telephone 09 838 7903

NorthShore
Jointly hosted by North Shore Council of Social Services and Raeburn House
Tuesday 8 September, 10:00AM-12 Noon - Venue to be advised
To tell us you're coming email: yvonne [at] nscss [dot] org [dot] nz or carol [at] raeburnhouse [dot] org [dot] nz
Telephone 09 486 4820 (Yvonne) or 09 486 8941 (Carol)

Invercargill
Hosted by Southland Interagency Forum
Thursday 10 September from 10:00AM-12:00Noon at the Council Chambers, Invercargill City Council, 101 Esk Street, Invercargill.
Local contact: Karen Blomfield
To tell us you're coming, email: karen [dot] blomfield [at] icc [dot] govt [dot] nz
Telephone 03 211 1697

Dunedin
Hosted by Council of Social Services (Dunedin)
Friday 11 September from 1:00PM-3:00PM at the Alexander McMillan Room, Dunedin Community House, 301 Moray Place (Cnr Great King Street), Dunedin.
Local contact: Jacinda Smaill.
To tell us you're coming, email: admin [at] dcoss [dot] org [dot] nz
Telephone 03 471 6177

CommunityCentral Update

CommunityCentral Update, Issue 4

Stephen.Blyth — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:38:44 +1200

If you visit CommunityCentral you'll be in for a surprise-the design has been spruced up. This freshening-up also heralds the arrival of Private Workspaces and Discussion Networks.

Aside from some new pictures and icons, there are a few other changes:

the member login box is no longer yellow and we've merged it with the tab navigation bar at the top;
we've added forums for members so you can make suggestions and get technical support
as well as a directory listing of all members, so members can connect easily with one another.

Though we've poked and prodded the site from lots of different angles, we accept there could still be a few gremlins in the system. If you do find an error or things that bug you, tell us straight away. We'd also really like to hear your feedback about what we're now offering.

Our attention is now turning to helping all our members make good use of the platform, and telling lots more people about what is available. So, now is the time to spread the word!

Private Workspaces and Discussion Networks

We now offer you Private Workspaces and Discussion Networks. In each of these, CommunityCentral members are already starting to share, connect and learn.

In the first release, every Discussion Network or Private Workspace member can:

upload and share files
talk with others
write and edit simple documents
receive emails about changes to each group.

You'll notice members' faces (or stars) on most pages of each Discussion Network or Private Workspace. Our aim is to support people to connect, rather than this just provide you something that is just about computer files and words. Please don't be shy and make sure you add a photo to your profile. A face really makes more of a difference than just your name!

Easy Steps to adding your profile picture

Login to CommunityCentral
Click on MyPage
Click Change my account details
Scroll down to the picture upload box
Click Browse and select your image
Select your image and click Open
Scroll down and click Submit

We also aim to support each group to interact according to tikanga that is unique to its membership. There is a place where each group can record on its own groundrules, or you can use the ones we supply. For organisers interested in learning about online facilitation, we have also provided you some links to useful resources.

Visit CommunityCentral today and check the list of Discussion Networks you could join:

Kiwi Family Trust, Community Focus
Presbyterian Support Northern, Volunteer Manager's Hub
NZCOSS (NZ Council of Social Services). Coming Soon.
Human Rights Porirua. Coming Soon.

You cannot view a list of Private Workspaces. This is because they are private and therefore not publicly available. You have to be invited to join one.

We'll continue to keep you posted about what's new for Discussion Networks and Private Workspaces as we make improvements to these features.

Comvoices daily media alerts - new!

If you normally receive the daily media alert from Comvoices, you'll now get it through CommunityCentral. Essentially you won't notice any change in its content. This sought-after alert is free to individuals in tangata whenua, community and voluntary sector organisations and features news relevant to the sector as well as media releases from sector organisations.

You can subscribe to Comvoices daily media alerts here.

Tool tip: MyPage - keeping track

As soon as you join CommunityCentral, you automatically get a MyPage. This page lists all the e-newsletters you've subscribed to, and any Private Workspaces and Discussion Networks you're a member of. Each MyPage is unique to an individual member.

The page is automatically updated as soon as you change a subscription, or join or leave a group. There are quick links so you can edit your account settings, contact details and profile. There is also a short list of updates about changes on the site.

It's a helpful page to remember so you can quickly get to where you're sharing or connecting with others. It is the only place you can link to Private workspaces, because for security reasons these are not linked elsewhere on the website.

Visit your MyPage today.

Staff changes

With the new features now available, we are saying goodbye to project manager Stephen Blyth. When he started in November 2007, CommunityCentral consisted only of a bright idea. Now we're starting to build up an online community. You'll still see Stephen contributing to CommunityCentral and cycling around Wellington as he helps organisations there to powerfully use the internet (read more about his work at Common Knowledge blog).

We've been successful with an application for a Community Intern, a programme run by the Department of Internal Affairs. For the next five months, Ros Coote is working part time in a business development role. She is being released from her job as a Senior Analyst at the State Services Commission. Her focus will be on setting up systems, reaching out to stakeholders and exploring ongoing funding.

Thank you

Updating the CommunityCentral has been a team effort. Thanks are due to:

egressive web developers, who sponsored website development over and above their contract
designer Lee-Yan Marquez, of Argent of Change
Drupal expert Dan Morrison, online at coders or dman
Ros Coote for indefatigable project management
the SSC volunteers, Dominic Ballesteros and Stephen Olsen for testing and quality assurance
lead agency NZFVWO for lots of behind the scenes work and the other founding partners.

CommunityCentral Update

CommunityCentral Update Issue 3

Stephen.Blyth — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:01:31 +1200

Time flies by ....

There have a been a few developments at CommunityCentral so we're sharing some news below.

As we're running a website platform that members may use to store sensitive documents or make honest comments, security is paramount. If anything gets in the wrong hands it might undermine an organisation's work, as well as your trust in the website.

It has taken a lot of testing to be confident that what we're offering is robust and secure. More than we expected.

But as we reach the end of June we've almost completed the testing and tweaking. We can assure members that security is meeting a high standard.

Early next month we'll be making the Private workspaces and Discussion networks available. Initially we're accepting registrations of interest and will be setting people up using a staggered approach. Eight different organisations are ready to start using these features as soon as they're switched on.

At same time as new features start working you'll notice a change to the look of website plus some new things to help you. These include a members directory and a forum where you can add suggestions and comments for improvements.

As we go 'live' with new features, we'd really like you feedback. Is it working for your group? Is something missing? Any suggestions received will help us make the website better and better for everybody. We'll make changing as time and resources permit.

We'll be in touch next month when our new features are up and running. The countdown is on.

Tooltip: Want to contact another member?

Did you know you can enable your contact form? Any other member can contact you by simply clicking on your profile name from the directory, comment or recently joined list (eg suzie.sue) then clicking the Contact tab. Fill in the form that appears and a message will be sent to your inbox.

Before anyone can contact you, you must enable your Contact form. You do this via your personal profile, accessed via each member's MyPage (see the Easy Steps instructions below). The form does not show your email address or any other contact information.

This is a great way for all members to get back in touch with long lost friends or make contact with people from an organisation your admire. We're encouraging everyone to make it easy for others to get in touch.

Easy Steps to enabling your contact from

Login to CommunityCentral
Click on MyPage
Choose My account details tab
Scroll down and tick the box - Personal contact form
Click Send email
Any member can now send you a message.

Introducing our new Website Coordinator

We're pleased to welcome Catherine Cotter to the team. She's working 20 hours a week keeping the website ticking over and helping members.

"I have come a long way from Ireland to be part of this amazing project. The Website Coordinator role is similar to the work that I did back home where I worked for a small website and graphic design company in Cork.

During my time here I have enjoyed watching the site grow and develop. I have also really enjoyed learning about people working in tangata whenua, community and voluntary organisations in New Zealand.

Please do get in touch by webmaster [at] communitycentral [dot] org [dot] nz, phone 04 385 0981 or via Skype: catherine_cotter (chat only). If you're stuck or have got questions, I'm here to provide a friendly virtual helpdesk for you all - but please don't call all at once.

We have had some great feedback regarding CommunityCentral and it will be a very exhilarating few months watching the difference we can make in the community."

Regards, Catherine.

Packing our bags and coming on the road

Promoting CommunityCentral and getting your feedback means we have got to come to you. Not just to your inbox, but to your town or city.

CommunityCentral will run information workshops in July, August and September. These will cover how you can use the website platform within your organisation and the opportunities open for individuals to join or start Discussion networks.

Getting your feedback on the direction of the website and how it is funded long-term is also on the agenda.

We are ringing potential hosts at the moment. Although we cannot guarantee we'll be able to make, please get in touch if you'd like us to come to your town.

CommunityCentral Update

CommunityCentral Update Issue 2

David.Barrow — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:48:36 +1200

CommunityCentral Update, Issue 2

We've been live now for five months...

...and we've been delighted at the initial response we've had to CommunityCentral. Since our launch back in November, interest has been fantastic. We've really appreciated this as we move to grow the site more and the features it offers.

To give you some idea, here's a brief shot of the activity so far.

There have been 3,300 visits by 1,800 visitors viewing over 16,000 pages in total. The number of members now stands at 280. The good news is that we've already had expressions of interest from 18 groups and organisations for private workspaces, and from 9 for networks. Currently, there are 5 e-newsletters being managed and distributed using the e-newsletter platform, with still more to come. We are also actively pursuing more cross-sector collaborative projects to sit alongside ComVoices and Workplace Wellbeing.

A good number people in the sector have made the important first move and joined up. They now receive their e-newsletters direct from the site. Many more have obviously browsed the site, with, we know, a view to joining when there are more features available.

And that's just what we want to tell you about now.

Workspaces and networks are well underway

Watch out for workspaces and networks - the nub of the site - towards the end of May. These features are currently under development, but are on track. The developers are working to a strict timetable to achieve this.

We're going to be in touch very soon with all groups who have registered their interest with us in workspaces and networks to ensure you and your plans for collaborative work online are ready to go.

Your questions answered

We've had some questions about whether there'll be a charge for CommunityCentral.

We can say at this stage that it will always be free for anyone to browse and for individuals to register as members. Charges for using some of the interactive facilities are likely to introduced. But only after we've talked with lots of people around the country, funding bodies, government departments and others interested in supporting community groups.

One of the things we'll be talking about later in the year is how we run the site in the long-term. What structure do we need? How do supporters get involved? Is a new organisation necessary or can we ran it under a partnership?

Back to charges: we will keep access to the site affordable. We realise we could easily deter potential groups and organisations from using CommunityCentral - when after all it's those groups and organisations we want to attract and retain. There will be more on pricing once we have examined some options.

We've had questions too about collaborative online tools. With web technology now enabling building of these platforms, it is inevitable there will be developments other than CommunityCentral on offer.

Across the many tools available there's a lot that is the same - a means to build a community and to share and discuss ideas, themes, files etc. using the web, for those in different organisations in different locations using different computers. All aim to reduce the barrage of emails we get and send and make it a lot easier to keep everything in one place when we work together.

Some the differences between CommunityCentral and other known alternatives include:

CommunityCentral's sole aim is to build and strengthen the community, be community-owned and driven and be New Zealand-based.
Any data will be located and remain on computers on NZ shores.
Groups participating in CommunityCentral will own their own content - it is not owned by CommunityCentral.

For other online tools this is however not the case. Even some New Zealand online tools state the website will own the data - a concept from the US- and that data may not necessarily remain solely in NZ.

Our preference is to have NZ community organisations use a NZ community-driven platform - that is essentially why CommunityCentral has been created.

Stay tuned for more...

There'll be key developments in CommunityCentral over the next few weeks, so watch out for them.

And do remember get others in your organisation to join if they haven't already (it's free for individuals).

Did you know you can also register for e-newsletters? Go to: http://communitycentral.org.nz/e-newsletters to check out the list of available titles.

CommunityCentral Update

CommunityCentral Update Issue 1

Dominic.Ballesteros — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:05:55 +1300

This is best viewed in a web browser: see CommunityCentral December 2008 e-newsletter

Welcome to our first CommunityCentral Update!

We are delighted with the initial response to the introduction of CommunityCentral. The site is an important first step for the community and voluntary sector and paves the way to better collaboration among ourselves in our work. We are looking forward to rolling out more over the next three months - and looking forward to you coming along on this journey with us, and so are taking this opportunity to update you on our plans...

At this stage, we are offering two features:
e-newsletters and collaborative projects. ComVoices and Workplace Wellbeing (two key sector projects) now have a home on the web as the inaugural collaborative projects on CommunityCentral. The e-newsletter facility has been taken up by several national organisations/groups as an initial taste of what's on offer there. We are working to add further sector project initiatives shortly to offer them an internet home too. Interest in the e-newsletter facility has been keen and already we have registrations of interest for e-newsletters from 7 more organisations. Watch out for these coming to you from CommunityCentral in early 2009.

But wait... there's more to come...

We know many you are looking forward to the two further key developments offering the opportunity to have a private online workspace and/or network where people on different computers, in different organisations and in different locations can at last share documents and collaborate online in a way they haven't been able to before. We indeed look forward to providing a first-time opportunity for sector groups and organisations to share and work together online in 2009. At last, here is a way to work together without the usual barrage of emails generated so often when everyone involved in a project or initiative sends reply and reply-all emails to other members on one particular matter. Already we have indications of interest for 11 workspaces and 5 networks. If you are considering adopting either or both of these features to make your collaborative working lives easier and you haven't yet registered your interest go to www.communitycentral.org.nz/workspaces or www.communitycentral.org.nz/networks to read more about them and register with us.

We are commencing development in early 2009 of both and will certainly keep you posted on our progress in the lead-up to their launch.

Great initial response...

Statistics so far for the site are promising. As at last Friday, 166 people had joined as CommunityCentral members and so we went live, the site has had: 852 visits, 3,787 page views and 522 unique visitors. In the last week, each of these measures showed an increase on average of 18%.

We are grateful for the good wishes of many of you since going live and for the many indications of support and interest we have so far received. 2009 will be an important year for CommunityCentral when we will bring you a complete package of tools to work better together online.

Season's Greetings to you all!

With Christmas just around the corner, we hope you celebrate the joys of this wonderful time and have fun with your friends, family and loved ones. We will be unavailable for any support or to answer requests from December 24 to January 5 2009 during the holiday closedown.

Mere Kirihimete, ngā mihi o te tau hou....

From the team at CommuntyCentral.