Where do we stand regarding our Network Weavers Network directory on AboutUs???
Habib
I must say that I'm feeling rather frustrated about what seems to be
going on, or not going on, related to our AboutUs directory for the
Network Weavers Network.
Some people have told us that they think the directory is great. But,
there is almost no feedback on the site whatsoever. Ted and I had
been considering this an "Alpha" test of the directory. But, unless
we get a LOT of feedback, that test is worthless.
I'm not clear exactly what this lack of feedback means. Does it mean
that:
1. People think these resources are "perfect" already?
2. People can't think of anything specific to say?
3. People find the site too confusing to even know where to begin?
4. People are afraid of hurting our feelings?
5. People are too busy to look at the site and give feedback?
6. People aren't aware that we really did want their feedback?
My own life situation has changed dramatically. I have started
working (over) full time with a startup company. I will not have time
to do much more development for the Network Weavers Network.
So, at this point, I think we need to make a serious, and very clear
decision. Are we going to move forward in some way with our AboutUs
directory? Or, are we going to continue discussions about such issues
as integration with Wiser Earth, and NOT move forward with our AboutUs
directory at this time? Or are we going to do both?
Please note that there is no reason that we cannot both move forward
with our AboutUs directory and ALSO explore Wiser Earth and other
approaches to integration. However, if we're going to continue to
move forward with our AboutUs directory, I think it is essential that
we be clear in our own mind that it is at least a part of what we
consider our (short term) directory solution.
Just in case you don't have it handy, our address (in case you do want
to check things out and give us feedback) is:
Which automatically redirects to:
http://www.aboutus.org/NetworkWeaversNetwork
Thanks!
tutormentor
Hi Habib,
Good luck on the new job. Based on my own experience, it's very
difficult to build traffic into a new web space...unless you're a
billionaire like Pierre. Thus, I'm not surprised that not many people
are coming to AboutUs to offer comments.
In my own case, I'm confused. Is the AboutUs site a host for the
Network Weaver's pages? Or was AboutUs created by NetworkWeavers? Does
this site go away if the group decides to merge with WiserEarth? That
would be too bad for people who have invested some time to create an
identity here.
I've offered numerous comments in the Omidayr.net space over the past
year saying that "network weaving" as a generic is not as motivational
to potential participants as "networking for a purpose". To me this
is the weakness at Omidayr. I read a recent post that said out of
19,000 registered users there are really only about 200 active
people. If they did a further analysis, and said, "of these 200, how
many are actually working with others to accomplish something?" It
would probably show smaller groups working on some projects like this,
but would further highlight that these small groups are not getting
the attention of the 19,000 people who came to the site looking to
make something good happen.
A network of network weavers is made up of people who have many
interests and passions. Thus, the Directory is a connecting point that
enables people to find and help each other. To me, that's good.
However, to build a volume of users, I feel that a few passions need
to be focused on or it will always be difficult to compete with others
for traffic.
Here's an example of a site that focuses on an issue: http://classroom20.ning.com
This site has many social networking features and has attracted a
couple hundred members since it was launched in March. They all focus
on the theme of the site, and the network.
Just my thoughts.
Dan
Steve Habib Rose
And, just for clarification, the NetworkWeavers group did not create AboutUs. That is an existing Internet project. We have made an agreement to get a bit of technical support from them, and, indirectly, we are providing some content (and ideas) for their site. But, we did not create them, and the entire AboutUs site will not go away if we do.
Please keep these comments coming folks, they're very helpful.
> --
In Community,
Steve "Habib" Rose
ha...@connectexpress.com
Seattle, Washington, USA 98122
Blog: http://www.neighbornetworking.com/
Ecademy: http://www.ecademy.com/account.php?id=99444
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/e/fpf/4315702/
"Connecting People to Weave a Better World"
Regional: LocalAreaNetworkers-Neighbornets-ThePeopleWeb-WeavingWashington
Global: InCampus-IndustryAccelerators-NetworkWeaversNetwork
** ------------------------------------- **
ConnectExpress BetaMail 1.0
http://betamail.connectexpress.com
** ------------------------------------- **
Ted Ernst
1. If you already have a personal page for yourself on AboutUs, it would be great if you'd be willing to go through the tutorial ( http://www.aboutus.org/NetworkWeaver:Tutorial) to enhance your page. Feel free to go through it on your own and send me feedback (or click "edit" and put feedback right on the page in question), or contact me with your availability for a phone or skype conversation with me where we'll actually walk through the tutorial together.
2. If you don't already have a personal page (a Network Weavers Directory entry for yourself), let me know your avaialability and we can walk through the tutorial together to build a page from the ground up.
In either case, we can do meaningful work on this project in as little as 10 minutes. Please let me know when you'd like to work together.
peace,
ted
Open more space! http://www.openspaceworld.org
skype: TedErnst
jean russell
I am interested in being in multiple spaces. Before I can work on my network weaver page, I need to get my own pages for Nurture up and running on the wagn I am using.
I think Ted is doing a fantastic job helping us add content.
I have my information up on AboutUs because I thought it was a good idea. I haven't had time to make comments or give feedback. I apologize, and let me please take this time to thank those of you who have worked so hard to make this happen.
I agree with Dan about networking for a purpose, I think. (what is misleading about the 200-19,000 numbers is that it isn't the same 200 month to month, and there is a wide ring of people who are linked there--that number we do not have--the how many of the 19,000 would show up if someone they connected to on Onet would invite them for something.) Personally I don't just want to meet people and connect them, I want to make social change by strategically making introductions that facilitate a gift economy, sharing of stories/possibility, cohesion, and uplift.
I apologize for not being more proactive lately. Ted is right, stuff can get done in 10 minutes, if and when we decide to do that stuff.
Thank you all. And have an awesome and delightful weekend!
Jean
Jean Russell
309.262.6629
nurture.biz
nurturegirl.net
Skype: Spinorb
"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." ~Beverly Sills
The future depends on what we do in the present. ~ Mahatma Gandhi
moti...@frontiernet.net
gig. And for the all the work you and Ted have done in getting the
Network Weaving space set up.
I have some ideas for growing the space but have been busy traveling
and just keeping up with the Peace Park and routine stuff.
Please know that I will be contributing ideas soon. I shared some of
these ideas with Ted and Michael this week in Chicago. I'd like to
see some content developed that can both attract and support face-to-
face local meet-ups of network weavers. I'm willing to work with some
of you on what this might look like and how we might be able to get
some EFN support for enabling this to happen.
I'm heading home tommorrow and will be busy all week with Peace Park
events. I hope to share the above thoughts at the upcoming EFN
conference call scheduled for 10:00 PST on Monday June 18.
One of my biggest issues with learning the new site is finding the
time to learn it! Ted has offered to help me learn how to connect
page changes with my email. But -- and I still don't know how to read
the recent changes pages. Also, I would like to understand how to
make my own page look nicer. What little time I've had, I've spent
reading the site (and the EFN wiki site also located at About Us). I
haven't even gotten over to O.net, where I plan to set up a couple of
discussions....
I can see that most of my time for now will go to helping EFN through
their immediate issues and focusing on how to spin some energy into
Network Weavers through content development, face-to-face meetups and
community building (including what that might mean to establishing a
Network Weavers Guild).
I love it that Network Weavers move at their own pace!!!
> > be great if you'd be willing to go through the tutorial (http://www.aboutus.org/NetworkWeaver:Tutorial)
> > to enhance your page. Feel free to go through it on your own and send me
> > feedback (or click "edit" and put feedback right on the page in question),
> > or contact me with your availability for a phone or skype conversation with
> > me where we'll actually walk through the tutorial together.
> > 2. If you don't already have a personal page (a Network Weavers Directory
> > entry for yourself), let me know your avaialability and we can walk through
> > the tutorial together to build a page from the ground up.
>
> > In either case, we can do meaningful work on this project in as little as
> > 10 minutes. Please let me know when you'd like to work together.
>
> > peace,
> > ted
>
> > > h...@connectexpress.com
> > > Seattle, Washington, USA 98122
>
> > > Blog:http://www.neighbornetworking.com/
> > > Ecademy:http://www.ecademy.com/account.php?id=99444
> > > LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/e/fpf/4315702/
>
> > > "Connecting People to Weave a Better World"
>
> > > Regional:
> > > LocalAreaNetworkers-Neighbornets-ThePeopleWeb-WeavingWashington
> > > Global: InCampus-IndustryAccelerators-NetworkWeaversNetwork
>
> > > ** ------------------------------------- **
> > > ConnectExpress BetaMail 1.0
> > > http://betamail.connectexpress.com
> > > ** ------------------------------------- **
>
> > > Open more space! <http://www.openspaceworld.org>
> > >http://www.openspaceworld.org
> > > skype: TedErnst
>
> --
> Jean Russell
> 309.262.6629
>
> nurture.biz
> nurturegirl.net
>
> Skype: Spinorb
>
> "You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."
> ~Beverly Sills
>
> The future depends on what we do in the present. ~ Mahatma Gandhi- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Steve Habib Rose
The issue is whether the directory, in its current form on AboutUs, is ready and appropriate to grow. We may want to consider alternatives, including the possibility of growing networks in a distributed way on multiple platforms.
To discuss that possibility, I have started a discussion thread on Omidyar at:
http://www.omidyar.net/group/efn/news/61/
Hope everybody will consider joining that discussion. It will be important for the immediate direction of our Network.
Thanks!
in community,
Habib
Steve "Habib" Rose
ha...@connectexpress.com
tutormentor
areas, so that people with common interestes can be attracted to such
space. Here's an example: http://classroom20.ning.com
This space was set up in March and has grown rapidly. I'd love to
have a tutormentor space with similar participation. I'm sure LIA
would like the same, as would anyone else focused on a specific issue.
Is this what you all have in mind with EFN or with AboutUS?
Dan
moti...@frontiernet.net
THe way I understand Network Weavers Network is that it is network to
be created and grown by it's members. You are a member. Ted has some
time with About Us to work with EFN and Network Weavers Network. What
would you like to see and what's needed to maket that happen?
Cheers, julie
tutormentor
At http://www.tbf.org/indicatorsproject/hubofinnovation/innovation.asp
you can see a wheel that represents a pie chart of issues for Boston,
If you click into any slice, you go deeper into that specific issue.
If a graphic like this were on the home page, instead of all of the
text that is there, the home page would possibly do more to draw
people to specific issue and sub issue areas.
At http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/povmap/datasets/imageGallery/ you
can view maps on a web site called "Global Distribution of Poverty".
These are live. You can zoom in. I'd like to see something that
combined this type of poverty mapping with a pie chart of needs. So if
I click into Albania, I can also understand the different social/
environmental/health issues, and I can find information about any
agencies working in these areas intending to solve these problems.
These are just tools to help draw people who care about the same
issue, and perhaps the same geography, to the Network Weaver's forum.
Within each issue area there needs to be some sort of Linked In tool
so people can build networks with each other, as well as some sort of
discussion forum, like Omidyar, where people can talk to each other,
about the specific issue. This might help focus people on the issue,
whereas in Omidyar and many other forums each discussion seems to
broaden to many un related issues over time, and thus, nothing happens
from the effort of getting people together.
Finally, there needs to be some training and recognition that
encourages people to go out into their communities, evangelize the
network, and recruit new members. This has to happen daily, by a
growing number of people if the tools are to be used and the network
is to grow.
The measure of my interest and continued participation in this or any
other forum is the count of how many people who are working in the
same field as I am join the forum, and how much this does to help each
of us have the capacity to do our work more effectively. If we can
track this, and provide endorsements from people who have benefited,
then more people will join.
On Jun 15, 4:29 pm, "motiv...@frontiernet.net"
moti...@frontiernet.net
call please list your name, day, time, time zone for the week of June
25 here: http://www.aboutus.org/Network_Weaver_Conference_Calls
Also, please post questions to help guide us in a direction you think
network weavers needs to focus on next.
Dan,
The above ideas are great. Could you add a short description/question
with a link to this information to the conference call page above. I
think this is good content to discuss with those who wish to evolve
the Network Weavers Network as a resource. I hope you might want to
participate on the conference call as well. Please post your call
availability.
Thanks, julie
On Jun 16, 9:47 am, tutormentor <tutorment...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> Julie, here's a couple of suggestions.
>
> Athttp://www.tbf.org/indicatorsproject/hubofinnovation/innovation.asp
> > > Dan- Hide quoted text -