Connect Group Moderators

Comment

Comment by Kathy McHoes on February 22, 2011 at 5:34pm

February 22, 2011

Acknowledging member activity within your group

The simplest way to make your colleagues feel like important members of your group is to comment on their questions, responses, videos, photos, blog posts or discussions.

Be an active participant in the conversations happening with members in your group, and it may encourage your group members to contribute more.

Additionally, it can help your colleagues know that you are interested in carrying on an active and ongoing conversation about your topics of interest, creating stronger ties with your group members.

Comment by Kathy McHoes on February 4, 2011 at 4:07pm

February 4, 2011

Using Keywords to increase searchability of your group

Our goal is to ensure that the work being done on Connect can be shared with as many professionals as possible in the barcoding community. One of the simplest ways to help people get involved with your group is to have a descriptive summary of your research interests.

You may not have realized this, but all public groups on connect are searchable by both members and non-members of Connect. Group titles and descriptions, in addition to comments and discussions within your group, can all be found using the site-wide search on Connect. Keywords contained in your group information will also be found by search engines like Google.  

So, if you’re looking for new ways to help people find your group and get involved, make sure you are using terms and keywords in your group titles and descriptions. A few descriptive sentences on your group pages can help new and existing members involved with your groups and find out the latest information being shared on Connect.

 

Comment by Kathy McHoes on January 20, 2011 at 12:20pm

January 20, 2010

Finding Colleagues to join your group

If there are people you know, work with, or are interested in connecting with professionally, groups are a great way to start the conversation. Whether your colleagues are members of connect or not, you can invite people to get involved with your group or professional initiatives.

The first step to expanding your group is to find people with similar interests. Using the Advanced Search, you can filter the Connect member directory by specific interests, initiatives, organizations or working groups.

You can also search for a specific colleague’s name or area of interest in the Peer-Reviewed Publications discussion forum. Many of the articles are co-authored by members of Connect - we have linked the author's name to their connect profiles whenever possible, so that it is easier for you to find people with similar interests or areas of research.

Finally, if you are unable to find someone on the connect site but you want them to join your group, reach out to them through their professional website or similar online resource, letting them know the benefits of joining the Connect community. The Connect site continues to grow each week, and this is a great way to help your fellow barcoders discover the resources available to them on the connect site and through your group pages.

Comment by Kathy McHoes on December 20, 2010 at 11:34am

December 20, 2010

Introducing the New and Improved Text Box

Text boxes on the Connect site have been improved, and we are thrilled to announce the expanded functionality of this updated feature.

Each text box on the site – whether on your group page, your profile, or event pages – has expanded features that allow you to customize your information. It is now easier than ever to add formatted text; in addition to the standard bold, italic and underline features, you can also use

• bulleted lists,

1. numbered lists,

or strikethrough formatting.

Text boxes can be left, center or right aligned, or even made into a block-quote to offset a selection of text from the rest of your message like this sentence.

You can also add in links to other pages, attach files up to 7 megabytes, or insert an image or video to share with your groups.

Many of these features have been added to other areas of the site, making it easier to customize your messages in discussions, comments, or blog posts. We hope you will take advantage of these new features, and use them to help share news and information with your fellow barcoders.

Comment by Kathy McHoes on December 13, 2010 at 4:16pm

November 19, 2010
Introduction to Using Connect.BarcodeofLife.net Online Webinar

Over the next several months, we will be working with CBOL to present a series of webinars about DNA Barcoding and other subjects relevant to members on the Connect.BarcodeofLife.net site. This week my colleague Leigh Peele and I presented the first webinar in this series, an introduction to using the Connect site, which includes a preview of our new Connect homepage design, which will be launched in the next few weeks.

We encourage you to check out this new webinar, and give us your thoughts on the new design, and post any comments or questions regarding the connect site within that discussion forum. This is the first step in a site-wide reorganization of Connect, and we want to be sure to hear what you, our Group Moderators, have to say about the Connect site. We also encourage you to share this webinar with other colleagues who may not be current members of connect, as it will give them a great overview of all the features and benefits of joining Connect.BarcodeofLife.net.

Comment by Kathy McHoes on November 19, 2010 at 4:45pm

November 8, 2010
Adding files or photos to group pages

It’s easy and fun to add pictures or helpful files to your page to share with members of your group. Text boxes, discussions and comments can all include pictures or files – if your page is public, the files or photos you post will be viewable to all visitors on the Connect.BarcodeofLife.net site, however, if your group is private the photos will be seen only by members of your group.

To add a photo to your group page, click the icon of the camera on the toolbar above the text area – you can then either choose to upload an image from your computer, or insert an existing image that will link directly from a webpage. Options will allow you to specify image placement (Left, Center or Right alignment), text wrapping, and image size. If you have a large image you can also choose to link to original images on a separate page.

Uploading a file to your group page is another helpful way of sharing information with group members. Uploaded files will appear as a hyperlink within the text box, discussion or comment area, and files should be smaller than 7 megabytes in size. Once the link is added to the site, the uploaded documents will be accessible to members of your group – uploaded pdf documents will appear within the same browser window when clicked, whereas files saved in Microsoft Word or Excel will prompt users to either open the file or download a copy to their computer.

Comment by Kathy McHoes on November 8, 2010 at 11:30am

November 1, 2010
Share an RSS feed from an Outside Source

In addition to the discussion forum, you can add an RSS feed from any related outside source, such as the publication feed from your favorite journal, blog, or news alert. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”, and is an easy way to feature the latest information or news currently featured on a website. Simply choose Edit Group from the Admin Options, and select the RSS Reader checkbox under Features. When you return to your Group page you'll see a new RSS area that group moderators can edit by clicking + Add RSS. Enter a title for the RSS feed, copy-and-paste the web address of the RSS feed, and choose your display settings before saving your changes. The RSS feed will automatically update to display the latest news and information on your group page.

Comment by Kathy McHoes on November 1, 2010 at 11:48am

October 25, 2010
Informing the group through the text box, stating group purpose and helpful information

Moderators can add helpful information to the group page through the use of a text box. Add in a description of your group, share helpful tips with your members, or list goals, ideas and achievements related to projects currently in development by you or other members. You can also use this space to establish group-specific protocols or “rules of the road” for your group page or subject of interest. If your group is private, any information you share using the text box will be viewable only by members of your group – if your group is public, anyone will be able to view the information. Pictures, files or links to other websites can also be shared with members using the text box.
Just start by clicking the link + Add Text on the group page under the group picture, and the text box window will expand to allow the Group Moderator to add or edit text.

Comment by Kathy McHoes on October 25, 2010 at 10:09am

October 14, 2010
Linking to related content on Connect and on the web

There’s a lot of helpful information on the web that can easily be shared with other members in your group on Connect.BarcodeofLife.net. The easiest way to direct your members to other information on the web is by adding a hyperlink to comments made on the group page, within a discussion, or even into the text box on the group page. Just highlight the words that you want to become the link, click on the chain-link icon in the toolbar above the text field to Add Hyperlink, then copy-and-paste the website address into the pop-up window that appears (it will start with http://) and click OK. Save your changes or post your comment, and you should be able to click on the words you selected to open the page you linked to. Comments can be edited up to 15 minutes after it is posted, and text boxes are always able to be changed at a later time.

Consider adding links to other members of Connect, helpful organizations related to your group, or fun things your members might find interesting.

Comment by Kathy McHoes on October 14, 2010 at 9:33am

October 7, 2010
Building Group Membership

The first step with any community is: Build Your Membership. It won't be much of a group if you only have a small percentage of your potential constituents involved. So I would recommend inviting your colleagues - those already on Connect and those who are not - to join your group. While some people will join your group on their own, your chances of building group membership are much greater if you invite people to join personally.

To invite people directly to your group, go to your group page and select the
+ Invite More People link in the upper right. You can invite people by entering their email address manually, by selecting their name from a list of your existing colleagues in Connect, or by importing an address book from an email program.

People who receive an invite will get an email inviting them to sign up on Connect and join your group. It’s a good idea to check your group page about once a week to see who has joined recently. If you invited someone who hasn’t joined yet, you can re-send the invitation asking them to join your group.