Discussion about "CollectiveX 2.0 is almost here"
CollectiveX 2.0 is almost here
You are viewing the results of the pre-release of CollectiveX version 2.0.
This pre-release covers about 75% of what's planned for version 2.0.
We are calling this release CollectiveX version 1.8. During the next week or so we will be completing what we've started and finishing the last 25% of CollectiveX version 2.0.
So what's new in this release?
*Public and Limited Group Visibility* (Manager / Group Settings page)
(see the "CollectiveX 2.0 is almost here" blog post referenced above for details regarding public groups) or create one yourself by click the "Create your own Groupsite" link located at the top left corner of your group.
*New & Notable Discussions* (Summary page)
The Latest and Highlighted Discussions area displays the most recent and highlighted discussion topics.
The top most discussion in the list is always the most recent discussion.
Other topics in the list are topics that have been highlighted by
a group manager for increased visibility.
*Headlines and Links* (Summary page)
The Headlines & Links area provides access to external content via news feeds and shared links. News feeds can be pulled from any external blog or news site via RSS. We even help you create your own feeds simply by entering keywords that are relevant to your group. Links are bookmarks that are shared by group members.
All headlines and links can be rated and discussed via a special toolbar that
appears when headlines and links are visited. Resulting discussions take place in your group's Headlines & Links Discussion forum.
*Profile Completeness Meter* (Summary & Members pages)
The Profile Completeness Meter is located at the top of the right sidebar on the Summary and Members pages. This meter serves as a reminder of what outstanding profile information you need to fill out to complete your profile.
*Group Membership Types* (Manager / Group Settings page)
In addition to configuring a group's visibility option to public or limited visibility, managers are also able to set membership preferences for their group. There are three types of member signup options: 1) By invitation only; 2) By request approval or invitation; and 3) Anyone can join.
These options allow managers to configure groups to cover any and all member signup possibilities.
*Member Profile Customization* (Manager / Group Settings page)
Group Managers are now able to ask custom member questions to be displayed in each member's profile. Questions types include: Short answer, Long answer, Multiple choice, Date, and Website link.
Questions can be set to "Required" so that they must be answered during signup. Members will be reminded to answer non-required questions via the profile completeness meter.
*Member and Pending Member Search* (Manager / Pending Member & Members areas)
It is now easy to locate members and pending members from within the manager area. This is very useful for large groups with many members or pending members. You can now search by member name or pending email address.
*Many more small improvements*
We made many more additions that will improve your overall user experience.
*What's coming next?*
Expect to see improvements to discussion forums; minor enhancements to member profiles; and several other additions throughout. We also plan to create a Directory of Public Groups that will be accessible from http://groups.collectivex.com and new tour demonstration videos.
Please provide feedback. Also feel free to setup discussion topics to discuss any of the above mentioned new features.
| Topic | Replies | Likes | Views | Participants | Last Reply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monetize your social network AND help people get jobs all at once | 0 | 0 | 1568 | ||
| Discussion about "Dont use the term "Email Blast"" | 12 | 0 | 13632 | ||
| Discussion about "User Tip - Bridging & Bonding" | 0 | 0 | 1721 |
It would also be great to be able to edit members info on their behalf.
@Jonathan - The only problem with letting managers edit members info on their behalf is that this might not be appropriate for many groups, even at the manager's discretion.
@Jonathan...
In some cases it would be appropriate to let a manager edit a users info. If the user is new to CollectiveX and hasn't created an account it may make sense to allow the manager to create a profile for the user in advance of the user signing up. Once the user has signed up, the manager should no longer be able to edit a users information. A user could belong to multiple groups, consequently it would be dangerous to enable managers to edit a users general profile information after the user has created their account. This may not be an issue in the future when we enable multiple profile components that can be shared on a group specific basis.
Clarence and team...
Lots of smart and proactive "process" improvements. And they seem to resonate with a select group of your peers. What I do not see, which I assume with be forthcoming, is engagement "services" that stimulate and invited group members to "participate" in stimulating group relationship.
The challenge in this architecture is the ability for the group and its "flock" to feel comfortable in building and growing dialogue amongst themselves. The issue is one of "topics" and "discussion" that opens up the channels of communication. I think once you have overcome the need for the 'process' architecture, then the need to create 'dialogue' boxe's that give the groups a means to become more proactive.
Additionally, it is clear that there will be a need to produce a 'library' of services that the groups can subscribe to or become active members to which the "membership" becomes more proactive.
There are some really creative ways to develop and release this activity, but I will hold off my recommendation until the "process' has been released in the 2.0 version.
Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to the continued evolution of CollectiveX.
Best to all,
Joshua
I'd love you to expand further on your ideas Joshua. I like your distinction between building the process architecture versus engagement of participants. I currently run two groups. The challenge for both will be getting members past that first barrier of active engagement. People are happy to sign-up but do not follow this up with involved discussion.
For many it appears a slight apprehension about technology, for others it is attempting to raise the right topic so they will speak up. I'd love to see a forum in here in which these engagement issues are discussed.
Creating engagement is the crown jewel when creating any site with social networking functionality. Consequently, at CollectiveX, we discuss this topic quite frequently.
We have noticed that the level of participation (engagement) from group to group varies significantly. It seems that groups that are active offline tend to be more active online. For groups using CollectiveX that don't exist offline, enagaement greatly depends on the reason for the group (its basis for existance) and the level of activity of the group's manager. I am also sure that the technical sophistication or average age of group members also play a roll.
To aid group managers with this challenge, we recently added the ability for group managers to create "auto-generated" content by creating or adding RSS feeds from external blog and news sources. The headlines that these feeds produce, create an opportuniies for group discussion. To further facilitate group interaction, we added the ability to instantly create or track discussions that revolve around news/blog articles that feed brought to the group's attention. All groups now have a default "Headlines & Links" discussion forum for this purpose.
I have created a new discussion forum called 'Strategies for Group Engagement' where we can start topics based on our thoughts, suggestions and tips to aid group managers in engaging their group members.
The 'Strategies for Group Engagement' is an important forum, please direct your discussions around this topic to it.
I hope to see you all there.
Clarence