Sustainable Orcas Island
Working to define and create a sustainable model of Orcas Island
Sustainability Orcas Island (SOI) is in the process of defining sustainability on our unique North West Island. We recognize that our well-defined natural boarders make us an excellent example for the rest of the county. We understand that great changes need to be made, in our individual lives and as a community. We are currently in the process of defining w ...learn more
GROUP DETAILS
Created: Feb 06, 2008
Updated: Jun 06, 2009
Membership: Open
Public
What is the web project?
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The web project : project elements: what does it look like? What are we going to spend the money on?
We have up to £35,000 UK Pounds to spend (all things being equal). This will cover some but not all of our wonderful ambitions as outlined below. It needs to cover technology and the relevant human support.
What are the most important things? What commonalities are there?
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1. Transition Network site
(multi-authored content management system
)
Transition network website outline:
About:
(static pages)
contact totnes contacts
trustees
disclaimer
contact regional contacts
News:
(blog posts)
Newsletter:
current newsletter (blog post)
(un) subscribe (link to current registration form)
old newsletters (blog posts)
Calender:
1. group editable calender for Network activities
2. aggegation calender of events around the network
Initiatives:
List/map/contacts (static page and google map)
what (static page)
mulling? (static page)
12 steps (static page)
7 buts (static page)
Training:
train the trainers (static page)
training for transition (static page)
giving talks (static page)
dates and calender (linked with main calender)
jump-off point (or feed from) School of Everything pilot
Publications:
Book (static page)
Primer (static page)
future publications incl. food, money, reports etc. (static page)
Resources:
files for branding for initiatives
either file store and listing/search
or blog posts with new stuff as it comes out
Around the network:
aggregation results of ongoing API work (events, news, projects)
aggregation results of ongoing tag based work (bookmarks, videos, photos etc.)
search and refining function (location, subject, keyword...)
Regional hubs:
outline and link to LRP pilot
current initiatives pages on the wiki: transfer?
2. Aggregation from around the network
(aggregating, indexing, re-syndicating and re-publishing information from initiatives around the world back to others)
open standards
common references
open apis
3. Support and education
(multi-user open information network (wikis, fora) linking initiatives' web and comms people relevantly)
(wikis and fora to have full text email alerts)
hosting recommendations
sustainability considerations
free software advice and support
ethical advice
open standards advice and support
accessibility advice and support
facilitation advice and support
legal advice
technical information and related contacts for similar tech people around the network
4. Knowledge and networking
: projects: groups networking
(quite possibly basecamp recommendation)
personal profiles
project calender management
project task management
event management
member lists
mailing lists
admin and access rights management
5. Knowledge and networking
: in pilot at Transition Food pilot
(editable public project templates to show)
aim
date started
public launch date
inspirations
outcomes so far
unexpected outcomes
obstacles and how we overcame them
lessons learned
contact email
resources
location
(measure-able result - CO2? resilience indicator?)
discussion around projects
collaboration on project documents
search
6.Hosting
business model
sustainability rating
7. Training
: in pilot on School of Everything
(peer to peer open training marketplace based on individual profiles and training related connections)
training categories list
personal profile: trainer
persona profile: trainee
course description
trainer and trainee materials exchange (email, download page)
terms and conditions agreement
evaluation process: form? recommendation?
facilitation issues
information/news page
howto/about/support page
discussion forum
search (internal and from external)
8. Local regional presence
: in pilot on Transition East
(websites for initiatives within structured regional/local model with full suite of easy to use functionality)
regional support network: facilitation by people for people!
initiatives group websites:
personal profiles
initiative calender management
event management
member lists
mailing lists
publishing
discussions
admin and access rights management
local currency exchange
intra-group trading
donation/subscription management
9. People required: roles to deliver and manage
IT contact
Web builder
Web designer
Web project manager
Database/aggregation developer
Editors: Network news, projects
Facilitators: launch and support
Relation to board/management
Groups around the network to form self-support in support/education area
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A high level work in progress diagram of how it could fit together:
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A mindmap of work in progress:
(Ed has set up a Mindmeister account, contact him if you want to have an edit of the map)
Comments (1 - 15 of 15)
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Ed can you invite me to mindmeister? Would like to do a phased version of the plan if I may. me@eddowding.com
Thanks |
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I would very much recommend getting _one_ ordered list of desires/requirements, ordered by priority. Having tons of requirements, which are somewhat equally important won't lead anywhere. Once the priority list is there (and its hard to get it, with people agreeing on it) one has a starting point to decide on technology / techologists / implementations.
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@steveatkins: I'm very pleased to see Ethical Junction being discussed here. A few months ago, they seemed like a very important potential partner, and I was sorry to see them left out, as we have hopped from platform to platform. (A lesson in that too?) I think links between the Transition Movement and the ethical business sector is vital, and rather overlooked.
Steve: Do you have any suggestions for us? |
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@steveatkins: ethical junction on the list of potential platform partners:
http://delicious.com/tag/transitiontowns+platform |
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Bit of a crossover with the business section - figured I'd post it here. Thinking of 'Transition Ads' as a potential source of income, I'd like to suggest another alternative which might be worth investigating further and may involve less work in setting up?
'Ethical Ads' originating from...
The Ethical Junction Network came in to existence back in 1999. At that time the website was intended to serve as portal for many different ethical issues from consumers looking for organic compost to ethical businesses looking for finance. Its constitution as a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, ensures 100% of any profit that is generated by Ethical Junction will be donated annually to causes that promote sustainable living.
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Hi Steve,
that was as big as I could get into the doc. I have uploaded it to the main files section (click here for download page) for you to download or I can send it over...
be known it's a dynamic piece - most recent is the less exciting text list in the wiki page itself - the mindmap was largely for those of a more visual nature... :) |
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Hi Ed, any chance of uploading a higher res image of your mind map here?
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(Google) map a 'Must' have for the Transition Network site then?
I will add this.
Any other suggestions for adding/editing/removing? |
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Utilize and customize software that the real estate business uses. Wiserearth's map seems to be coming close to that model. To have effective updated maps, it has to be from a database form feed, XML or CSV, etc.
There is a Green Enviro mapping project I corresponded with about six months ago who were interested in working with us, but i could get no one from Transition interested. Now i forget who they were. Here is yet another map database that can be customized, one would have to discuss it with the makers.
http://transitioncalifornia.ning.com/page/map-tools
PayPal too easily takes care of donations, or Amazon.com and now even Google is good at selling stuff too. These are all widgets you add to your site.
Google reader account allows one to sort and delete, pick and choose,m from MULTIPLE MERGED RSS feeds.
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I think that "mullers" are useful, at least in some regions like here in the rural East of England. They are useful where there are one or two people in an area interested in Transition, but not (yet) enough interest to get an initiative going!
I'm a "muller" in Dereham and having my details on the map means that if anyone else nearby becomes interested in Transition via another source, and looks at the map, they can find me and link up. Mullers don't have "only tempory interest", though there may need to be some more veting or something! Perhaps evidence that a muller has taken some local action in (say) the last year! I've had letters in the local weekly newspaper mentioning Transition, and a blog which includes those letters.
I suspect that there may need to be regional variation though! "Mullers" might be a less useful term in the dense, suburbian South East, or in the relatively green-minded South West! |
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Just to mention there's a google map for tt in South East in England on SCA wiki http://sca21.wikia.com/wiki/Transition_towns_South_East_England
Similar maps for the other regions could be created in a matter of minutes (OK quite a few minutes but you get the idea). These tend to be only 'official' projects with a web presence.
I'm not sure that the 'mulling' category doesn't need a little more thought. Mullers may have only temporary interest so potential new joiners could spend a lot of time trying to contact people who's interest has been frustratingly fleeting? So just to carry on that thought, if as well a map for a region there was some kind of mullers group (I'm thinking of something like a ning subgroup) that recorded recent activity it'd be easier to get an idea of who might be a good contact? |
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Find out how Wiserearth.org makes such an excellent google map. The database that is fed to the google map can be customized.
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Can I ask why the England map runs to three pages? Is this a limitation of the Google service or due to some other issue? Regards Graham |
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### "list of initiatives (google map?)" ###
Can this be organised better than the current Transition google map of England which has so many markers that it goes over 3 pages? You have to search through all 3 pages to discover all the Transition groups anywhere close to you!
Can we instead have a series of regional maps, maybe with an element of overlap between them (so each regional map covers a few miles into nabouring regions!). I'm sure we'll need to discuss how we define the regions of England.
Because of the problem I mention above, I created a regional google map for the Eastern region (as defined by the government and the EU), with a little overlap to the west. See http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107770098074275970856.00045915d1b45bbfe1967&z=8 I then invited those with contact details against markers in the region to "collaborate" with this map, which then sparked the regional networking in the East.
I suggest finding 1 (or more) people within each region to create/administrate the Transition google map for their region. Then invite a rep from each initiative to "collaborate" to keep their "marker" up to date.
Having these regional google maps would then make it much easier for people to find the Transition groups closest to where they are. |
@eddowding: done
@jbaach: agreed it's tricky to get people to prioritise. Further to discussions with Ben and the core team, analysis of the survey, viability of the pilots, there is a bunch of 'likely' recommendations which indicate priority on the recommendations page