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WiserEarth Survey - Summary of Results
Here are the results from the user survey that was running on the website (June-Oct 2007). 141 people responded the survey with 119 fully completed which represents a good sample of the user community. We wanted to share this invaluable feedback with the wider community. If you have any questions relating to this survey. Please contact Camilla.
If you are interested in sharing your ideas and giving feedback about WiserEarth, take the latest survey.
Question: What was your main purpose for visiting WiserEarth? 
The main purpose for visiting the site was to browse through WiserEarth (31%). Editing or creating a personal profile (13%) and looking up resources (12%) were also popular. 23% of visitors said ‘Other’. The ‘other’ responses were varied; they included volunteer work, expanding affiliations or partnerships, media or friend referrals, Blessed Unrest or Paul Hawken’s recommendation, an interest in certain areas of focus etc .
Some noteworthy responses to this question were:
“(I) want to connect to the local environmental community”
“(I am) looking to connect people and ideas”
“I want to know what good is being done”
“I wanted to connect to the larger global community that is helping to heal the world”
“I am hoping I will find answers on how to be an agent of change in this corporate run world”
Question: How did you first learn about WiserEarth?
Many respondents have heard about WiserEarth through word of mouth and referrals (30% were recommended the site by a friend or colleague). Links from other sites (25%) and Paul Hawken’s book tour/Blessed Unrest (13%) were also mentioned by respondents.
Question: The following features may be added to the site. Please rate their importance to you.
Feature % of respondents that rated this feature as either very important or important
1. Project building and cross-collaboration tools 88%
2. Best Practices 85%
3. Ability for the community to rate features & content 68%
4. NGO/nonprofit success stories & narratives 67%
5. Email alerts 55%
6. Enhanced privacy settings 53%
7. Customized homepage 48%
8. Live chat 22%
Project building and cross-collaboration tools as well as best practices were rated very highly (88% and 85% respectively) by most respondents. Live chat was rated least highly in terms of its importance on the site. (as as result it has been taken off the site for the time being).
Comments (1 - 3 of 3)
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Bowo, Thank you for your invaluable insights and questions regarding the WiserEarth survey.
I agree with you - the answers to the first question do support the need for WiserEarth to provide the space for 'learning and collaborating' across the community. Some of the ways that the site is attempting to support collaboration include 1. Providing a space for groups to meet, have discussions, share ideas and information and learn from other members. In terms of other collaboration tools for groups and how these will interface across the site, we are still working on these....so do keep your ideas coming. 2. Providing a space for each person and nonprofit organization to share information about themselves and make their work more visible to the community. This includes the ability to tag themselves within specific Areas of Focus. This enable users to find other people who are interested in their areas of interest and provides a repository for the learning around these interest areas (this will be further improved as the site develops). 3. Email alerts (and RSS feeds) are coming soon. These will allow people to stay up-to-date with changes on the site in their areas of interest, including comments and discussions they are involved in. You ask some good questions about the outreach strategy for WE. The approach to date has been about learning about the needs of the community first and foremost and growing organically. (we have the privilege of having a number of volunteers, interns as well as a small core team working on outreach across the world) These first few months have been more about 'listening' rather than growing the site exponentially (although we have seen a large number of users joining the community in the past few months which is obviously very exciting). We hope that the site will follow the growth of any living thing; for its growth to be slow but sure and for its roots to be solid, and for it to be able to adapt to its surroundings and the needs of its community...and even more importantly, for it to provide the nutrients for other ideas to take root. Best wishes and thanks again for the work you are doing Bowo :) Camilla |
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On the answers to question #1 "What was your main purpose for visiting WiserEarth?"
“I want to know what good is being done” “I am hoping I will find answers on how to be an agent of change in this corporate run world” “(I) want to connect to the local environmental community” “(I am) looking to connect people and ideas” “I wanted to connect to the larger global community that is helping to heal the world” These answers I think, reflect the need for WiserEarth to make it's "Learn and Collaborate" feature/function stands out besides the already obvious "networking" and "sharing knowledge" in the homepage. I have made a suggestion in the forum regarding this matter @ http://www.wiserearth.org/forum/view/0099995ad91f4ae9e2653f07b3c41a9d However, no response from WE team so far (10 days have passed). On the answers to question #2 "How did you first learn about WiserEarth?" I was just wondering, what is the strategy of the WE Outreach Team? I noticed that the increase in the number of users have been very incremental (though it may appear to be so due to the nature of early stages in exponential growth). I guess the number of users have doubled or tripled in the past three months? (from around 2500 to around 7000). Is there any data on this? and maybe targets or projections? (at the current rate, we'll reach 200.000 within the next year.). Just curious though.... On question #3 "The following features may be added to the site. Please rate their importance to you." As Osbert pointed out in the "RSS feeds, Facebook, Wiserearth blog etc" forum @ http://www.wiserearth.org/forum/view/11732fe1455fe972032b15a55764de3c Preceding or to make feature No. 1 and No.2 optimally useful, feature No. 7 and No.5 (plus RSS not just email) may just be a necessary/a must-do step. By the way, how will the "Groups" feature and "Project building and cross collaboration tools" feature mingle? Will the latter be incorporated to the former or the other way around? or will they be separate but can be used in tandem? |
A small correction, what I was trying to say was not "the need for WiserEarth to provide the space for 'learning and collaborating' across the community", but more about "the need to make the already available learning and collaborating feature to become (more) obvious for new users."
And it's good to know that WE has a solid reasoning for it's outreach/growth strategy: "The approach to date has been about learning about the needs of the community first and foremost and growing organically . . . These first few months have been more about 'listening' rather than growing the site exponentially . . . We hope that the site will follow the growth of any living thing; for its growth to be slow but sure and for its roots to be solid, and for it to be able to adapt to its surroundings and the needs of its community...and even more importantly, for it to provide the nutrients for other ideas to take root." There goes my worries :)
It also reminds me of Elisabet Sahtouris conception on redesigning our lives and our institutions as healthy living systems that constantly "negotiates" with all level of the holarchy they are a part of. Way to go!