Pachamama Alliance of Oregon

Step 1 Congrats!	Step 2 Layout	Step 3 Modules	Step 4 Members	Step 5 Content	Step 6 Beyond

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Membership settings

This determines how people can join your group. There are four different types of settings:

 

1. Open - any member of WiserEarth can join this group.  Just click on "Join this group" to become a member.

2. Open to Apply- a prospective member must click on the application link and explain why they want to join. Upon review and approval by the group administrator, they become a member of the group.

3. Member Referral - Existing group members can refer someone to the administrators for joining the group.  If the administrator approves, they will send an invitation out to the person to join the group.

4. Invitation Only - Only those people who have received an invitation to join the group from the administrator will be allowed to become a group member.

 

You can adjust this via the "Edit settings" in the Administrator Tools menu.

 

Inviting people

When inviting people, make sure you are clear in your invitation about the group purpose and how people can get involved. There are three ways you can invite people to your group:

 

1. Invite people on group creation

 

You will need to provide email addresses of people you want to invite to your group and consequently to join WiserEarth.

 

 

2. Invite people using Administrator Tools

 

Click on "Invite Members" and you can either enter email address of people you'd like to invite, or search for existing WiserEarth members to invite

 

 

 

3. Invite people from their profile page

 

You can manually search for people that may be interested in your group and then use the "Invite to a group" link in the "Actions" box on their profile. You can search via the (...people) links in the Areas of Focus section of your profile page, or using the main search bar.

 

 

 

Re-inviting people

Sometimes, your invitation got buried in people's inbox and you need to resend the invitation. Here's what you need to do:

 

1. Click "Invite Members" on "Administrator Tools"

2. Click "Sent Invitations" tab

3. Click "Rescind" link beside the email address or the WiserEarth member you'd like to re-invite. Confirm the rescinding.

4. Re-invite by either going to "Invite People Outside of WiserEarth" tab and enter the person's email address, or  go to the "Invite WIserEarth Users" tab and search for that person.

5. Write an invitation message

 

Canceling and blocking membership

Sometimes, you want to ensure that membership is only for people who are committed to participating in your group. On some other times, you want to cancel the membership of a someone who is not participating in a constructive manner and despite your warning, persist in doing what they do. Or, you might want to block that person from ever being your group's member again.

 

1. Go to "Manage Members" in "Administrator Tools"

2. Click "Remove" to the right of the member's avatar to cancel membership, or "Block" to prevent that person from ever being you group member again.

3. Write a message notifying that member about the cancellation / blocking.

 

 

Assigning group role

When your group grows larger and more active and you don't have the time to monitor and participate in everything, or when you want to engage members further in nurturing the group, you may want to assign group roles to active members. One person can be "Discussion moderator", the other "HTML editor", etc. You can decide yourself or consult with those you'd like to assign roles to.

 

Here's how to assign group roles:

 

1. Go to "Manage Members" in "Administrator Tools"

2. Click "Edit" beside the member whom you want to assign a role to.

3. Write the group role

4. Write a note explaining the role

5. The role will then show up on the pop-out in the members module

 

 

Messaging group members

There are a number of ways to message group members. These methods are open to both admins and members.

 

1. Group messaging feature

This feature is available on the "Administrator Tools" or "Group Tools" button. It allows you to send a message to all or several group members at once. Sent messages are recorded in the "View Sent Messages" tab.

 

 

 

This feature is useful as a one-to-many communication tool, and for delivering a rather long message. Messages sent this way will go to people's inbox, and their email inbox if it's linked to their WiserEarth inbox. You can also include tables, pictures and videos in the message.

 

2. Discussion topic

 

Starting one is a good way to message all members and start a conversation around the message. New topic will automatically be notified to members via their watchlist alerts. These alerts may go to members' email inbox if set that way.

 

3. Chatterbox

 

This module allows for short messages to be broadcasted to all group members. It will also allow members to have a live text chat. New comments in the chatterbox is notified to members via their watchlist alerts.

 

4. Bulletin board

 

This is another way to speak to group members. You can dedicate a bulletin board module for "Announcements", "This week's meeting schedule", "Upcoming event", etc.

 

5. Private message

 

You can send a private message via a member's profile page.

 

Engaging your members

1. Return to your group often and provide new information or edit existing information.

 

2. Send weekly messages to your members drawing attention to new items or requesting specific action by a member.  It is often helpful to invite members that can provide a unique point of view or certain expertise into discussions.

 

3. Use the bulletin board to make announcements of group updates, share events and stories recently passed or provide links to useful content on the site.

 

4. Start and participate in discussion to keep your members engaged and interested.

 

5. Meet up in real life if possible to strengthen the bond between group members.

 

The 1-10-100 rule and beyond

And finally….Have you Heard of the 1-10-100 rule that applies to groups? It says that:

• about 1% of your member are those that start the group
• 10% of members will participate actively, and actually author content whether starting a thread or responding to discussions in progress.
• 100% of the users benefit from the activities of the above groups. Many of the group members may never actually post anything in the group but they are still able to learn from the content that is posted.

Of course, there's no stopping you to break this rule and turn it into 1-100-100 rule!

 

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Step 1 Congrats!	Step 2 Layout	Step 3 Modules	Step 4 Members	Step 5 Content	Step 6 Beyond