Tools/How To

Futurehealth Makes Web 2.0 Technology Accessible to Groups

OpEdNews has added a new set of technologies, unique on the web. This technology is designed to support, enable and empower groups by allowing them to tap the power of the WEB 2.0 technologies that are available on OpEdNews. The goal is to provide tools and technologies for the millions of groups throughout the US and the world focusing on advocacy, interest, political, service and other interests.


Ways OpEdNEws Group Functions Can Help and Support Groups

Most groups, if they have a web site, havbe "WEB 1.0" sites. They are relatively static, don't change very often, don't have much interactivity  and have most or all of the content posted by a webmaster. Other members of the group can't add content or comment on the content that is there. If you visit it once, there's no reason to go back, probably, for months.

Ways OpEdNews Groups enable you to tap the powers of WEB 2.0--

-dynamic content that is constantly changing, with new information, new articles, links, blogs added by any member any time, with no need for the help of a webmaster.

-highly interactive--  anyone can post content, participate in threaded commenting, which enables discussions with widespread members-- much better than listerve groups that get cluttered, lost in email folders and trashed with excess copying of old messages.

-involving-- interaction leads to deepened involvement, connection, loyalty, sense of community. People come back to see what's new to engage in dialogue, see who's involved... forget the old front stoop in the neighborhood. We're building a digial one- just for your group.

-Multimedia-- we make it really easy to embed youtube videos in the articles and blog diaries your members post. Audio hosted on other sites is easy to add too. Share images. It's extremely easy to post images with articles and blog diaries. YOu get the power of blogs to without needing to deal with the technology and with the focus that your group needs.


To the best of our knowledge there is no site on the web that combines articles publishing, link aggregation, blogging with empowerment of groups, enabling them to further aggregate content on group pages.



How to make it Happen

-post articles:
When you submit articles you or others in your group write, part of the submission process allows you to delegate the article to the group page, and, if you like, to subject pages, locale pages and the front page.

Most articles published on OpEdNews are spidered by google news. We have to daily deserve that privelege by making sure that we publish real, polished articles-- not blogs, not ads or sales pitches. Articles must be legitimate articles, not fundraising letters or puff press releases promoting the organization. If you submit press releases on events, news about the organization-- these are probably fine.

For details on how to post an article see this FAQ
But you can also designate an article to your group page when you find an article already on OpEdNews. Just below the list of subjects, at the top of the article, there's an 'ADD TO MY GROUPS' clickable link. Click on it and you can add that article to your groups page, or pages, if you belong to more than one group. It just takes a few seconds.


-Post links
submit links to articles on other websites that you want to share with group members. Again, you can put these on your group page and other pages as well.

Sure you could email this to your group, but then it's gone and new members don't see it.
Sure, you can send it to your webmaster to post it on your website, but... isn't your webmaster buried already? And how many people actually send stuff in? And how much actually gets posted to YOUR site? By having members tap the power of OpEdNews group support, you enable all your members to post content to the page. Even if you are moderating submissions, this is a great way to quickly and easily get a lot more information to yyour members. More information, updated more often, adds up to added benefits for your members and a "stickier" relationship with your members. This is a good thing.

For details on how to post a link to an article on another website, see this FAQ on quicklinks
You can also add a link to your group page when you find a link already on OpEdNews. Just below the list of subjects, at the top of the article, there's an 'ADD TO MY GROUPS' clickable link. Click on it and you can add that link to your groups page, or pages, if you belong to more than one group. It just takes a few seconds.

Use quicklinks as a way to easily help your members access important articles or resources you want them to see.


Get discussions going
To get a conversation or debate  going, post a full article which you write or reprint with permission; a quicklink to an article on some other site; or blog a diary.

When you write the article or diary, or create the quicklink-- take a WEB 2.0 approach-- create it with the understanding that you are starting the conversation-- presenting one perspective  and the expectation that members of your group will help fill in the gaps, cover other aspects of the discussion. This is web 2.0 journalism. It requires a different kind of thinking, either as writer or editor-- and anyone can be an editor when the rules allow anyone to add links and content. Along these lines, don't assume that all the readers and commenters on your article will agree with you. Expect lively discussion, disagreement and debate. Be ready to respond, participate in the conversation and to learn from your readers. That's part of the "architecture of inclusion" that makes WEB 2.0 what it is.

-Send Messages to Your Group That Don't Get Lost or Caught In Spam Filters
Send messages to your group members from withing the system, so you don't have to worry about spam or viruses.

As new web 2.0 technologies come available from its tech provider, OpEdNEws will be adding polls, events, calendars, democratic content promotion through voting and more.

media inquiries to rob kall rob at opednews dot com.