Topic: RSS feeds, Facebook, Wiserearth blog etc
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Thanks for this Osbert. WE has a ways to go in terms of reaching a user base that is enthusiastic about inserting content, you touched on an important issue here. We are aware that the site's usability needs to be improved ... and I like what you're saying about feeds. The site's usefulness to the world shouldn't and can't be judged or measured by the number of site visitors or registered "users". We can also track subscribers to RSS feeds.
I'd love to see a WE blog, I think that if we were to transfer our updates (http://wiserearth.org/article/d4616679443647767999981a8b3dd14f) to a blog, more users would read it. Successful case studies of WE are also something the staff here are gathering and talking about. |
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I'm not sure i'm following the converation below (at all) and as this is more of a response to the title of the forum and an outgrowth of my own questions, i apologize if this seems a little off-base.
I would absolutely LOVE to see a way to link my WE profile to my facebook site and my blog (on blogger.com). I don't get a great deal of traffic on either, but a couple of dozen people come by regularly and they would have similar interests. If there was a way to not only permanently link my WE profile but also post featured portals, groups, events, etc (stuff from the main page that catches my eye) to either my blog or my facebook, there is a good chance that traffic here can be increased and hopefully membership will grow. obviously there is a need for people who are willing to contribute and not just sponge off the site, but i'm betting you have to take one with the other. Also, please don't misconstrue this as a complaint - if i knew how to implement this kind of thing on my own, you can bet i would do it, but software just isn't my forte. |
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Been thinking some more about WE usability. First off, I can see this as a great tool and I'd like to see many of my contacts here, using it to network with each other - and others.
The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced WE needs a 'logged in homepage' which is shares some features with Facebook and LinkedIn. I want to be able to see what MY connections are doing; what's been posted on MY Wiki; who's connected themselves to MY organisation; what's new in MY area of focus; what's new in MY physical location etc. At the moment, I come back and see nothing that speaks specifically to me - unless the 'Featured' organisation etc happens to be relevant. Basically all we have now is a huge database, but impressive tho it is, it's too difficult to grasp and engage with. With a bit of clever programming, it would be possible to suggest others of the site that I might interested - based on my existing connections, areas of interest and so. And - to bang on again about it - I'd love to see the above available as an RSS feed! cheers Osbert |
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Osbert,
Thanks so much for your postings. We have really been grappling with how to make profiles (of both organizations and people) more useful. I think you have hit the nail on the head in terms of providing automated and personalized updates to enable people to get the most out of the mass of information which is provided on WiserEarth. Similar suggestions were also made to some members of WiserEarth when they attended a FLOSS usability conference on the Google campus a few weeks ago in Silicon Valley - as you mention, there is little on the site that speaks to you right this minute. We really hope to be able to address this issue in the coming months. And for those RSS feeds too...they're coming. I apologize for a seemingly slow response in bringing these onto the site. Our limited resources (we have a programming team of 2 people) means that we must ask for patience from the community while we address some of these issues. But please, do keep the feedback coming as it is truly your ideas that are driving the improvements to the site. Best wishes Camilla |
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Camilla
Wiser Earth is an excellent resource for all the people and groups wanting to help in some way. I agree with some of the comments below that it would be useful to be able to see people's comments about issues in an easy way. I've set up several websites (see below) that offer such a resource. They are a quick and easy way to post comments and read other people's views. I've also set up an interface with a hugely popular website, twitter.com, so posts made to twitter appear automatically on the help sites. I'd like to suggest that Wiser Earth create an Application Programming Interface which would allow people to take feeds off topics. I'd be happy to help with this. A little background: I'm a E-business lecturer at London South Bank University. My phone is +44 20 7815 7744. Best wishes, Greg |
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Greg, Thanks for your posting. I've just been browsing through your sites and have taken a look at Twitter.com. Really interesting sites. We have not created an open API for WiserEarth which would allow people to take feeds off topics. However, we are hoping to add RSS feeds to the site in the coming months. We will also be working towards making the WiserEarth platform fully open source. If you are interested getting more involved, do let me know how you would like to help as we love your assistance in improving the site further.
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Hey Osbert,
These are excellent ideas, and great ways to make this site someplace compelling for people to return to. We actually have been considering how to best implement an idea along this sort for a bit, and are cooking up ways to feed relevant information to a user based on their profile and preferences. This is definitely a long-term project, but I am definitely glad that you as a user have noticed a need for it, and posted a comment about it. The more we're able to collect feedback from the community, the more momentum it gives us to focus on resources on implementing this feature. Thanks very much for your suggestion - if you have any ideas, please feel free to mention them in our suggestions forum, or contact me directly. Cheers! Honore |
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http://ambjorn.com/consulting/2007/09/walled_gardens_vs_open_collabo.html
I'd really like to see Wiserearth take off so here are what I hope are useful suggestions.
I'd like to see RSS feeds ideally for any page - a 'real' page or a search results page. If this was available, I'd:
- subscribe to pages and searches of interest to me (eg events in Edinburgh)
- I'd see them in my reader and come back to the site if they looked relevant
- I'd share relevant items from my Google Reader so they appeared in my blog etc.
- I could add specific wiserearth feeds direct to my blog and to my other sites.
On the same theme, I'd like to see a Wiserearth app for Facebook. Not sure what it might actually DO, but some way of sharing Wiserearth material with Facebook (where many of my network are active) would be useful.
I'd like to see a Wiserearth blog to which new users especially would subscribe - in a reader or by email. This should be about how to use wiserearth to promote change etc: case studies of successful campaigns using wiserearth; tips and tricks to introduce more obscure features etc. As people read this and 'get' what wiserearth can be used for, they'll come back and do it!
The homepage should have all the 'add to facebook' etc icons - that's the page that best describes wiserearth and is what I'd like to share with people at the moment. (Sharing content will come later).
As an recent del.icio.us convert, I can't get enthusiastic about the 'Resources' functionality - adding stuff is so cumbersome compared to delicious. An "add to Wiserearth" widget??
cheers
Osbert