Posted by Shaun Callahan
Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:02:00 GMT
What is Motor City Connect?
It depends who you ask.
Some people would say MCC is a networking group. Others would say MCC is a community service group. We’ve also heard social group, mastermind group, business builder group, personal improvement group and a bunch of nuts. We think they’re all a little bit right—but our mission statement says it best.
Motor City Connect shines a light on great things happening in Metro Detroit. We are top professionals who gather both online and offline to meet, understand and connect with business leaders. Motor City Connect is a welcoming place to network, take an active role in the community, and grow your business.
In short – we are a catalyst for great things happening for our members and our community.
In the beginning…
Motor City Connect started as a small group getting together for lunch and to trade referrals. We chose Yahoo Groups to help us stay connected in-between our lunches.
Before too long, a couple hundred of our closest friends had joined us online. The Yahoo message traffic became overwhelming! We were starting to scare away some of our best people and our events were getting lost in the shuffle.
Saved by Cx!
We moved to the Collective X platform a month ago—and like an old house plant that gets repotted, Motor City Connect blossomed!
Our email traffic went from 200+ a week down to 5 targeted messages. Our membership has bloomed—nearly 50% in less than a month. Our calendar is full of vibrant events. Attendance is up at face-to-face meeting. And the profiles section is helping us to learn new things about each other.
Most importantly, participation levels are also on the rise. Cx’s threaded discussion forums, homepage summaries and weekly what’s new blasts help members find relevant conversations—turning our lurkers into active participants.
We’re continually surprised by the popularity of the kudos/endorsement feature. MCC is looking like a mutual admiration society. We couldn’t be happier.
What’s next for Motor City Connect?
Nothing less than changing the economic future of Michigan and who knows, maybe even the world.
We don’t have a lot of rules and rituals—we’re still working on our secret handshake—but Collective X adds a framework that helps MCC grow and achieve our mission.
At Motor CIty Connect, we think business should be fun. Together with Collective X, we’re making a positive impact every day.
Posted in Success Stories | no trackbacks
Posted by Shaun Callahan
Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:24:00 GMT
Have you ever seen, heard or participated in a drum circle? The basic idea is a self-organized percussion jam session where anyone can bring their favorite drum, join in and bang out whatever beat moves them and the collective clatter will become beautiful music.
How does this work? Sporadically.
One thing that helps is the fact that percussion relies on tempo and rhythm not key, melody and harmony. If the same group showed up with oboes, tubas, saxophones and a church organ the resulting racket might be a colossal train wreck.
When a drum circle works is when a few of its members actually have rhythm and drive the underlying tempo and beat pattern so the novices can follow along for the ride making their contributions.
As soon as those rhythmic leaders stop drumming, the circle falls apart and everyone usually does a final drum roll and waits for another rhythmic leader to start another pattern.
So what does this have to do with managing a Groupsite?
It is simple, if you want to keep the beat, you need to either set the agenda by defining your group’s purpose and goals as well as inviting a few members who have the ability to keep the beat (initiate meaningful discussions) so others can feel comfortable making their contributions on top of the underlying beat.
Posted in Groupsite Manager Tips | no trackbacks
Posted by Shaun Callahan
Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:44:00 GMT
Here is a challenge for you. If you accept this challenge and actually complete all 10 steps, you will have a very good understanding of how to be an active member of you group. Our mission is to help make groups work. Here are 10 steps that will help you make a difference in the success of your group:
1. Upload your photo to your profile (Click here for previous post that can help)
2. Set your preferences under My Preferences (Click here for previous post that can help)
3. Share a personal objective (Click here for previous post that can help )
4. Add a Key Connection (Click here for previous post that can help)
5. Search for something. (read someone’s profile and learn something about them you didn’t know.) (Click here for previous post that can help)
6. Endorse or Kudo someone in your group (Click here for previous post that can help)
7. Send a private message (Click here for previous post that can help)
8. Reply to a discussion or start a new one. (Click here for previous post that can help)
9. RSVP “Yes” to a calendar event – and actually show up! In person! (Click here for previous post that can help)
10. Invite another member to the group (or suggest someone who should be invited to the manager of the group) (Click here for previous post that can help)
11. Bonus: Create your own group (Click here for previous post that can help)
Posted in Groupsite User Tips | no trackbacks
Posted by Shaun Callahan
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 08:38:00 GMT
This week’s Groupsite success story will be told in 3 parts and comes to us from The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) in Alexandria, VA.
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The Executive Leadership Council is “the preeminent organization that strengthens the success, contributions, and impact of African-American corporate business leaders.” The Council’s mission is to provide African-American executives of Fortune 500 companies with a network and leadership forum that adds perspective and direction to the achievement of excellence in business, economic and public policies for the African-American community, their corporations and the community at large. Visit their website at www.elcinfo.com for further information about The Executive Leadership Council.
They have been fulfilling this mission for 22 years and currently have over 400 members who are the most senior African Americans in corporate America. The Council is an active community with a purpose. What they were missing was an effective way to leverage technology to enhance their members’ engagement and productivity – until now.
The Executive Leadership Council has selected CollectiveX to power their Online Platform which will be their online member engagement tool of choice. As an Enterprise Client, The Council is using 30 sites powered by CollectiveX for the following initially:
- Secure Member Intranet
- Staff Intranet
- 3 Boards of Directors
- 18 Committees
- 4 Program Alumni Community Sites (for non-members)
- 3 Working Group Sites for Members
In Part 1 of this story we’ll look at some of the key steps The Executive Leadership Council has taken to ensure a successful adoption of this new tool. Here’s what they have done:
1. Initially they took a period of time to learn system capabilities and beta test with their technology committee and a couple other external constituencies.
2. They rolled out their staff intranet first. They even created a custom PowerPoint presentation that walked each staff member through the system’s core functionality. Getting staff members trained and up and running is a great place to start.
3. They then set up their two board groups. By making sure all staff and Board members understand the platform and have begun using it (including completing their member profiles and uploading photos) they were leading by example before launching their member intranet.
4. They also concentrated on making sure each site contained meaningful content (links, RSS feeds, Forums, Pictures, Documents, and Leader profiles) before the first member-at-large was even invited.
5. In addition, they made sure that each committee has a staff member assigned to be a member and key contact for assisting fellow committee members with using the system.
6. Finally, the member roll out will begin with an e-mail from Carl Brooks, President & CEO of The Executive Leadership Council, explaining the significance of the new secure Online Platform, a copy of the updated users guide, and a link to the CollectiveX video. He clearly communicates how the new secure Online Platform powered by CollectiveX enables significant capabilities for Enhancing Member Value, which is one of the five strategic goals outlined in the organizations 2008-2010 strategic plans.
Over the next few days, The Executive Leadership Council will be inviting their entire membership to join and begin using their member intranet. During the following months the amount of usage is expected to increase while the number of mailings and e-mail communications to the membership will be reduced. There is also an expectation that the number of phone calls and e-mail requests to the office will decrease. In addition, they expect greater communications, networking, and involvement with/between members. Thereby the new Online Platform powered by CollectiveX is expected to enhance member value, increase efficiency/effectiveness, reduce costs, and multiply the impact of The Council’s various initiatives.
We will follow-up with Part 2 in a few weeks with an update on the success they are having.
All of the right variables are in place: they have a defined purpose, an active community, they have picked the best tool and most importantly, they have taken the time to get their staff and leadership involved in being an active part of the dialogue right from the start.
Posted in Success Stories | no trackbacks
Posted by Shaun Callahan
Mon, 03 Mar 2008 11:15:00 GMT
We believe group engagement is based on communication, trust and taking action. A Groupsite is a great tool for both meeting new people as well as learning new things about the people you already in contact with. Sharing information about yourself with the group helps them understand who you are and what you bring to the table.
We realize that not all groups have a deep level of trust among all of their members on day one. We also realize that time is a precious commodity. For both of these reasons, not everyone will take the time to complete every bit of their profile information and not everyone will tell their entire life story.
We believe in “progressive engagement”. Inviting people to continue to tel more f their story over time (as they become comfortable with the group, trust its members, and have something meaningful to share).
One way to help encourage this participation is to ask a few (not the Spanish Inquisition) questions when they first join the group through the use of our “Custom Profile Questionaire” feature.
Here’s how:
Select the “Manager” tab in your Groupsite. Then select “Custom Profile Questionnaire”. You will see the following screen. Click on “Add a question”.
The following screen will appear where you can type in your first question as well as decide what type of question it will be.
Here are the type of questions you can choose from:
You can add as many questions as you like and choose whether they are optional or required. When complete, simply choose the “Update” button at the bottom of the page.
These questions will now appear as part of the acceptance process when new members join your group. Their answers will appear on their Member Profile page (see below). Which makes their answers searchable as part of our general search function.
Additionally, if you select the “Members” tab, you will see that at the top you can “Filter by Group Q&A” which let’s you select any of your Custom Profile Questions and see which members share the same answers.
If you added these questions after people have been part of your group, they can always answer them whenever they choose under their “My Settings” tab.
Custom Profile Questions are a great way to invite your members to start telling their story which leads to communication, trust and engagement.
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Posted by Shaun Callahan
Sat, 01 Mar 2008 02:14:00 GMT
Are there things you would like to share about yourself with the rest of the group but don’t know where to put them? No worries – here’s how.
Select the “My Settings” tab and then choose the “Customize My Profile” link (see below).
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This will open a page where you can add any additional elements to your profile you choose (text, links, video etc). You can also choose if you want this new element to appear on your professional profile, your social profile or both.
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On my social profile I added my 10 favorite songs of all time.
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On my professional profile, I added an embedded demo video of CollectiveX.
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In the words of Charles Wright (from my 8th favorite song), go ahead and “express yourself”.
Posted in Groupsite User Tips | no trackbacks
Posted by Shaun Callahan
Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:11:00 GMT
How many ways are you using CollectiveX today?
- Alumni Group
- Board
- Conference
- Informal Group
- Membership Group
- Project Workgroup
- Web community
Have you thought about using the power of CollectiveX at work?
How do you share, communicate and network with your co-workers? Why not leverage the power of CollectiveX to build your own private corporate intranet in less than 5 minutes for less than $500?
A full-featured Groupsite with Enhanced Security (SSL encryption), Custom Branding, Additional Storage Space (3 GB), Custom Domain Name, Groupsite Statistics and Premium Permission Controls costs just $399 per year.
Additionally, for just $108 per year, a company of 100 employees or less can have all advertising turned off. (Ad Removal rate is $9/mth per 100 users).
For more information visit: www.collectivex.com/intranet
Posted in Groupsite Manager Tips | no trackbacks
Posted by Shaun Callahan
Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:33:00 GMT
The Eagles’ “Hotel California” contains the lyric, “You can check out any time you like – but you can never leave.”
Every once in a while, our support team receives a “Hotel California” email from someone asking to “please remove me from your listserve” or “how do I remove myself from this group, it is not what I expected it to be”.
Today’s post will give you exactly what you ever need to check out.
First, it’s important for you to understand that we are not a “listserv” (there is nothing listening for “unsubscribe” commands, etc.)
There are only 3 ways to become part of the CollectiveX Group Engagement Network:
1. Be invited to join a Groupsite
2. Find a “public” Groupsite which allows anyone to join
3. Create your own Groupsite
Let’s look at the first method. CollectiveX, as a platform, does not auto-generate invitations to random lists of email addresses (SPAM). Someone within a Groupsite, typically the manager, needs to generate each invitation. We suggest that Groupsite managers only invite those people who they believe will benefit by being part of the group. That being said, just because someone thinks you might benefit by participating doesn’t mean that you feel the same way.
If you ever receive an invitation to join a CollectiveX Groupsite and you don’t believe it is in your best interest to accept, simply hit the “Decline” link in the email (see below).
Let’s say you accepted an invite, or found a public Groupsite (at Groupsites.com) that you thought might be for you but later decide that it’s not a good fit and you wish to leave the group.
Here’s what you do:
From within the Groupsite you wish to leave, select the “My Settings” tab. Then simply select the “Remove me from this Groupsite” link at the bottom left (see below). You will then see a pop-up window asking you if you are sure you want to leave. Simply hit “OK”. You are no longer part of that Groupsite.
The best way to make sure you are in a Groupsite that makes sense for you is to create your own!
We are a Group Engagement Network. We empower groups to make things happen. If you are part of an active group that you want to stay in touch with by sharing and communicating, we invite you to create your own Groupsite and invite only those people who share your desire to make the group work. Click here to learn how or click here to get started
Posted in Groupsite User Tips | no trackbacks
Posted by Shaun Callahan
Fri, 15 Feb 2008 18:58:00 GMT
Friday’s are my “User Tip” days and Mondays are my “Manager Tip” days. Since we have a Monday holiday (President’s Day), I thought I would get double duty out of this post by sharing a tip that both users and managers can use.
Adding an event to a Groupsite calendar is quite simple (as long as the Groupsite Manager’s have given members permission to do so).
Here’s how:
Step 1 – Select the “Calendar” tab
Step 2 – Pick the correct month
Step 3 – Click the + sign next to the date
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You will then see the page below where you can enter your event’s name, location (specific street address with city and state will auto-link to Google maps), time as well as provide an optional description if needed.
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Pay special attention to the “Allow RSVP?” field. There are 3 choices:
- “YES” – this will allow members of this Groupsite to post their responses to this Groupsite.
- “NO” – Use this option when all are welcome or to post events that need no RSVP such as holidays.
- “On a separate site” – selecting this option allows you to enter a web address for an RSVP page outside of your Groupsite. This is perfect if you want to let your group know about a local event sponsored by another group.
When you are all done, simply hit the “Submit” button.
That’s it.
RSVP’ing to an event that is already posted is just as easy.
Just select the “Calendar” tab, find the date of the event, click on the event name and enter your response as seen below. You can also add a comment if you like. Then hit submit.
We are a Group Engagement Network and we believe there is no better way to get involved with your group members than actually meeting face-to-face. So go ahead, RSVP “Yes” to a local event and get involved in person.
Posted in Groupsite Manager Tips, Groupsite User Tips | no trackbacks
