Web options for Transition Initiatives

[This is a work in progress. It is live as Ed is looking for feedback from Transition webmasters, so all constructive criticism welcomed - please email Ed with suggestions]

There is a fantastic array of Transition Initiative websites out there, from Lewes' cheeky bouncy look, to Norwich's bloggy storytelling focus, Forest Row's great Ning site, Marsden and Slaithwaite's big kahuna...

1. Introduction
2. Social Networks
3. Features list for initiatives
4. Services list with examples

Introduction

A website is an brilliant communications tool for any community organisation, as it allows you to publish your information and events freely and for anyone to keep up to date with your activities. Your website links should go on all your posters, and you should enable people to subscribe to your newsletter online as well as at your events.

Newsletters are invaluable too. 

The feedback from our 2011 survey was loud and clear: newsletters were the single most important communications tool for initiatives. A well timed newsletter (Thursday or Friday lunchtimes are popular) gets straight to people's attention. 

We recommend you use the free service Mailchimp (listed in the options table below).

Planning and designing your site makes a difference to how useful it is, but this does not need to be a big deal; all you really need at the beginning is to publish news and events. Focus on getting the basics up and running. 

You do not need sub-groups and forums and multi-user ding dongs, widgets and guff like that at the beginning, we promise.

You need to get used to publishing news regularly and sending out regular newsletters. You need to find out who is actually going to add the news items and how often, before building a site that can fly to the moon.

Don't get too hung up on the look and feel either. The amazing new website technologies mean that:

• all the designs (in Ning, Wordpress etc.) are automatically changeable
• the most important thing is content not fiddly layout of pages



Websites should be light and flexible, not big burly cumbersome beasts that scare everyone including the beleaguered techie who volunteered early on and then found themself struggling to deliver something far too complicated that no-one really understands. We see this around and about and promise that it's a pain in the backside, and it's avoidable!

Avoid making it complicated at the beginning. Keep it Simple! Start with a news section, some 'about' pages.

Social Networks

Facebook, Twitter and Ning (and Youtube and Flickr for videos and photos) have exploded in popularity in the last few years. Since their foundation they have gone from strength to strength, collecting millions of users, making them an important part of many peoples’ internet practices. They are Social Networks, so they mimic group processes online, enabling people to set up groups, follow their friends, serendipitously find new friends, and other things that might happen in a group social setting. They are very powerful tools, and great fun if you like that sort of thing (many don’t).

Transition Initiatives have used them to grow their memberships, co-ordinate events, connect with other initiatives, share ideas and make friends and much more. They use Social Networks in a mix, along with other media including mailing lists, their own websites, Youtube, Flickr and much more. The best way to see if you enjoy using them, and get value from their use, is to give them a try. It can’t hurt!

Transition Network has a presence in most of the Social Networks and we like to do that Social Networking thing, but deep down we feel that the best place to do 'social networking' is with your neighbours. Doing it online is good, but shouldn't take priority over doing it locally.

Transition Network page about Social Media

Features list for Initiatives

 Some services and examples

Handy list of 'tools for learning'