Friday, December 30, 2011

Year-End Wrap-Up

Please note the updated location for the January 4 Leadership Team meeting highlighted below:

It has been just over a year since I took on the job of Coordinator of Time Trader. Some of you already know this, but it's worth mentioning that I was a member of Time Trader for just over 2 years before I got this job. I signed up when TT was just a week old, and traded things like Car Detailing, Mending, Dog sitting, and Carpet Cleaning, all of which are still offered in Time Trader.

I thought this would be a good time to look back at the past year and ahead to 2012. I have a vision of where I'd like to see Time Trader go, but my vision is meaningless without input and help from the members. Ultimately, Time Trader is about building community, and community input and involvement are the most important building tools.

So, first -- a quick look back at 2011. The year, for me, can be summed up in 3 points:

Learning

Wow. There was a LOT of learning. As a member, I had a vague sense of what the Coordinator's job was. Once on the job I spent a lot of time learning the daily routine of managing the timebank, the structure and scope of TimeBanks USA, and, most important, the membership. Of course I knew a number of members because I had participated in exchanges with them and/or met them at events sponsored by Time Trader, but there were many members I had never met. Getting to know members has been my favorite part of this job. Time Traders are an amazing community of smart, funny, talented people who are all dedicated, in one way or another, to making the world a better place to live. This community inspires me, and I continue to learn from its members every day!

Technology

Wow. Facebook, a blog, PowerPoint, and new open-source software in the form of Community Weaver 2.0 -- that is a LOT of technology to harness. I try to post a blog entry once or twice a month, and I hope that this will become a place members will come to for answers. I'd also like it to be a place to spotlight members and services that are offered. As always, if you have a skill  you'd like featured, a story of a transaction, or any other blog-appropriate content, submit it to timetrader@familyservicerochester.org and you will earn 1TD$ when it is published on the blog. You can connect with our Facebook page by clicking the Facebook button on the right, and of course, our new software can be found here. That was the biggest challenge for me this year; it was truly a lesson in "rolling with the punches," and for this Type A planning girl, it was sometimes hard. The good news is that it is up and running, the rollout was not *too* difficult, and the software continues to improve as the technology gurus at TimeBanks USA respond to the needs of the over 250 affiliated timebanks worldwide. A HUGE thank you goes out to Time Traders who assisted with the software testing and transition, especially the amazing Christina. The many hours she spent in testing and reporting, compiling a FAQ, and offering her service as the Time Trader Help Desk are so very appreciated!

Leadership

In my first year as Coordinator I spent a lot of time learning how the timebank works; how daily operations go, how orientations are managed, how transactions and membership are tracked. I streamlined some of the processes that I saw as cumbersome, and I reorganized a number of things so that they made sense to me. Isn't it funny how each of us has our own particular sense of organization? As I reorganized files and documents, I learned more about how the timebank functions and how to lead it. I worked closely with the Leadership Team, which has served as a sounding board, provided motivation and encouragement to me, and has planned events for members like the Free Stuff Event, the Really Really Free Market and the Share Your Skills night. My sincerest thanks to the people who have taken time from their busy schedules to work on this team, including Sandy K., Jonathan, Angie R., Jaben, Aleea, Mike, Abra, Carol B., David and Don.

Goals for 2012 
Using the same 3 categories, here is a brief overview of my vision for the coming year:


Learning

One of the great things about timebanking is that it provides continuous opportunities for learning. In 2012 I look forward to learning Drupal, the platform upon which our new software is built. I am not a programmer but I do enjoy a challenge, and learning Drupal will allow me to customize the timebank specifically for Time Trader. If you have expertise in Drupal and an interest in assisting with customizing our website, please contact me. Of course you will earn TD$ for your time, and it will be an opportunity to become more involved in the timebank from the inside. Of course there are still some members I haven't met yet, and I look forward to seeing you at events and perhaps in a transaction, so that I can end 2012 saying I know each of the timebank members.
 
Technology

This ties in directly with Learning, obviously. We have a lot of ideas in the timebank for adding features and functions to Time Trader, and much of the implementation of those ideas will involve technology. I hope to improve the use of social media like our blog and Facebook to get the word out about Time Trader and to grow the membership and the level of activity in the timebank. Again, if you are interested in helping with social media, please contact me at timetrader@familyservicerochester.org. Your ideas are welcome, and you will earn TD$ for helping.


Leadership 

Leadership is the biggest challenge I face in 2012. The ultimate goal for Time Trader is to have a timebank that is basically run by members with a Coordinator whose primary job is oversight and community outreach. That means that YOU, the members, have the biggest task in front of you. While I learn more about effective leadership and  running a timebank, I want to begin transferring some of the daily tasks to you. Those tasks include:
  • matching service offers and requests and sending emails to notify members there is a possible match
  • writing blog entries (topics of your choice or suggested by me)
  • performing orientations (this is a very HIGH PRIORITY need) 
  • writing Service Updates
  • increasing timebank activity, simply by participating in more exchanges
  • bringing NEW MEMBERS into the timebank (most in-demand skills are massage therapy and handyman)
If you are interested in learning more about any of these tasks, or perhaps in taking one on, please contact me timetrader@familyservicerochester.org. You will earn TD$ for your time [and of course, a great sense of personal satisfaction :-) ].In addition, I would like to see more events that bring members together. If you have ideas or suggestions about those, please contact me or join us at a Leadership Team event. The next Leadership Team meeting is Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 6:30 PM at the Family Service Rochester building, 1110 6th St. NW, on the corner of 11th Ave. NW and Civic Center Drive near Hy-Vee Barlow. Just stop at the front desk, tell them you are there for a Time Trader meeting, and staff will direct you. You will receive TD$ for attending the meeting as well.
I have said it before, but it's the truth; this is YOUR timebank. What you want for it, what you  want FROM it -- it's all up to you. I look forward to the coming year and to working with all of you to help Time Trader become an even more active, vibrant force for good in our community.

My wishes for health, happiness and all things good go out to you as we welcome 2012. Let's work together to make it a great year!
Jennifer 

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Community Weaver 2.0

Well, it is here. We have been using Community Weaver 2.0 for about 2 months now and I want to take a moment to address some of the changes that have occurred.

I think the new look is a good change. It seems that people are happy with the way the site is organized and that it functions pretty well for them. I would love more feedback from people, though. Not everyone has logged in to the new system. It would be very helpful if everyone would take a few moments to do so and look at the information that is listed in their profile.

Some of the changes that happened are not readily apparent to general users but are having a large effect on how Coordinators are using the system. We are having some difficulty because while we gained a number of great features, we actually lost some functions that were available to us in CW 1.0. The technical team is working on these problems, but in the interim I may be less efficient at helping you or taking care of what used to be routine tasks. I apologize in advance, and ask that you be patient as we work through the problems and come up with solutions.

Right now it would be very helpful to me to have everyone log in, take care of the housekeeping details outlined below, and (and this is most important to me) let me know what they think. Do you like it? Find it difficult? Think it looks pretty but functions poorly? Think it looks good and is a huge improvement over the previous version? Any comments or suggestions you have will be welcome, and I will share them with the developers as they continue to make changes to make it more functional for everyone. So: in a nutshell, I am asking you to PLEASE visit the new site and look around.

I sent the instructions via email but we are still experiencing some technical difficulties and many emails are being grabbed by spam filters. To avoid this, I have added a step right at the beginning. If you log in and follow the step-by-step directions below it should only take about 5 minutes for you to be up and running with all of the correct information available to other Time Traders. If you have more time, please look around at the Requests that are out there and see if there is anything you can do to help people get what they need.


First, add timetrader@community.timebanks.org to your address book or list of safe senders. Then follow the directions below.
This is long; I apologize, but it is important that you read the entire thing and follow the directions below. The new URL for Time Trader is www.timetrader.timebanks.org and you should be able to log in just as you did in the previous version.
Once you log in you will notice that there are a number of new features and some changes from the old version of the software. The appearance of the home page will continue to change over the next few weeks as I get acclimated to it and take advantage of some of the features the new platform allows. The general function of the site will remain the same. As I said, there are some known bugs, and we anticipate there will be others we discover as we use the new system. Please let me know of problems you encounter and I will either address them at this level, or, if necessary, I'll forward to the tech support team so they can address them. As far as the immediate changes you'll notice, I'll hit the high points here and point you to several methods for finding additional information or getting help at the end of this note.
Expiration Dates - All service ads (offers and requests) are automatically set to expire in 3 months from the day they are created in Community Weaver 2.0.  You can change the expiration date of an ad at any time. 
Member Roster - You may be accustomed to finding members through the Community Weaver 1.0 Member Directory or Member Search.  You can still find members by any of the search criteria you used in Community Weaver 1.0 in Community Weaver 2.0, but you may need to accustom yourself with how to perform these searches in Community Weaver 2.0.  The Member Roster in Community Weaver 2.0 automatically sorts by most recent members, not an "A-Z" directory.  You can still quickly find any member by their name, username, or email address. Learn how to find members here http://actionhub.timebanks.org/help/find-members.
Tabs - Even though they do not appear to be links, the titles in the tabs on the right ARE links. So, for example, as you move your mouse over the "My Account" tab, the words "My Account" will turn white and additional tabs will appear below. You may choose to click on any of the tabs OR on the words "My Account."
When you log in, there are a couple of housekeeping issues for you to take care of. For some reason, birthdates did not transfer from the old software, so you'll need to enter yours. To do so, login using the same email address and password you used in CW 1.0. Go to the "My Account" tab on the far right. Click on the words "My Account" in white. This will bring up your account page. Please look over the data on the left under your profile picture and use the "Edit User Account" link to make any necessary changes.
Next, scroll further down in that box on the left and click on "Edit Profile Details." Scroll down the page that comes up, making sure that information is correct, including neighborhood and affiliations. There are no options under "County" right now, so you can just ignore it. Continue scrolling down, again making sure that information is correct, and enter your birthdate in the box, month/day/year format.
As you scroll further there is an "About Me" box where you may enter things like your hobbies or interests, your education, or anything else you may want other Time Traders to know about you. This is a great place to give more detail about the services you offer. You can leave it blank if you prefer. Again, scroll down and make sure your availability calendar is accurate (a green box with a check mark indicates you are available at that time) and below that add any links you want to share, such as a personal website or blog, Facebook page, or Twitter account.
Once it all looks the way you want it to, click SAVE at the bottom. If you miss that step, it will all be lost.
You're almost ready to start exploring the new software! Go back to the tabs on the right and mouse over "My Account" until you see the menu pop up. Click on "My Services." This will bring up your current Service Offers and Requests, as well as your expired ads. Click on an ad to view it, then "Edit" to make changes. Make sure the ads you want displayed are correct and enter an expiration date (the default is 3 months). Click SAVE.
That's it! You are ready to start trading. To learn more about the changes and how to use CW 2.0, check out the Member Guide at http://actionhub.timebanks.org/node/713 , where you will find links to a video demonstration and a number of basic 'how-to' instructions.
Please share your feedback with me. It will be very helpful to hear how the software is working for everyday users. As always you can email me at jharveland@familyservicerochester.org. Use the subject line SOFTWARE ISSUES to help me address those quickly, please.
Thanks for your patience in the switchover, and as we all learn to use the new software. Change is not easy, but I think these changes will help us to make Time Trader a more vibrant community. I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Really Really Free Market

We have had 2 of these events so far at Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church, just off Marion Road at 2810 40th Ave. SE in Rochester. Check back here for more information about the next one, tentatively set for a Saturday in January, 2012.

How does it work? Simple!

Bring clean, usable items to give away. Take usable items for free. It's that easy! If you have old clothes, CDs, electronics, household items, food...etc. bring them down to the Free Market. Once the event is over, any remaining items are donated to one of the local second-hand outlets.

This is the type of event that brings communities together, and ultimately shows us that we can move beyond the need for money to obtain the things we need.

**PLEASE DO NOT BRING BROKEN, UNUSABLE JUNK**

This event is cosponsored by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w">The Zeitgeist Movement</a>, <a href="http://home.vigr.org/">VIGOR</a> and <a href="http://familyservicerochester.org/timetrader.html">Time Trader</a>.