Portal Usability Group (PUG)

An easier way to invite friends to OurNewton

Up until now, the way you sent out invites to this site was through your Group's invite page (e.g. http://www.ournewton.org/og/invite/878).

The problem with this is that if you enter an e-mail address for someone who isn't already registered for the site, they get an e-mail with a link in it to "join" the Group. The person will click the link, and get an "Access Denied" message.

To solve this, we've added a box to the homepage where you can simply enter someone's e-mail address and invite them to join the site with one click. In this case, your friend will get an e-mail with a link that takes them to the registration form.

Even better, every site user has a page where they can manage their invites. You also get more "social capital" points for inviting friends.

How to use the OurNewton Guide

The OurNewton Guide is a database of community organizations that individuals can use to find services, and service providers can use to connect with their constituents.

Add Your Listing

  • To add your organization's listing to the OurNewton Guide, you must first register for the site.
  • On completing registration, you will be prompted to enter a Guide Entry.
  • If you have already registered, you may navigate to http://OurNewton.org/Guide and click New Guide Entry on the left menu.
  • Fill out all required information on the form and click "submit" at the bottom of the page.
  • If successful, you will now see your organization's listing.

Finding a Guide Entry

  • Click the "Guide" link at the top of any page or go directly to http://OurNewton.org/Guide.
  • Following the instructions on the page, check the items you want to search for and click "list" or "map" to see results in a list or map form.
  • To search for a specific organization, use the "Guide Search" form on the left side of the page.
  • Visitors to the site may also search for a Guide Entry on most pages under the "Guide Quicksearch" menu.

Keeping it Up to Date

  • Organizations are responsible for keeping the entries accurate and up to date. To edit your Guide Entry, make sure you are logged in with the account that created the Entry, and go to your organization's listing.
  • Click the "edit" tab at the top of the page, then make any necessary changes. Now click "submit" at the bottom of the page to publish your changes.
  • Visitors of the site may also alert us that content is inaccurate or out of date by using the "Flag as out of date" link that appears on all Guide Entries.

OurNewton Info Session

Time: 
Aug 7 2008 - 2:00pm

Newton organizations and organizers, come learn all about what this OurNewton resource is and how you can use it to achieve your mission and broaden your constituency.

Location

West Suburban YMCA
276 Church St
Newton, MA
United States
42° 21' 18.2448" N, 71° 11' 24.6156" W

"Email this page" link added to all posts

I've added an "Email this page" link to all posts on this site. Logged in users can access the link at the bottom of each post, including calendar events. Non-logged in users will have to pass a security test in order to access this feature.

-Mike

If you are planning to attend the meeting on July 22nd at 2 p.m., please RSVP

If you click on the calendar, there is a place to sign up for the meeting. This will help a lot in determining the location. Thanks.

OurNewton Info Session

Time: 
Jul 22 2008 - 2:00pm

Location

West Suburban YMCA, Fitness Center
off Washington Street near the entrance to the Mass Pike
Newton, MA
United States

Site Design To-Do

Note: Crossed out items are done!

From the 6/19 Launch Team Meeting:
  • Logos for all partners should be added; Larry and Mary should send their logos to Mike and he will design a draft logo.
  • There should also be a basic "recent posts" or "river of news" page where all recent posts can be viewed in chronological order and filtered by organization, audience, etc. Right now there is the blogs page but this isn't quite what we want.
  • a better color scheme than blue/white/gray...
  • add a "flag as inappropriate" link or something similar to meet the need for flagging non-spam, but still inappropriate, content.
Other tasks:
  • Add a "manage bookmarks" link to the bookmarks menu
  • Add a "e-mail to friend" (or send through the site) link to posts
  • Modify "thanks" page to include instructions on adding a user picture
  • Incorrect Time Zone on NPS TAC ical feed (problem is on our end)
  • Let anonymous users flag content--but watch out for spiders | http://drupal.org/node/271582 Spider issue persists.
From 7/8/08 Design Team Meeting
  • Add Links to Block Titles on Partner Blocks on Front Page
  • Age Range Descriptors -- e.g. this is an event for ages x-z -- add guide vocabulary to events
  • Added -All Newton- to village vocabulary
  • Update welcome block to better decide what different functions of the site are and how they can be used -- "what can ournewton.org do for you"
  • Different "Rivers of News based on Taxonomy"
  • Add a JCC Group and a YMCA Group
  • Send everyone in design team to drupal.org/project/themes

Welcome to OurNewton.org

Welcome to our social networking website dedicated to building civic engagement. A commercial free site initiated by Social Capital Inc., the West Suburban YMCA, the Leventhal-Sidman JCC and a committed Launch Team of local volunteers. Modeled on community-building programs in the Greater Boston area.  Read more here. read more »