by Kevin Schaefer, Online Community Program Manager
It’s that time of year again. Clocks have jumped ahead, days are getting longer, it’s still snowing for some of us, but there’s hope that it will end soon. It’s time to take a moment and do some spring cleaning of your Community of Interest (COI) or Coordinating Body (CB) webpage.
There are a few areas worth checking in on now that it’s a new year. An easy first step is to take a look at your Community Links to ensure they are still relevant and that the pages you have hyperlinked are still published and available. “Community Links” are any websites outside of MY AADE NETWORK that you as a leader believe would be helpful resources to your members. Check to make sure that the links are still working and relevant to those that might click on them. You don’t want to send your subscribers to any dead links or to out-of-date information.
Don’t have any Community Links on your community page? There’s no time like the present to add one or two. Does your state CB have a Facebook or Twitter account? This would be a great place to add links to those social media accounts.
To add or edit links:
- Go to “Community Administration” and then
- Click on “Edit Community Links” under the “Community Home Page” tab.
CB Leaders, is your About Us area up-to-date? Do you have all your new and current 2019 CB and LNG admin leaders listed? Does your state have any upcoming spring meetings that could be highlighted here and on your state calendar? Is there past meeting information from 2018 still on your page that can be taken down? Take a moment to make sure that this area is updated and highlights any new meetings and activity that your state subscribers should be aware of; or if you have past meeting minutes listed, that the information you’re providing is still applicable.
COI Leaders, have you moved up to a Leader position this year or appointed a new co-leader for 2019? Make sure that your names are listed as the COI leaders in your About Me Section on your community page so that subscribers know who to reach out to this year for assistance.
To edit your About Me information:
- Go to “Community Administration” and then
- Click on “Edit HTML Content” under the “Community Home Page” tab, then
- Click the “Edit” button next to “Default Page.”
If your community homepage is already refreshed and you’re wanting to tackle something greater, don’t forget about the File Library. This project may seem overwhelming for some communities that have been indexing file downloads for years without ever revisiting the content. Work with your community leaders to evaluate and remove older files that are now redundant due to newer files being added. If new research has been published that updates scientific data contained in your community files, determine if the old files should be removed and new supporting files added as they become available.
Cleaning up your community for a new year can seem like a daunting process, but your subscribers’ experience will be vastly improved, and it will make the rest of your tenure as a 2019 leader easier to manage.