Inside the OAC: Tying things together

[ryan anderson]

These are just some ideas.  First, it's clear that there is a lot going on at the OAC.  There are thousands of members, and there are tons of user groups that cover a massive range of topics.  This is a strength.  Now, what I am wondering is how to bridge some of these different initiatives--how are there ways to connect what is going on INSIDE the OAC with the front page, and maybe with some other sites and projects? 

I definitely think it would be good if there was a more fluid connection between this opening page and all of the internal discussions.  It couldn't hurt.

Any ideas for how to do this?  One model could be a kind of re-cap along the lines of what Savage Minds and Neuroanthropology do, in which they provide a series of links to some of the discussions and posts from various blogs, etc.  This could be posted here in the discussion forum or as a blog.  Daniel Lende's "Weekly Roundup" is a great example of this kind of thing:

http://neuroanthropology.net/2010/04/28/wednesday-round-up-113/

Or, certain members of groups could post updates or examples of some of the most recent issues, ideas, debates, and discussions with links, etc.  There are lots of ways to go.  Overall, I think it would be beneficial to encourage more connections and dialog between the main page of the site and the vast array of ideas inside the site.  Right now a lot of the ideas remain tucked away in little corners. 

Anyway, these are just some ideas.  Any other thoughts???  Ideas?  Suggestions?

[Paul Wren]

Could we add it to the right column? It would seem very familiar to most travelers of the internet. How do we choose recommended/featured sites? Who chooses them?

Nathan Dobson said:

Two things I've been thinking about recently are:

1. A very small "Did you know" box with room for only one post at a time that anyone can add content to but that is restricted by the number of characters you can add. I'm constantly coming across little snippets of information hidden away in the OAC that would look great in a section like this. e.g. did you know that the French call a paper clip a trombone.

2. A list of featured external websites. This isn't an original idea, people have discussed having links to other sites on the OAC before but I think it is worth bringing up again.

[Alice C. Linsley]

Nikos,
Maybe more people would come daily to OAC were they to receive a warm welcome note when they first join. I've been doing this as often as I can and asking new members about their area of anthropological interst. When they respond I direct them to another member with a common or similar interest. This gives new members a sense of being part of the cooperative. It doesn't take but a few seconds to do this and it could have a positive effect on increasing daily visits.

NIKOS GOUSGOUNIS said:

Who wants to find out what he is searching , will find. Why to offer everything in the plate ? Let people ( and especially students) not to be lazy to search what they REALLY need. This is what is actually happening in OAC .After my estimations , of the 3200 members , who open eeryday the site are not more than 200. This is the bigest problem, to motivate more to open it daily, should they be 400 to say, we should have twice as much discussions in the groups and blogs.

[Nathan Dobson]

Good question Paul. I think it would have to be blogs or personal websites as opposed to anything else. The admins can pull a few out to start with which might motivate people to write and ask if theirs can be put up. A line at the bottom could read "if you want your website or blog featured please send a message to..."

Paul Wren said:

Could we add it to the right column? It would seem very familiar to most travelers of the internet. How do we choose recommended/featured sites? Who chooses them?