moblog needs you

Hahahahaha! Love that!

Thanks dude :)

Brilliant!

very good

Glad you like it, now lets get some people in :)

Are you asking for as many mods & editors as possible to get involved or as many site users as pos? This post implies the latter but the link suggests the former...

Will this be a Skype call or landline? :)

Hildegard - good point - i'll change the link title...

Sunday afternoonz for me (as registered)

Current closest match is 20:00 this thursday - lets call that a definite.

Please keep adding your availability tho if you want to be involved and we'll work out from that the dates for another call. So far we have 10 people on the call, so a split or two calls might be wise!

540, might be an idea to direct people to the thread where they can add their skype address too. In fact, worth mentioning that it's a conference call we're having!

Good point nige, I'll add that in now :)

Will try to join the call but, is this for mods/editors or generally about the site? I have questions regarding groups -- am in touch with MomoMiami as well other groups relative to adding moblogs to their sites (subscriber so they can customise URLs as well as CSS). Would be great to have a 'groups' 'how to' document so that we can distribute to non-profits, organisations, etc. so they understand the value and ease, and have a step-by-step on 'how to' add a group moblog and including sample text to notify/explain to members what the moblog is for once they set it up?

Thoughts? Thanks!

This is for everyone to have a first crack at discussing the way ahead and sorting things like mods, groups etc. JC has put together a draft agenda which covers a wide range of ideas :)

ok, have just purchased my skype type kit....no idea how to plug it in etc....will keep checking back on the link

hehe nice one p!

do you mean you have the headset P ?

I'll pour the tea down the phone-line (and eat all the Hob-Nobs myself)

Ok, JXL aside, we seem to be lacking in non-UK interest for the skype conference call. Is this just because it doesn't fit in with people's schedules timewise, or is it that people don't want to be involved to that extent?

Just asking the question.... :)

Hmm, I don't have Skype at the moment. Did have an account when my son was in Australia but didn't need it after that so deleted it off my laptop. Will have to look in to reinstating it. Would have to pass on anything for this week anyway.

540, it's a uk blog, of mostly uk people, in the uk. competitions, most featured blogs are uk based. I remember when bfish won something, he said thank you but unless there was a round trip plane ticket, he would be unable to claim his prize. the international mobloggers do not read the forum. they probably have no idea what is going on. and if they do, they wonder what they can do from so far away. Me included.

That is a very valid point SW. Needs consideration someone!

I agree with that to a point, but a fair percentage of the core users are not uk based. Sites like facebook and twitter started in the US (I think), but I wouldn't think of them as US sites.

One of the things for discussion on moving forward, is where we are going to aim moblog. If we are going to be country borderless, then we need to ensure that we include international points of view from people such as yourself, Facto, Caine etc.

For me, that's a major point of the conversation for Thursday, where do we want moblog to go? I think if we lost the international input from you guys, the place would be a whole lot poorer :)

Internationalisation is built into Moblog2 but just never had the ON switched flicked.... We need translation of a lot of pages i guess.

Beyond that what features are necessary?

For one i think you should be able to set your own timezone. It would also be cool if you could filter incoming posts via country/network.

There must be a way to internationalise competitions - we just havent looked hard enough maybe...

agenda here - yikes!

http://moblog.net/view/903616/moblog-first-conference-call-agenda-thursday-20th-august-2000-gmt

jc, flick that international switch. Having prizes that appeal to everyone is not so hard as long as they can be delivered to the winner--but campaigns such as Red Nose day and the Shoot London are UK based and leave some of us as spectators. Bfish has translation available on his site because he is learning German, and his comments come in both English and Russian..can't think of another site that needs translation, but it would be a nice feature.

There are ways to internationalize the comps, Shoot London, or the Shoot Experience, do actually run the same idea in cities all over. They have a Shoot Vancouver for example. If the international guys were to take part in those, we could watch you for a change :)

Have a good meeting everyone - I'll be working so not able to listen in. Time is an issue for a lot of people at the moment, yourselves included I'm sure so thank you for setting all this up and getting balls rolling. Will look forward to finding out what's rolling in which directions later :)

As a kind of expat moblogger for now I feel bad I haven't met up with many US mobloggers so far. I hadn't really thought about it much before reading all this, but is there a way of finding other mobloggers in your current geographical location? I just tried doing a search for Rhode Island (where I am now) and found no-one I didn't know already. If there were a way to find 'local' people (without them feeling like they have a crazy stalker) it might be possible to organize more local moblog meets all over the world. Just a thought. Anyway, have fun tomorrow/later today.

Have a good meeting everyone - I'll be working so not able to listen in. Time is an issue for a lot of people at the moment, yourselves included I'm sure so thank you for setting all this up and getting balls rolling. Will look forward to finding out what's rolling in which directions later :)

As a kind of expat moblogger for now I feel bad I haven't met up with many US mobloggers so far. I hadn't really thought about it much before reading all this, but is there a way of finding other mobloggers in your current geographical location? I just tried doing a search for Rhode Island (where I am now) and found no-one I didn't know already. If there were a way to find 'local' people (without them feeling like they have a crazy stalker) it might be possible to organize more local moblog meets all over the world. Just a thought. Anyway, have fun tomorrow/later today :)

540, just so you know, I'd love to be part of the call, but I'm not set up for skype, and I don't have the necessary time or money to get it together for this call. I am paying attention, reading and writing on the forum, and looking forward to the new moblog biz group blog.

Oh, and sRose says: "Having prizes that appeal to everyone is not so hard as long as they can be delivered to the winner"

This is an important point. The winners of the Storyteller Comp here on moblog were supposed to win a bottle of wine. That never materialized in my case, and that was what, 2 years ago now? If there are going to be prizes, they not only need to be accessible by winners, (frinst., I can't hop a flight to wherever to pick something up) but deliverable as well.

Ok cool. Thanks for the feedback re: internationalisation.

Seems we really just need a post monkey. Like, y'know, a monkey that can post stuff via snail mail.

Also Lori is in the states most times, so there really is no excuse. I think she'd love some backup over there however small.

The crazy thing about the states tho is just how ridiculously huge it is. It's honestly difficult for us brits to conceive....

You should have had your winning photos on canvas too, Caine. I thought you received all of that?

Caine - Skype is a free download, the only thing you'd need would be a mic and speakers. I was using my little laptop as a phone when we all tried it out :)

Mandy - At work I have no mic, but if you just want a quick test to make sure the sound works, I can type a reply for you.

As far as international shipping goes, I regularly use couriers, so could deal with it as and when.

Caine - I am sorry to hear that, why didn't you tell me before? All the top winners had their wine sent to them unless they told me not to bother.

Because of stuff (see below) it was done much later than the comp, and each winner's wine was sent out at the same time as their photos (I still have Jokers and am hoping to get them to him when I can). I seem to remember you telling me that you had received the images so had assumed the bottle arrived too. It's a long time ago now. I might still have the Post Office Customs receipt but it'll take me a long time to dig it out.

Anyone - Since we're on that subject I'd like to air my perceptions of that comp... I had a lot of offers of help from people.. for help, PR, response with regards to queries to moblog PTBs etc. Some of it was given but a lot evapourated when most needed. If it hadn't been for the efforts of just two of the 8 or 9 who volunteered I'd not have managed to keep any commitments at all. As it was I had to dig into my own pocket and rely on generousity of those who hadn't made commitments to the competition to make most of it happen.

I'm not and never have been part of the moblog PTBs. I organised the comp believing that people would do what they said throughout the time they were needed. Most didn't. It's not a nice place to be.

I don't want to let people down but have to rely on others in the community to do things.

The reason I'm talking about this officially and for the first time now is because of what we're now trying to do. Life goes on and you expect some glitches in any project, but not to the extent that I experienced for that comp. Having help withdrawn with no notice, offered without commitment or consideration, having important emails left unanswered or any lack of communication (including having people not tell you when they're concerned, upset or annoyed about something) is not a good way to get things done and can sometimes cause more harm than good.

D's comment above is why I'm having reservations about my initial offer of help. I'm not sure if the skills I do have are useful to the community, and I don't want to offer, go along with it and then pull out. I'm not sure if I can make this evening's conference call, which makes me question whether I have the time to give what's needed. Hey, I'm even reconsidering typing this post as I'm *up to here* with work today and I can't get bogged down in an online, non-work discussion.

I'm posting though, because I figure there may be others like me - who have a lot of goodwill towards this site and want to see it continue- but are unsure if they are of help.

So - can I request one thing to be put on the agenda today or at least to be worked towards? Can we get a list not just of the roles required but of the numbers needed, skills required and time commitments? That way both volunteers and moblog can have realistic expectations of what each will put in. It's what we do at work for volunteers and it helps a lot to continue the goodwill!

I think that's a great idea but personally if someone thinks they could do an hour here and there with notice but might have to pull out and actually tell me that I can easily work with it.

I can also easily work with people saying 'look, I'm sorry, I told you I'd be able to do this regularly but this has come up and I won't be able to from xxx date'.

It's when I'm promised stuff that doesn't arrive or that is withdrawn with no notice that I get problems because I can't plan for it and don't have the time to set something in place.

So I'd really love to see people who might be able to give a couple of hours some time or other say so... Also Kel, I can think of several areas that I'll be working in where your skills would be invaluable...

Come on Kel, no ducking out allowed or we will taunt you!

I'm tied up today at work from now until after 7 PM EDT and won't have access to Skype, but I am completely interested and concerned. For my day-job I'm a business consultant for a very small investment bank, and, in the current circumstances, I'm sure you can imagine how busy that keeps me.

I'll be happy to contribute any brainpower I have to spare towards what I see as nearly entirely a funding issue, since, with the current employment issues facing the world, supplementing skilled labor really shouldn't be an issue.

I'll check in to see what's been discussed but I fear I won't be able to contribute much until afterwards.

The biggest hint I can give towards fixing the problem is to look for grant writers willing to work for a percentage of grant moneys wrangled and to document the focus on grass-roots community building, photographic composition, and citizen journalism. There should be a number of private foundations ready to support an endeavor with Moblog's track record.

[*]

Taunt away Nige! Nah- I'm not ducking out (as yet) I just thought I might not be the only one wanting to help but not sure how.

And if Dhamaka's already got some ideas in mind...

Kel & other offers to help - literally, it's a voluntary commitment of as much or as little, be it 10 mins a day or 1 hour a month. Whatever works for you. The concept behind defining teams is not to drop a shedload of work on people but simply to make sure that there is enough site backup in areas of support etc and everyone knows where to direct each other and is generally in tune with what everyone is trying to do.

If you look at all the collaborative things that have worked on moblog, they have all been flexible commitments with a drop in/drop out attitude. That's the spirit in which we'll continue.

It's more a case of lending brains & awareness and adding an intervention into your current moblog browsing routines. Nothing more at this stage. (unless you are really fired up and demand more!)

"I think that's a great idea but personally if someone thinks they could do an hour here and there with notice but might have to pull out and actually tell me that I can easily work with it."

Are you taking over residence as the head honcho of moblog now D? ;D

Totally agree with jc, tonight is about setting things in place that will help solve the issues and problems people have had and to see how we move forward.

I demand more!!!!!! only joking @-)

hehe
not at all 540, as I said in my comment, I am not and have never been one (also wouldn't be if you paid me). But I have volunteered for some stuff and since I take keeping my word very seriously felt that it was all important to say.

That's also why I said personally in the other post.

Despite the comp being perceived as a success, had things been different I am absolutely sure I could have made it much more (and also done a bigger, more prestigious better one the following year).... So I wrote all that because I would like to think that the community can benefit from that experience by being aware of it - and when I say "the community" I also mean me.

Cheers jc. I'll try and make tonight's call.

swamprose, nli.

my skype says it limits conference calls to nine people, plus the convenor.

is there a way around this?

Not sure, anyone?

Well 540 and I can share

Confirmed! Their online FAQ says 5 maximum but the client itself says 10 players in total.

so what to do ?

Actually I think you two should sit this one out SLG. This call should have just me, satan and his eight helpers.

punches nige violently in the arm, pokes toungue out then runs

Oh did I mention I hate violence !

lmao

I thought I was pure evil :-(

I type *very* fast.
So fast that when I go to conferences I type what most people say verbatim rather than bother to think about what notes to make. The only time I can't do this is when I'm talking.
So if anyone wants to watch me type what people are actually saying I'm happy to do that - just let me know who you are

btw I have just remembered - in previous Skype conference calls I've noticed that quality degrades with number of attendees and that those who join first have the best reception. I don't know what happens when one person sets it all up though

Wanders in better late than never :-). Thanks for the @mail nice twist on the pic above. I'm afraid im still phonebound untill begining of next month when new lappy arrives. Not around for the skype call this time but if there's another next week any eve then count me in (earthlad1), the forum doesn't allow mobile users to accept the terms an conditions so i can only read what's said. Not sure what i could possibly offer but interested and keen to help in anyway thats suitable.

:) good to hear from you Earthlad

Maybe someone here has experience of another free conferencing software?

maybe there's a lateral thinking workaround. Can anyone get to skype now for me to try something out?

JC said that he may be able to use a friends megameeting account, but he's unsure. Just totting the numbers i'm not sure we'll really have more than 10 anyway.

540, I don't have a mic or headphones, sorry. It sounds like you'll have your hands full anyway. I'll await results of the call.

Nige, it's as Dhamaka said. I did get my photos, over a year later. Dhamaka had been left in the lurch; I had no idea she was absorbing the cost of shipping my photos, which were very large. If I had known, I would have happily paid, and told Dhamaka so. Dhamaka makes a damn good point about organizing competitions - there needs to be commitment and follow through.

As for help, I'm happy to do whatever I can, if anyone thinks I have something of value to offer.

If you guys have time, please address the subject of copyright infringement, because Alfie is now defending it, and saying it is perfectly okay.

http://forum.moblog.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t;=6351

by my count these are the people listed for the call:

540/SLG
Dhamaka
JC1000000
nige
swamprose
beth
Viv
kostika
Alfie
lorifaye
Rhys
harimanjaro
paintist

I'm unsure if the last four will actually be on the call, so we will probably be okay this evening.

Caine - there was no way I was going to let you or anyone else do that. I considered it my fault for not having put into place sufficient contingency plans

spike said he'd join when he worked out his skypeid

I was planning to be on the call, but as numbers are a problem I'm happy to sit out of this one and get involved another time. I'll leave my Skype switched on in case anyone doesn't turn up.

I've only just got in and Dhamaka emailed me about this. I'm not sure what I can do to help but I'm willing and living in Ireland so, a non-Uk member.

Well, I would have. Had anyone pointed me via email.

WOW ... a LOT to catch up on just from these comments and truly sorry to have missed the call. The place I went said that they were up and running and nothing I did could get me to Skype on their wifi. Look forward to connecting next time. Also, as JC said, I am in the USA at the moment and giving out Moblog cards throughout S. Florida digital community as well as speaking with agencies and others about our capablities, also non-profits. I definitely need to pull together better documents to explain how amazing it would be for non-profits, for example, to be able to show what they are doing and have beneficiary voices share the value of their organisation, not to mention audience engagement benefit as well as SEO improvements by adding moblog to their site (at least subscriber if not Promoblog). Welcome sharing / hearing thoughts on USA market -- their camera phones are way behind but they really are amazed by our capabilities. Most never heard of audio blogging possibilities. Have a great weekend all!

I work until 2am and am usually up til around 3am, so I'm likely to keep our US mods company. So looks like you'll have me to deal with Caine :o)

Works for me, Kos.

b'elf. you were contacted by viv and you said that you were too busy with second life. none of this is by special invite. but we need all the help we can get, I know I'd like to have you on board.

uh no. I wasn't. and I'm *damned annoyed* that you or anyone would say that I said I was too busy in sl. the only thing that I got fom viv recently was about dhamaka. because I had my hands full with hydrox. but I have not told anyone I was too busy with sl and *no one* told me about this call.

Got to the comment now ladies

as I've said to B'elf - it was Beth that contacted the mods (on the email list) and informed them of the debate but not of the conference call.

I also said that communication is at the heart of moblogs problems..

as Dhamaka rightly said in a 3 way conversation with Nige and I yesterday - if people are feeling left out (this was in regard to the fact that the call would only take 10 people) 'it will *really* disenfranchise them' or as Nige interpreted it p*** them off

and that is just what has happened here because no-one has been responsible for communication and everything is all over the place - but it is what is being addressed and hopefully all this will change very soon - so ladies hold onto your hats! :)

Thank you.

:)

Thank you for clarifying this particular point, Viv.

Yeah, I mean I'm glad I haven't gotten to the point where I'm having conversations I don't remember.

Yes, I'm glad I haven't quite gotten to that point either.

I did not contact any of the moderators through the mod cc list. I only discovered that list just recently and only realised it could have been used to contact the mods -after- the event. I'm sorry this has happened. Once we are a more organised team we should hopefully be able to delegate tasks like this in a less haphazard way so we don't upset the community that we are striving so hard to save because we value it so highly.

I am totally lost and confused, what is going on.

*Hands in towel and steps back*

Good luck with it all.

Exactly 'puff. This is what we're going to sort out. After that, no more confusion. Well...

the power here has been out until now, so I had no chance to get in and apologise. To everyone, especially B'elf.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

big hugs to all xxx