Research Cooperative Review, Issue 26 (31st April, 2014)

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Research Cooperative
01/05/14 09:47:24PM
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The Research Cooperative

A message to all members ( RCR 26)

Greetings from Kyoto (Spring).

Update

Our hosting company, Ning, has asked me to shift the network to the new Ning 3.0 system from the current Ning 2.0 system.
This might be a bumpy ride, with all of our members on board the bus. We are not heading for another planet, but getting from this side of the mountain to the other side might involve some scary uphill and downhill winding roads.
I know about such roads in the literal sense, from fieldwork in Southeast Asia.
Our network may experience bumps but without the magnificent views. Sorry about that.
Please be patient, and please do send me your frank comments or advice at any time.


Review

Who or what is Ning? Here are some snippets from the Wikipedia entry on Ning :

" Ning is an online platform for people and organizations to create custom social networks, launched in October 2005."

(That's four years after I first started trying to try building an interactive 'self-building database' of members for the Research Cooperative).

"Ning appeals to people who want to create their own communities and social networks around specific interests with their own visual design, choice of features and member data. The central feature of Ning is that anyone can create their own social network for a particular topic or need, catering to specific membership bases or community needs."

"A Ning community can integrate with online services like Facebook, Twitter, and Google.... people can join a Ning Network using their Facebook or Twitter account, and share content from a Ning Network directly to their [other] accounts."

"Ning, Inc. is owned by Glam Media and... has its headquarters in Palo Alto, California [USA]."

Well, that's all fine and dandy, but Who is Ning? For me, Ning is a great group of staff at the support desk who patiently answer questions from hundreds or thousands of network creators. They can't always make me happy, but they do what they can. They don't own the company, but they are the public face.

Announcement

Sometime in the next few weeks I will begin the transition.The Ning 3.0 system is still under construction at Ning, but now has most of the features we need to build a new home for The Research Cooperative.

I am not sure how much time this will take, and how much time I can give to the transition, in between work obligations at the Museum.

There might be no visible change while the new site is being set up. Meanwhile, we can continue using the present site as usual.

Thanks in advance for your patience with the transition.

Yours sincerely, Dr Peter Matthews (Admin., Kyoto)

ps.

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