Helpful Tips

1. Member Directory: Access your "Profile" page by directing your browser to the link below. This will be your industry professional profile.
   
   
2. Add your photo:
   

   Adding a photo to your profile is simple. To begin, make sure the photo is a maximum of 600x600 pixels. You can easily re-size your photo in Microsoft Windows. On your computer’s desktop, select

   Start -> Programs -> Microsoft Office -> Office Tools -> Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

   Once you open Microsoft Picture Manager, make sure the top of the screen shows “100%” as the view. Sometimes a photo appears smaller than it actually is because it is zoomed out. Once you have zoomed to 100%, select “Edit” and change the size accordingly.

3. Update your bio:
   

   Your bio doesn’t have to be pages long, just a paragraph or two. Try giving a brief history of your career and achievements. This is not supposed to be a resume per se (save that for the Career Center), but it is supposed to give people a snapshot of your professional history.

4. Select your interests, certifications, education and job history:
   

   The Community allows you to update all of this information on the same page. Updating these selections can be very beneficial to you as a member. For example, if you select the interest "Airbourne", the system will create a network of "like" people who have selected this same interest. You will see the link to various networks in the left-hand column. This also applies to careers (people who work or used to work in the same company), education (people who went to the same University or college), certifications and location (city and state/province). By updating your profile, you will be expanding your network and broadening opportunities.

5. Recent visitors:
   

   View who has recently visited your profile by looking at the "Recent Visitors" heading over the left-hand side of your profile, directly under your photo. Also, see the number next to the "Recent Visitors" heading to see the total number of visitors your profile has received.

6. Browse your networks:
   

   Take a look at the other dynamic networks which have been created for you based on information such as your chapter, interests and communities. All are displayed below your picture, at the bottom of the left column. To see a more detailed view, click on "Groups" at the top of the page. Once you have selected “Groups”, you will be directed to a new page. Simply scroll to the bottom of that page to see the numbers of people in your networks.

7. Build Groups/Communities:
   

   Traditionally, an Association providing Member benefits would create groups in which its members could interact and participate. Our new Community platform allows members to create their own groups and invite whoever they wish to contribute. If you have an interest which is not yet served by our community try doing the following two things:

   1. Go to the communities home page
   2. Select "All"
   3. Try using the "Advanced Search" option to help you sort and filter the results. If you see a group you are interested in, feel free to join it!
   4. If you don't find your interest area, create your own community by clicking on "Create a New Community". There are variations of communities, such as a Book Club or a Working Group, but you should choose the Community which is most appropriate for you.
   5. While on the "Communities" page, scroll to the bottom to view your dynamically created networks. If you don't see any, ensure you have updated your profile. Once you have updated, the networks will appear. Please note, if you add "Your Contacts", "Potential Contacts" and "All Members" together, it may appear to be off by one member. This is because you are not considered one of your own contacts.

8. Inbox
   Click on your Inbox in the Directory to view any:

   1. Messages sent to you
   2. Contact (friend) Requests which you have not responded to
   3. Community/Group Invitations which need to be accepted or declined

   You can also reply/delete, mark as unread, etc. any outstanding messages.

9. My Contacts:
   Browse your contacts to see who you have established a relationship with professionally. You can also see who has sent you a contact request or accepted one which you've sent to them. You can also see any who have not responded.

   The "My Contacts" system provides you the ability to rate your contacts. This is only for your personal use and cannot be seen by others.

10. Add Contact(s)/Find Contact:
    

    The new Member Directory allows you to search member profiles.

    1. Try searching for a peer by first and/or last name. Try adding them as a contact. Once you add them, they will receive notification of a contact/friend request.
    2. Try a new search, but this time scroll to the bottom of the search screen and explore people based on "likeness".
    3. In addition, likeness is based on criteria such as certifications, interests or location. In order for it to be accurate, you should ensure your "Professional Social Profile" is up-to-date.

    Note: The more search criteria you enter the fewer results you will get. For example, try putting someone whose name is “Bobby” as “Bob”, because a search for "Bob" will include anyone whose name is "Bobby". As a general rule, you should leave most fields blank - perhaps just search by last name and the first initial of the person's first name.

11. Set your Privacy/Notification Preferences:
    When in the Member Directory area, you will see a navigation link for "Preferences". This is where you set your email notification preferences for the Member Directory, such as community or contact requests. This is also the screen where you specify which parts of your professional profile should be visible to the public, including search engines. The choice is yours as to what you want to display to your contacts, other members or the public. Since this profile will be part of your online professional resume (similar to LinkedIn) we recommend reaching the widest audience possible by making as much of your profile public as your feel comfortable with.

12. Create a Blog:
    Despite popular belief, blogs do not have to be long. To get started on your blog, go to the "Blogs" tab in the Directory and click on "New Blog" on the right-hand side of the screen. Create a one or two paragraph blog simply providing a high-level view of what is most interesting to you in our community.

    One important feature of the blog is related to the permissions. As a member, you choose who can see your blog posting when you create the entry. You can decide whether you want the entry to be publicly searched using online search engines), or if you want to restrict access to members only.

    While in the blog area, select "Most Recent" and browse through the latest member created blog entries. Remember to rate and comment on them when appropriate.

    We'll be giving all our new bloggers some great exposure over the coming months with a new "Blog Roll" which will be on our homepage. This new feature will display the latest and most popular blogs from our members.

13. Glossary:
    Go to the Glossary by selecting "Community", then "Glossary Terms" in the left-hand menu. You may also direct your browser to the following link:The glossary is a place to enter terms, phrases and acronyms from our industry. We now need your help to ensure it is up-to-date.

    1. Search for a term:
       Search for a term, phrase or acronym which you are knowledgeable of or very familiar with. Click on the phrase in the search results, and if you think it can be updated, click on the “Edit” link on the right side of the screen (this will only be visible if you are logged in as a member). Make any necessary edits and click “Save”. Thank you for your contribution! You've now helped maintain the glossary.

    2. Add a Term:
       If you can't find what you are searching for in the glossary, you can click on "Add Word/Phrase" located on the glossary homepage. By selecting this link, you can add the word or phrase you want to become an addition to the glossary.

    3. Request a Definition:
       If you want to see the definition of a term or phrase, from the glossary homepage, click on “Request a Definition”. This allows you to enter the term in much the same way as you would add a new one. At the bottom of the screen, give the entry a status of "Needs Definition". By selecting “Needs Definition”, other members who are familiar with this subject will notice the request, and be willing to share their knowledge with you and others.

14. Resource Libraries:
    Enter the “Resource Libraries” area of the site by selecting "Community" then "Resource Libraries" in the left-hand navigation.

Select a resource library by locating it in the list, then selecting the link.

1. View a shared entry by clicking on it.
2. Rate the entry by clicking on the star ratings indicator.
3. Add the entry to your Favorites by selecting “Add to Favorites”.
4. Add a comment and/or related link to the entry.
5. View the "most viewed" documents by clicking on the "Most Viewed" tab at the top of the page.
6. View the "Top Scored" documents by clicking on the appropriate tab at the top of the page.

1. Search for all documents by file type by selecting the specific file you would like to view across all libraries.
2. Search for all documents by subject or industry by selecting your desired “Tag.”
3. Add a Document/File by selecting the “Add Document” tab at the top of the “Search Library” page.
4. Enter the title and a brief description of the file you are sharing, select your preferred library, the select “Save”.
5. Upload the file(s). It is recommended to give them a “friendly” name, especially if the uploaded item contains a meaningless file name.
6. Add appropriate tags/keywords to help others find the shared files.
7. Select which "Creative Commons" license you wish to allow.
8. Save/Continue to upload the file.
9. Enter the Resource Library location where your document was uploaded and to confirm it is shown.

16. eGroup Discussions:
To access the "Discussion Groups” area, select “Community” on the homepage, then choose "Discussion Groups" in the left-hand navigation.

1. Become Familiar with the Discussion Groups:
   Take a look at the homepage to get a general idea of the types of Discussion Groups available and their activity. From the homepage you can see how many postings there are and when the last message was posted, as well as the number of documents attached to each Discussion Group. Click on the "Info" link to the right of the individual Group, under “Actions” to see more information about the respective groups.

2. Post a Test Message and Attach a Document:
   

   As a test, try clicking on the "Post" link to the right of the "Support, Feedback and Questions" eGroup. You will be prompted to subscribe to the eGroup when you access it for the first time. Select "Real Time HTML mode" so you will receive the email immediately.

   Type in a brief test message, such as "this is a test", with a similar subject line. Attach a test document (preferably Word, but any will do). “Tag” the document and click “Send”.

   After you receive the message and confirm you can access the test document, click on the link next to the message entitled "My Subscriptions". Here you can change your preferences to either “No Email” or “Daily Digest”, whichever makes you feel more comfortable.

3. View Messages from the Last 24 Hours:
   Go to eGroup homepage and click on the shortcut links in the upper right-hand side of the page to view messages posted from the last 24 hours, seven or 30 days.

4. Click on your industry eGroup and post a brief message introducing yourself to your community of peers. When browsing through an eGroup, you should see a link at the top of the page entitled "Post Message" which can be used as a shortcut to post your response/discussion.
5. When viewing an eGroup message, click on "Blog This" to write a brief blog about the message.

Please note that if you have chosen to receive your eGroups messages via an AOL email account, you will not be able to download the larger attachments directly from the emails. This is due to an AOL Mail software/compatibility issue.  To work around this, visit the eGroup's corresponding Resource Library on this site and download the attachments from there.