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Meeting People on PulseWire

by Corine Milano | September 18, 2007 at 2:58 PM

Corine Milano

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I'd like to know how I can meet people on PulseWire and what the best way is to network and collaborate with other members?

Thanks!

Comments

As I suspected, Corine, you're a natural!

You've zoned right in on the source of PulseWire's transformative potential with your questions about community, networking and online collaboration.

I'll address them in two parts, though, since the last one is a larger discussion that will end in my own call for help from our founding community.

Step One: Introduce Yourself to the Community

My first suggestion is to fill out your personal profile so that it fully represents your interests and goals. To do this, select "MyVoice" from the navigation bar at the top of this page. When your profile is visible (You many need to log in) select "Edit Profile," which is the first active link in the list of PulseWire Tools on the left.

Step Two: Share Your Voice and Vision

Don't be shy! Your public profile increases your networking power by displaying your identity and interests to all PulseWire members. Be generous with your details, and people will find you. If you wish to keep your identity private, select a "user name" that masks your real name, and fill in as many details as you can comfortably share. Hint: "Click here to edit additional information" opens an extra panel with space to share your passions, causes, challenges, inspirations, areas of expertise and more. The details you include will help others find you with a Community Directory search.

Step 3: Search the Directory and Browse Profiles

To initiate connections yourself, visit our Community Directory page and use the search box there to find others who share your interests: http://beta.pulsewire.net/user/directory.

To explore profiles and make friends, click on the usernames associated with profiles you'd like to view. On individual profiles, you'll find the option to "Add this member to My Community." Use this button to invite others to your personal network.

Additional networking opportunities will also arise as you explore group discussions and posts made by others. If you find a contributor you'd like to connect with, leave a comment under their post or visit their profile to access the invitation button.

More to follow on the question of collaboration...

Maria Jett, Online Community Director

Thanks, Maria! This helps a lot. I was also wondering if a user interest search is in the works? That might be a great feature to foster community and allow users to pinpoint who their most useful contacts are. If I want to find users by interest now, can I use the tag feature?

Again, great thinking!

As you astutely point out, it's essential for users to easily find and connect across time and space with those who have similar interests and concerns.

In future versions of the site, we'll be fine tuning our directory search to meet the needs voiced by the community.

For now, you have 2 options for building your PulseWire network:

Option One: The search bar on the Community Directory page can function as a "keyword" search.

Here's how:

1) In the search bar above the first user photo, enter a topic, location, cause or organization you are interested in and hit "search."

2) PulseWire will search the profiles of all registered users and show you a list of those who have included that word or phrase somewhere among their own interests.

3) Browse those profiles and invite potential contacts to become your friend or to join one of your group discussions.

Option Two: As you've guessed, Tags and "Popular Topics," can also help you locate "kindred spirits."

Here's how:

1) Throughout the site, you'll find content marked with descriptive "tags." Clicking on a tag will take you to a page that shows related PulseWire content. "Popular Topics" work the same way.

2) You can connect by leaving a comment in response to their post.

3) You can also find out more about the author by clicking on the username or photo displayed. Browse their information to find out if it's someone you'd like to have in your network.

Good luck, and do let me know how it goes!

Maria Jett, Online Community Director