[NCUC E-team] Mailing lists

Mon Jan 21 20:27:57 CET 2013

Hello everyone,

I am very sorry my call with you was cut short. My hangout was 'ended
because of an error'. 'Reason code 3' was the reason. I'm not sure
what that means - there are a range of possible explanations on Google
Groups.

Anyway, I have more suggestions with regards to the website. I think
we should create a website navigation flowchart to show how individual
pages will link to each other. It will help us minimise the number of
links a visitor must click to reach any part of the site as well as
see how logical the navigation is. It will also assist with the
design, usability, content and layout of the site and each individual
page.

I will endeavour to get Google Hangout working in time for our next
conference call.

Thanks everyone,

Sarah

On Mon, Jan 21, 2013 at 5:36 PM, Edward Morris
<edward.morris at alumni.usc.edu> wrote:
> Hello everybody.
>
> First, thanks to Tapani, Wilson, Brenden, Bill and everyone else who worked
> so hard this weekend to get the constituency revitalization process up and
> running. It augers well for the coming year.
>
> A week or two ago Bill made the suggestion that we take a look at the web
> presence of some of the other constituencies. Answering that call, Sarah and
> I spent a bit of time last week doing just that. What follows is largely my
> impression of what we thought and talked about as we looked at the sites. I
> need to state at the outset that what follows comes from me alone. Sarah
> will be on the calls, is far more intelligent than I could ever hope to be
> and, I'm sure,  will be able to correct me where I'm wrong and expand, if
> necessary, on items where I've been too brief.
>
> My interest in the work of this committee stems largely from my role as
> Co-ordinator of the Inreach and Outreach committees. To be successful in
> those responsibilities I really need this committee to do great work. I
> stand ready to be accused of focusing my ideas in this committee on style
> rather than substance. I will plead guilty to such "crimes". What I learnt
> in my past life as a political consultant is that unless I package the
> candidate (the product) properly her ideas (substance) will never be heard.
> Similarly,  if our e-presence doesn't entice interest and respect our
> chances for growth and influence are greatly diminished. This is
> particularly true in the new "efficient" "businesslike" ICANN our CEO is
> intent on delivery to the community.
>
> Although this is the e-platform committee, I'd suggest in considering our
> message we need to create a brand identity that is consistent across all
> communications modalities. I'd love to have a slogan, "the heart of the
> internet" is my favourite, but I fear rendition to ALAC were I ever to
> propose such a crass commercial approach. Still, I'd like to suggest we need
> common messaging across all platforms. For example, I expect we'll be
> producing a brochure as part of our outreach efforts.The brochure should
> reflect our website and vice versa. As such, it might be a good idea to run
> our design and content ideas by our Communications committee (which, I
> believe, Sarah is also a member of) for comment before going live.
>
> BTW if anyone likes the idea of an all encompassing slogan I would happily
> prosecute, and pay all fees associated with the prosecution, a trademark
> application for the slogan.
>
> The one area I deviate from my style over substance orientation (hey, ICANN
> is based in Los Angeles, the home of this perspective) is in development of
> our work space. Every active member I've spoken to tells me we need to do
> better in enhancing notification of opportunities, deadlines and in the
> provision of collaborative workwear. That's why I am so, so, very, very
> happy Avri has joined our Committee. She knows the problems better than
> anyone and I suspect might have a few suggestions. I will likely support
> anything Avri suggests in this area.
>
> As to specifics of our examination of various web presences:
>
>
> 1. Social Media
>
> For the record, the NCUC does not have a Facebook presence. NCSG does  (
> http://www.facebook.com/groups/64248280811/ )  and my recommendation to the
> NCSG EC is that it be archived and taken down. There is great history on
> that site but social media is about the here and now. An outdated Facebook
> page that is not kept up regularly is a stain upon , rather than a benefit
> to, the organisation that created it.
>
> I do believe there is a role for Facebook at the NCUC, but not as a constant
> web presence for our organisation. Rather pages should be created when there
> is an issue of high saliency our Constituency is taking a lead on. For
> example, the IOC/IRC dispute may have been such an issue. Then FB could be
> used to blog positions, updates, vents and to allow for the collaboration
> and participation, as well as education, of non NCUC members. To give credit
> where due, David Cake introduced me to this model of FB use and tells me it
> has been successful for EFF Australia. One request: Everything we do on
> Facebook should be replicated on VK. I'm very interested in expanding our
> CIS presence and VK is the dominant social media platform in that part of
> the world.
>
> The NCUC does  have a #NCUC Twitter handle and, apparently,  a Twitter
> account. We should determine who has privileges thereof and make sure they
> are given to Wilson, a Chair of the e-Team.
>
> A rule of thumb in the commercial world is that a tweet roughly every day is
> needed to maintain a respectable Twitter presence. We do not have the
> resources to do this. I would suggest, however, that we deploy Twitter at
> ICANN meetings and other IG events with a substantial NCUC presence. So much
> is going on in these meetings that it would be useful to position Twitter as
> a sort of alert system, both for those at the meeting and for those
> participating remotely. In fact, remote participants are better positioned
> than those at the meetings to follow multiple sessions and it might be a
> good way to better involve them in the process.
>
>
> 2. Current NCUC Web Presence
>
>
> The thing that shocked me when assuming my position on the EC was how
> dysfunctional many things were. I still am unsure as to the validity of
> specific governing documents. I'm amazed that anything got done under the
> old structure and admire those who made it work. That said....
>
> http://ncuc.org/
>
> Our basic website has little to recommend it. It needs to be archived and
> given a nice burial in Internet heaven.
>
> The homepage itself is unattractive. It is cluttered, contains too much
> text, and requires a lot of scrolling. That is not acceptable. Visuals are
> not properly positioned for maximum impact. The blog is not updated
> regularly, giving the impression of an organisation that is anything but
> energized and vital. The my pages section is not intuitive. Repetition: The
> front page is repeated on the deeper pages. There is no need or reason for
> this.
>
> We need to start anew.
>
> https://community.icann.org/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=8945848
>
> In the ideal world our goal should be to host and develop our web presence
> completely independent of ICANN. The world is not ideal. If we're to
> continue our use of Confluence we need to determine it's relationship with
> our principle web site and not duplicate our efforts. The BC for example
> does just that    https://community.icann.org/display/gnsobc/Home      and
> I'm not convinced such duplication is a good idea.
>
>
> Should the Committee chose to continue to use Confluence I'd suggest it be
> positioned for internal use only, document storage, work product and the
> like. The design is pretty much prefabricated so really is not an issue.
>
> http://gnso.icann.org/en/about/stakeholders-constituencies/ncsg/ncuc
>
> Of note, we also have a descriptive page on the GNSO portion of the ICANN
> site.
>
>
> 3. Short commentary on the web presence of other constituencies
>
>
> http://www.npoc.org/
>
> A bit amateurish, but certainly a step up from our web presence.
>
> Poor use of colours: black/blue merge at the top. Too much text: again, use
> of bullet points suggested. Poor visuals, no video or images.
>
> On the positive side, very intuitive use of lists on the left side of the
> page.
>
>
> http://www.bizconst.org/
>
> Again, a bit amateurish in design: nothing lines up to create visual
> constancy.
>
> On the positive side, very intuitive to use, comprehensive and I think the
> idea of a quarterly newsletter is one that is worth considering.
>
>
> http://www.ipconstituency.org/
>
> Basic, but perhaps the most professional.
>
> Clean, uncluttered homepage. Scrolling not needed.
>
> Has password protected member access section. If we're going to have a "work
> in progress" section of our web site this is something we might want to
> consider.
>
> Has search function (+) but it should be on the top of every page, not just
> the home page.
>
>
> As we start the process of revitalizing our e-presence I wanted to share
> these ideas with you. Look forward to getting started and working with
> everyone to develop our web presence in a way that will maximize the NCUC
> presence and impact at ICANN and throughout the wider internet governance
> ecosphere.
>
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