Heritage Groups Offered Free Web Pages: Creating Community Spaces in 2008

Are you a member of a heritage preservation group that wants a website but thinks one would be too complicated and expensive? Or, if your group has a website, how long has it been since it’s been updated? How much are you paying?

What if it were possible for you to go to your computer right now and create your own web page in less than 10 minutes? I’m talking about a page that is as easy to use as your favorite word processing software. No cost. No strings. And with a built-in audience.

You can! By using the “groups” function on the Natchitoches Preservation Network site, you can create a website that tells the world about your organization and gives your members a place to discuss activities and ideas.

Creating a Group Page

Here’s how to do it:

Join the Natchitoches Preservation Network website at https://natchitochespreservation.ning.com and click the word “Groups” in the title bar. You will see a list of the sixteen existing heritage groups that already have a page. Click “Create a Group” in the upper right-hand corner of the Groups page.

This will bring you to the page to set up your group’s information. Start by providing your organization’s name and a brief description of it. You will also be asked for an “Image.” This is ideally a logo, but any descriptive photo will do.

The field called “Group Address” gives you your own web address so your members can go directly to your group page. This field may already be filled out based on the organization’s name. However, you can simplify it or change it to whatever you like.

Finally, if you already have a website, there is a place to provide it. Then, provide the organization’s location. This can be your specific mailing address, or simply your town.

Discussion and Sharing Tools

The next thing you will notice is the section called “Features.” By default, three features are selected: Comments, Discussion Forum and Text Box.

The “Discussion Forum” function will be the heart of your group, letting you and your members post news and put up ideas for discussion. The “Comments” feature allows folks to respond and express their opinions. Hey, if this saves you having to go to a meeting or two, it’s well worth it!

The “Text Box” will allow you to further describe your group’s purpose and activities. It can also handle HTML web code, giving your page a little added flexibility.

“RSS Reader” is not checked by default, but it is worth adding to your feature set. RSS stands for “really simple syndication,” and allows people to “subscribe” to your page through an application like Google Reader, or to have your latest news automatically delivered to their internet start page.

For groups that would rather keep their discussions confidential, the “Privacy” feature can be set so your page is accessible by invitation only. Just keep in mind that no one else will be able to see any part of your group page.

And the “Messages” function allows any member of your group to send a message to all members. It’s a quick and easy way to send out those meeting reminders. And don’t forget, you can always comment to individuals on their profile page or by using the site’s e-mail function.

That’s all you need to set up. Just click the “Create Group” button. The next page you see will allow you to input the e-mail addresses for members of your group to invite them to your new page.

I’ll look forward to seeing what you create!