News
imagineCALGARY Update March 2009
   
 
imagineCALGARY Creates Social Networking Community

Over the past few months, the imagineCALGARY website has been built up with more and more content and services. This expansion includes the addition of a social networking focus. “We really want to allow for as much connection and collaboration around issues of sustainability and imagineCALGARY as possible,” says John Lewis, Coordinator of the Communications and Awareness Committee. “In order to do this, we felt it was important to use social networking technology that allows people to follow their interests and connect on their own.”

imagineCALGARY’s social networking site works with the Ning system, offering people a chance to share information, perspectives and discussions. The need for a social networking focus for the Partnership has evolved over time. In fact, recent studies have shown that social networking sites have now surpassed email in terms of popularity.

“The social networking site really is a reflection of the imagineCALGARY Partnership itself,” says Debbie Korzeniowski, Co-coordinator of the imagineCALGARY Steering Committee. “The Partnership is focused on enabling organizations and individuals to lead and act where they can. The social networking site puts the power to connect in the hands of our Partners and interested individuals. This is directly inspired by our vision, which is built on the theme of connections.”

There are a number of new groups and discussions happening on the imagineCALGARY social network, including:

Inspiring Action, Collective Results – prompted by the January Peer Learning event, a discussion has started to answer the question: “Do you have your own story of championing sustainability that you would like to share?”
Coordinators Corner – each month, the Coordinators from each of the imagineCALGARY Committees will post updates on the progress of the Steering, Collaborative Action and Communication and Awareness committees and share their reflections on sustainability.
Question of the month – this new feature will spark discussion on what imagineCALGARY Partners have learned in their work in implementing sustainability. This month’s question is: What is the best way you’ve found to make the case for sustainability in your organization?

Joining the imagineCALGARY social networking site is simple. Just follow these three easy steps:

1
Go to www.imaginecalgary.ning.com
2
On the right hand side, click “sign up.” You will be asked to provide an email address and a password, plus answer a few questions about your areas of interest.
3
That’s it! As a member of the network, you can contribute your thoughts and increase the connections that will help us learn and move towards the future outlined in the imagineCALGARY Plan. Contribute to the discussions, add videos and events and help share your thoughts on sustainability.

“Just like taking action on the imagineCALGARY Plan, we want to put the ability to communicate and connect in the hands of our Partners,” Debbie says. “With this social networking site, we have taken a great step to do that, and we hope Partners will take advantage of this opportunity. The more everyone contributes, the more everyone will get out of it.”