Helping young professionals succeed in work and life
Open or Closed?
I've been chatting to a few Emergen members lately about the inability to show the inside pages of Emergen eg blog posts, events, challenges page to people who are not members .
So far we have kept it a private community, so that members can be assured that anything they write within the community is kept private from anyone who is not a member. However, some members want to showcase their blog post, featured interview with friends and family. So here's your chance to have your say.
Tell us whether you prefer the Emergen community to be closed (non-members can only see the front page) or open (non-members can click through to any page). Add your thoughts here.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Linda Le on -
Interesting question! I have had a few friends who clicked on Emergen but didn't like the idea of having to register, so they left the site. I think perhaps with that many subscriptions and email spamming, you can get a bit wary of what you sign up to.. so for that arguement - OPEN.
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Permalink Reply by Alicia Curtis on -
Hi Linda - thanks for your reply. Just to clarify, people would still have to sign to contribute to the website eg adding a comment, blog, event etc however they could have a better look around the website as a non-member and therefore maybe feel more comfortable in joining once they have a better understanding of what the website is about! At the moment, non-members can only access the front page of the website, but we can open it up so non-members could click through the entire website, but have to join to contribute. Registration allows us to eliminate spamming through the website.
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Permalink Reply by Linda Le on
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Not sure what everybody else thinks, but that's a great idea. Perhaps part open/part closed? e.g. member's profiles to be closed, and content opened?
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Permalink Reply by Janine Ripper on -
Hey - Good question Alicia.
MANY of my friends have commented on only being able to see the front page and nothing else, and not signing up, even with my continual selling of Emergen...frustrating I know! I think in allowing this it will open up the community to more activity and members - which is a good thing as I think at this stage it is needed.
So I'm for it being more 'open' for others to explore before registering. I still prefer the registration process to join as that keeps our community the way it is - safe, comfortable, like-minded people, no spamming, etc.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Culligan on -
I am in agreement with the below. Many that I forward on to complain about having to sign up to simply view the site. I think its fair to expect them to register should they wish to contribute in any way but in order to help "sell" the idea, people need to be able to have a look around and see if makes sense for them.
My two cents.
Adam
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Permalink Reply by Fayann D'souza on -
Hi Alicia, my vote would be OPEN - gives people more opportunity to have a look around and have to admit, it can be quite annoying to sign up just to have a look-see!
that's me -
Fay
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Permalink Reply by Chloe Jarvis on -
Hi all,
My personal preference would be OPEN; open to the point where non-members can click around the site and view all pages, but still have to sign in order to contribute any content. I think it will be an important step for building the Emergen Brand; potential partner organisations, sponsors and mentors are just som,e of the people I think of that we would love to show off to right?
I also think it will encourage greater membership if people can look through the website before they decide to join - a "try before you buy" experience if you like! Once people have seen what's available on the website and the fantastic dicsussions and blogposts on here, I believe they will be inspired to join and contribute.
Anyway, that's my two cents worth!
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Permalink Reply by Charmel Delos Santos on -
Can we nominate a blog post / content to be available for viewing by "everyone" or limited to members - you know like Facebook functionality to restrict visibility using the 'share" function?
I echo what the other members are saying for some content to be made available to others then maybe have "prime content" be available after registration.
Cheers!
Charmel
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Permalink Reply by Susan Broughton, CFP on -
Go open. We don't have anything to hide....
:-)
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Permalink Reply by Tiang Cheng on -
My vote is for closed. It's not about having anything to hide, or trying to get less people into emergen.
To me, a closed discussion group allows the members to have an open/honest discussion in a private arena. I may say or do things that would otherwise be controversial if taken out of context. That's not to say this 'club' is exclusive, because any one can join and then view the content. I think Seth Godin says it best.
"The Dip is a filter. It’s that barrier that separates the well-meaning amateurs from the professionals, the dividing line between average and best-in-the-world. When you start a project, it’s fun and you get a lot of support. When you break through the Dip, you’re seen as the one, the only, the go-to person. In between is the Dip."
Having a signup process creates a tiny artificial 'Dip', sorting through those well-meaning amateurs (e-warriors and keyboard dreamers) from the people that care enough to take the time and effort to sign up and join the community.
By opening Emergen to the great unwashed masses that is the internet, you lose control of your own content, your privacy, and the ability to have otherwise sensitive discussions about leadership.
If you have content that you wish to make public, you may want to run a seperate blog. Content like the IWD ebook also help to promote Emergen.
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Permalink Reply by Aaron Koo on -
I guess it depends on what you are after.
If you wanted to keep Emergen as an exclusive community, the registration system is a good way to filter out people who are genuine and keeps out spam etc..
However, if your goal is to grow Emergen and get it out to as many people as possible, it would be good to give people a "taste" on what Emergen has to offer by making the site open.
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