Keeping in Touch
Do you want to stay in touch with other Minnesota Master Naturalists, but don't know of a good way to do so? Perhaps you may want to ask for advice on native plants or bird identification? Maybe you would like to paddle a canoe in the Mississippi River Challenge event and need to recruit a partner? You may wish to share your wildlife photos with your friends in the MMN program.
Where can you go to make and maintain these types of contact?
The Minnesota Master Naturalist program has created a social networking site to provide just such opportunities.
Ning
At a meeting of chapter officers at the 2010 MMN Annual Conference, the state MMN representatives announced the creation of a new social network for Minnesota Master Naturalists. This network uses the Ning.com service. We we told that this site will be the only web platform supported by the state organization. They did not want to discourage us from creating and maintaining our separate chapter websites (like this one), but wanted us to know that it would be impossible for them to provide expertise and technical support for these. In order, then, to provide a public web space that can be used by chapters to promote themselves and to provide information to their members, they have created the Ning MMN social networkworking site.
Those of you who have used social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and others will recognize some similarities at Ning. One big difference is that membership in the MMN-specific sub-site of the Ning network is open only to qualified users: Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteers and others who are associated with the program. (Note, however, that content posted at the site is publically-accessible. One must be a registered member to participate--to post comments, photos, etc--but the site itself it open for browsing by anyone on the Internet.)
The site is up and running, and we have created a TCCMMN group there. The first of our upcoming events has been posted on the calendar there. Some early-adopting MMNs have created profiles and photo albums there. A few special interest groups already exist, including "Raptor enthusiasts," "Insect enthusiasts," and "Herp enthusiasts."
What Features are Available on the Ning site?
Along with other features, you may
- Create a profile, including an optional profile photo
- Post notices, and start and/or participate in discussions
- Contribute photos and create photo albums
- Participate in and/or create new "interest groups"
- Send messages, public or private, to other participants
How to Access the Ning Social Network
The web address for this site is
minnesotamasternaturalist.ning.com
To get started, click on the "Sign Up" link. Since membership on this site is "closed" (limited to MMNs), your account must be approved by the site moderator. Within a couple of days, you should receive an email confirmation of your membership. At that point, you will be ready to participate.
There will always be a link to this site from our homepage here at TCCMMN.org. Look for the link to "TCCMMN Group @ Ning".
There is a link to Ning on the Minnesota Master Naturalist web pages, but it only appears on the menu to logged-in users of the MMN site. Look for the link to "Social Network."