The Climate Networks Platform: Enabling Mass Collaboration for the Climate Movement

Facilitated by Leif Utne, Zanby

Leif will demo ClimateNetworks.org, a shared social network Zanby built for the climate movement that enables deep collaboration between grassroots members of multiple organizations in support of their offline action on climate policy, while preserving each org's control of its brand and member list. Currently, 1Sky.org, Energy Action Coalition, Focus the Nation, and Consequence09 are live on the system, with more coming soon.

Session Notes

Background on Zanby
Intro: Welcome to Zanby Land, I am part of sales team. It is based in Minesota. It is a proprietary platform that was built from scratch. Typically we host it but we don’ t have too. Climate network platform: clears two of the biggest hurdles for coalitions to coordinate. Organizations never want to give up control of their brand or membership lists.
Question from group: Do you guys use open ID?

Online Demo of general site
Slide: entire copy of the Zanby platform
Functionality: Users- group – group family –
Satellite Community: Each group family can be served out as a distinct out as outside website (each have their own corporate website)
Zanby is fully customizable front to back. Back end, you can integrate other databases such a fundraising.
Business logic layer:
Admin consol: you can administer the back end of the entire system
Zanby started out as free alternative of Meetup.com
The businesss model could create group for free, but had to pay a small fee to create group family. BUT people wanted it white label, they wanted their own site.

Online Demo: Example of Zamby Application with the Climate Movement
- 1 sky bought the base line: climate networks.org (private space, around dozen people have it
- Of the climate network base, separate branded satellite organizations
EXAMPLE: 1sky.org is their main site. (get local tab takes you to branded summary group page
Number of content object., very easy to customized
Users can customized their own page. Group administrator can customized their own group.
EXAMPLE: Energy Action Coalition Group Family
Ability to share content across all: network – group – group family
There are No wikis
Consequence 09: recently joined (project of Sierra Club)
Latest thing; Facebook connect
OpenID versus Facebook Connect: Have identity tied to commercial site, coffee hour topic.
QUESTION: Is there a way to do a mashup with other sites? Yes, we do not have an API exposing our own group and event data. In terms of content sharing, you can see 1sky event and Energy Action Event on the same map, pretty amazing!
When you register through 1 sky, only 1sky has the info. Organizations can get members together, collaborate but organizations cannot spam each other groups. User databases are synced every night.
Each member family can have a customized marker.
You can create repeating events
You can attach a document to an event
You can maintain version control on some document (check in, check out), download read only copy
List: you can create interactive list (list of music, staff, who will..). Shared list with groups.
Attached it to event. User can rank items on lists.
User profile: Ajax (You can customize it). You can add RSS feed on your profile. Feed can include media: podcast, photos from flickr. Script object: to create your own widget, can create own mashup
Other Zanby clients: the Uptake, Finnegans
Admin side: you can browse through all the members. See all the groups info, privacy settings.
Groups: there are different privacy setting