Welcome to Version 2!

Welcome to Version 2 of i-volunteer! Since we launched we have received lots of feedback from members. Firstly many thanks for that feedback, it’s been invaluable, and has really helped us to take i-volunteer to the next level. Version 2 builds on the core blogging platform, adding enhanced connecting and networking features – including a unique feature to ‘head hunt’ available volunteers – along with adding events, documents and opportunities posting. We’ve outlined the key changes below. Please let us know what you think and do report any bugs or errors – we’re still evolving and there are bound to be some.

Once again many thanks for your support!

Profiles
All profiles get a new look with easier access to edit your information, add and find stuff. A new ‘full profile option’ enables you to add an extra information page about yourself which can include pictures, video and web links and we’ve added a new facility to upload and share documents.
Profile status
We’ve simplified these now into 1) a volunteer (including those that are thinking about or looking to volunteer) 2) someone who works with volunteers (eg volunteer managers) 3) an organisation – Version 1 profiles that were classified as both volunteer/those that work with volunteers have been reclassified as those that work with volunteers – but you can change this at any time. Organisation profiles can also label themselves as Volunteer Centres.
Organisation Profiles
Now you can create an Organisation profile. They operate in a similar way to personal ones but make it easier for organisations to have a presence on the site – this includes changing the contact details for an organisation when staff change. We have allocated organisation profile status to existing profiles based on information available – if you want to change your status from that allocated please contact us.
Settings now in Account
Located in the top right of the screen, this is where you can edit your profile and other settings from the handy drop down menu.
Walls
These have been improved and now enable you to have proper wall to wall discussions in a similar way to that found on other social networks – this includes removing and editing previous wall posts and posts that other people make on your wall.
Permalinks
A useful new tool, ‘permalinks’ mean that you can easily share wall posts/threads, images and documents through direct and permanent web links.
Home page
The new home page makes it easier to view your information. It includes a revamped Notices section - listing updates from people you’re following, updates from Groups that you are members of – plus latest news, and posts/people/opportunities that match your tagged interests, along with new events.
Location tagging
You can now find people, groups, events and opportunities by UK/nation/region and local authority area - this will soon be enhanced to include postcode searching too. Please add your location to your profile. Rest assured profiles will never display exact locations – even if you enter your full postcode – giving only a ‘rough location’ based on your post town or borough. Plus you can opt to ‘hide’ your profile location from public view – but be aware that others won’t be able to find you based on . Organisation, group, event and opportunity locations will show exact locations. Location tagging is an important feature of V2 as it will make it easier for volunteers, organisations ad volunteer managers to connect with each other. As i-volunteer is primarily a UK site, location tagging it is not yet set up for outside the UK; this is in plan for V3 and in the meanwhile we ask that non UK members leave the location field as blank.
Tags
As well as enhancing the site tags we’ve added new ‘skills tags’ for available volunteers and opportunities, and we have included a new feature for members to add their own. Tags are an important aspect of the site as they are key to finding stuff and people so: Profiles are now limited to listing 5 site interest tags and 5 skills tags (these include any tags of your own) to enable more focused content delivery – don’t fret, members that love everything to do with volunteering can still opt for the ‘everything’ tag on their profile! Groups and Members with more than 5 tags have been retagged as ‘everything’ - you can change this in your Account/Profile settings. Content, such as blog posts, opportunities and events, are limited to 5 tags maximum to ensure they are tagged correctly – you’ll notice we’ve also removed the general volunteering tag to encourage users to tag content more appropriately and ensure that tag searches are relevant.
News
News updates are now on your homepage with a direct link to the NewsHound profile so there is no need to follow NewsHound anymore, thereby cutting down on those annoying emails! We have therefore ‘unfollowed’ everyone from NewsHound’s profile. You can opt to re-follow NewsHound but this may create duplicate posts in your notice feed.
Posts
Normal community posts are now called blogs – community posts are called blog posts.
Add stuff
A new + tab on the top navigation bar enables you to quickly create and add any type of content – wall comments/links/images, blog posts, events and documents - to your wall/profile.
Find stuff
We’ve made it easier to search for and find people and content. First off is the new and enhanced site wide search function where you can search for anything – this is available on the home page and has been beefed up considerably so that results are more accurate and returned much more quickly. Plus we’ve added new bespoke search boxes to events, opportunities, connect profiles, posts and groups plus added search facilities for personal and group profiles so you can easily find your own stuff. We’ve also introduced new filters to main content sections – posts, groups, events etc – so that you can easily find what you’re looking for by location and tag.
Blogs
We’ve added a bespoke Blogs page which enables you to see all posts as they are made, plus you can now add a location to a blog post as well as filter blogs by location, tag and people that you follow – the same has been applied to Group blogs.
Image editing in posts/profiles
We’ve tweaked this slightly to make it easier to use – now you just click on the image itself to get options to resize etc.
Connecting and networking
We have added a new ‘Connect’ feature that will suggest new people to connect and share with based on your location or tagged interests. You can also browse member profiles and filter results by tag, location and organisation/volunteer manager profiles, and your followers/people following you as well as by available volunteers. We have also added events, document sharing and will soon be adding chat – this, along with the improved walls, will make it much easier to network and share information with colleagues, volunteers and others with similar interests.
Document sharing
You can now upload and share documents via your profile and via Groups and you can search for documents by title via individual profiles or across the i-volunteer community – almost all document formats are supported.
Groups
As well as adding document sharing for Groups – great if you’re a committee or volunteer team and want to easily share information with colleagues in a private or public way – we have enhanced the invite function and added a facility for Group admin to message all members. Groups can also create their own events and volunteering opportunities and they get the new Wall enhancements to enable easier sharing and discussion. In addition Group profiles have been updated to include links and location information, plus you can finally tag Group blog posts which will now show in blog searches, unless they are from a private group.
Events
New features to add events - which can be filtered by date, location and tag and can be downloaded into your Outlook calendar – plus you can send invites within the community and see who is attending.
Email Notices
We’ve simplified this and made it easier to select what you want to be notified about.
Find/promote available volunteers
This unique feature enables volunteers to promote their availability to other members looking for help – useful if you can’t find what you want or don’t really know what you want to do yet. Simply activate your available ‘Volunteer Status’ in your Account settings, add skills tags and you’re ready to go. Make sure you also edit your profile to include your experience, your interests and what you are looking to do – you can even upload your CV using the documents feature – and ensure your location information is up to date in your profile. Volunteer recruiters can find available volunteers in the Connect section – results can be filtered by location and both interest and skills tags. Volunteer status can be changed at any time.
Find/promote a volunteering opportunity
Following tons of requests from existing and potential members, we’ve revamped the ‘Volunteer Now’ section so organisations and group profiles can create and post volunteering opportunities for would be volunteers to search through. Opportunities can include images and YouTube videos and can be tagged with both interest and skills required. Volunteers can filter results by location, skill/interest tags and can ask questions or discuss by writing on the opportunity wall.
Help hints
We’ve added these across the site to help you make the most of the new functions – you can leave them there until you get used to the new site then hide them when you no longer need them.

Coming very soon...

Log in with other social network and email IDs
You’ll soon be able to log in using Facebook and other social networks and email accounts - we’ll let you know as soon as this is live.

And as if that was not enough we’ve also updated the i-volunteer logo – phew!

So what Now?

Update your profile with your location and have a look around to site. If you’re looking to volunteer then set your skills tags in your profile and activate your volunteer status as ‘available’ and update your profile to include what you’re looking for and your previous experience so recruiters can find you.

Have fun!