IEEE Online Communities Status Update Presented by Deb Schiff for ITSC August 2005

IEEE Online Communities l Communities Statistics l New Initiative on Enhanced Collaboraton

Online Communities Statistics l More than 17,000 registered users (up 7000 since Jan. 2004) l 100 communities l Average 25 new users per day (up 5 per day since Jan. 2005) l 31 new communities created so far in 2005 (total number for 2004 = 31)

Community Leader Feedback l IEEE International Sales – “I find the virtual communities a very valuable resource for communication to our sales force and customers around the world...” l IEEE Education – “If the VC's were discontinued, we would be back at square one trying to find a way to promote online collaboration between engineers and precollege teachers.” l “I'm involved in six or eight of these communities. On the positive side, I find that they're easy as pie to set up, rarely go down or encounter problems, have a strong support staff in Piscataway that responds promptly and helpfully to questions or problems... Problem is, folks recruited to participate on these forums rarely do. It may be that we're too inundated with to want another way to communicate. It may be, too, that this is a cultural transition that will take time.”

More Feedback l IEEE Engineering Management Society – “IEEE's role is to serve society (reference the IEEE Consitution), not simply members... The VCs also serve as a good method to recruit new members; when folks see value they may be inclined to sign up. Even if they do not sign up, all folks provide valued input to the VC content and discussions. Staff support - essential. One of the aspects of IEEE which attracts and retains active volunteers is the staff support, infastructure, and resource materials available.” l IEEE Electrical Safety Fourm – “I most definitely believe that the IEEE Virtual Communities are of great value. I know that this V.C. has contributed to safer work practices for those who face the risk of electrical injury every day on the job. I can think of nothing that will replace it. I can also tell you that the profile of the IEEE has been greatly raised amongst those that have never heard of the IEEE as they are not engineers but front line managers, supervisors and workers. I know they appreciate the efforts of the IEEE and see it as a proactive, positive force. Effective communication is the future of any outstanding organization. I think the IEEE needs to be on the forefront of this technology.”

More Feedback l IEEE Power Engineering Society Forum – “Removal of the on-line community would be damaging for the reputation of the IEEE and retard the progress of those who use the community for standards development and education. Meeting attendances are going down and electronic communication is the way forward without involving travel - most companies do not willingly fund travel for standards work. The IEEE PES Forum is showing a steady growth, indicating it is fulfilling a need. Further, this growth is not the result of an advertising push. As the community grows there will be increased resources needed to maintain each forum - be that volunteers or IEEE corporate people. If extra resources are not forthcoming, the community experience will degrade and people will not participate.” l “A community is one way to locally support members who have a specific focus. An Internet application which provides follow-up after meetings, engages members, supports threaded discussions, allows information sharing, etc. would make the IEEE much more relevant to members. The Institute would provide services in a manner that more closely matches the needs of members... After all, the IEEE is not the BoD's, the staff's, TAB's or RAB's, but it is the member's. The IEEE must be responsive to their needs or we will lose them. A 20% yearly member turnover rate is not good.”

More Feedback l “The IEEE VC and other tools offer the capabilities for collaboration. If IEEE is to adopt a collaborative work environment then the leadership (BoD on down the food chain) must be the first to change the culture. Keep up the good work of the IEEE VC… it is one of the mechanisms we need for the transition toward a total collaborative working environment.” l IEEE Member Services – “Eliminating [the VCs] would be a real blow to Member Services. We use the community as a resource, communicating dept. information, using the calendaring functions, etc.... I think the VCs offer the easiest to understand interface for a given group, and are getting people to communicate where they wouldn't necessarily previously.” l IEEE Employment and Career Strategy Forum – “I believe the members would greatly miss this exchange. This community continues to thrive with over 2178 users to date with 206 different topics and 1566 postings. It allows our members to vent, share ideas and help people with employment and career issues with which they faced. We have had extremely positive feedback. ”

More Community Leader Feedback l “We at the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology find our VC hugely valuable. We use it for blog- like discussions of articles appearing in our publications, announcements of society events, society management activities, polls, new initiative proposal formulation, and, most important, to provide a means for non-US members to participate more actively in society affairs.” l “Do we need the VC? Yes. Is it worth it? YES. Is it right for everyone? No. One size does not fit all, but what we have fits most and can be a valuable asset for those who want and need it. As for those of us who "get it", it behooves us to go out there and teach as many as we can - from the top down for maximum effect. In the long run, they will come to us, not us to them.”

More Feedback l IEEE Region 9 Student Forums – “I think that VCs have an important influence in the future development of new members [in the younger] generation, because they are getting accustomed to using virtual ways to get contacts in every geographical location inside a region. I have used chat, discussions, calendars, images, and contributions tools; and let me tell you that as a student member, they were helpful for me, Because I had felt that I broken boundaries, I have met friends from Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Argentina, Brasil, Uruguay, and Chile. But the most important activity is that they publish their own student Branch activities in Latinoamericana Virtual Community.” l IEEE Committee on Earth Observation – “In our discussions in the CEO, there is a strong continuing interest in using the virtual community capability. It is important to us as we are a global committee and need the resources of the vc to effectively carry out our IEEE mission. I was surprised by the desire to close down the effort. I think this is the time it should be highlighted as a membership benefit. We are making an effort to expand our global presence and the VC capability can play an important role in moving this direction. I strongly advocate that the VC be continued.”

Enhanced Collaboration Environment Pilot New Initiative l New initiative proposes an enterprise-wide, integrated architecture with l Presence information l Web conferencing l Instant messaging l Video and audio l Team “rooms” l Shared folders l l File sharing l Target pilot groups l Staff l Volunteers l Various levels of members l Guests