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Slides and audio available: How to Organize Your School Online

Published October 15, 2009 Big Features Leave a Comment
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How to Organize Your School Online artwork

Missed our free webinar for school group leaders? No worries, the slides and audio are now available:

PDF copy of the webinar slides. View and download all 10 tips in one easy document.

Audio recording of the webinar. Listen in at any time. Please note, it may take a couple of minutes for your browser to open up the WebEx Network Recording Player.

Thanks for your interest in our webinar, How to Organize Your School Online. It’s great to connect with other dedicated school leaders like you. As volunteers, we often don’t hear thank you enough. So, I thank YOU for your part in connecting people for the benefit of children.
To help you share the 10 tips we discussed with friends and fellow volunteers, I’ve uploaded a couple of resources:
PDF copy of the webinar slides. View and download all 10 tips in one easy document.
Audio recording of the webinar. Listen in at any time. Please note, it may take a couple of minutes for your browser to open up the WebEx Network Recording Player.
Several great questions and tips came from our webinar audience, ranging from ideas on collecting family information online to methods for improving access to school communications.
BigTent and I welcome any additional questions, feedback, or ideas for future webinars that you may have.
If you’d like to start a group on BigTent, keep in mind that it’s free and we offer great coaching resources.
Good luck with your group!
Best,
Monica

It’s great to connect with other dedicated school leaders like you. As volunteers, we often don’t hear thank you enough. So, I thank YOU for your part in connecting people for the benefit of children.

BigTent and I welcome any additional questions, feedback, or ideas for future webinars that you may have. Good luck with your group!

Best,

Monica

Croce PTA volunteer & BigTent expert

Grandmas Go Ga Ga for BigTent

Published October 5, 2009 Big Features Leave a Comment

Donne Davis is absolutely “ga ga” for her two granddaughters, ages 6 and 2. Since 2003, the Silicon Valley grandma has been busy building a social network for other grandmas who share her passion for the little ones in their lives. Today, the GaGa Sisterhood connects over 70 members in California, Utah, and beyond.

Shortly after the GaGa Sisterhood moved to BigTent, we got a chance to speak with Donne and learn more about her and her one-of-a-kind group:

GaGa Sisterhood meeting

Q. Why did you switch to BigTent?

A. We chose BigTent to automate the bookkeeping necessary to manage membership dues.

Q. What types of events does your group host?

A. Every other month, we meet at members’ homes for a couple of hours. Our members share about their passions — traveling, gardening, visiting museums, volunteering — and bring their grandchildren, too.

Q. What is your favorite part of GaGa Sisterhood?

A. What strikes me most is the joyful energy generated by this amazing group of multi-faceted women.

Q. Are there any challenges to running your group? How do you tackle them?

A. Our biggest challenge is getting members to come to meetings. Believe it or not, grandmas are even busier than moms! We’re often taking care of our aging parents, as well as our adorable grandchildren. Many of us work full time.

In addition, we also have to coax some of our members to try new technology. Luckily, I’ve gotten some great training, support, and encouragement from my BigTent Coach, Jaine.

Q. In your free time, what else are you up to?

A. I love walking and yoga. Practicing yoga for over 20 years has helped me keep up with my granddaughters.  I also love to sing, and have been hosting Womansong Circles since 2001.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

Join our FREE Webinar: How to Organize Your School Online

Published October 1, 2009 Big Features 2 Comments

How to Organize Your School Online artwork

Hello school community leaders!

Are you looking for ways to build a thriving online home for your school? Sign up for BigTent’s latest webinar, “How to Organize Your School Online.”  This session is geared towards PTAs, PTOs, preschool groups, and all other school communities.

During this webinar, I’ll share 10 tips and tricks on how to combine online and in-person activities to strengthen your school community. Tips include:

-How to improve communications

-How to delegate responsibilities

-How to get more parents involved

Here are the details:

How to Organize Your School Online
Tuesday, October 13 @ 9 am Pacific/12 pm Eastern
Register for FREE: bigtent.webex.com – click on “How to Organize Your School Online”

I have used these tips in my own school community. I am an active volunteer for Leo R. Croce Elementary PTA (www.crocepta.com), and I’m proud to say that we have enrolled over 200 members in our BigTent group.

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like more information. I hope you can attend!

Best,

Monica, PTA Volunteer & BigTent Expert

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

BigTent welcomes FlyLady and FlyBabies!

Published September 16, 2009 Big Group Additions 59 Comments
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flylady-logoflylady-marla-cilley

A big BigTent welcome goes out to the FlyLady community! Starting today, Wednesday, September 16, BigTent will begin hosting the communications that connect over 500,000 FlyBabies around the world.

FlyLady and her team chose BigTent for its ability to send timed newsletters, and the opportunity to strengthen their community through two-way discussions and organized subgroups.

If you currently receive FlyLady emails, you will continue to receive emails without having to make any changes. Your current email delivery options (daily digest or individual emails), will also be preserved with the switch to BigTent.

If you currently receive FlyLady emails and would like to see how FlyLady is set up on the BigTent Web site, please check your email today for a special invitation to join BigTent. The message will come from “no_reply@lists.bigtent.com”, and we recommend you add this address to your email “Safe List” to ensure delivery. To learn how to update your Safe List, please read our help article.

To join FlyLady as a new member, please visit the FlyLady BigTent page and fill out the form provided.

Welcome to BigTent! We are so excited to have you join us.

Best,

The BigTent team

About BigTent
Big Tent Design, Inc. is where trusted groups connect online.  The free platform for family-friendly organizations strengthens group involvement and simplifies group management. By combining the best of today’s social networking features with group management tools, Big Tent helps real-world communities share, communicate and organize online and in-person. Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in San Francisco and currently hosts parents groups, PTAs, preschools, clubs and other community groups nationwide. Learn more: https://www.bigtent.com
About Saving Dinner
Saving Dinner’s goal is to bring families back to the dinner table with healthy menu plans, grocery shopping lists and recipes. Leanne Ely, the founder of Saving Dinner, is considered the expert on family cooking and started Saving Dinner by sharing healthy menus with families. Now, tens of thousands of kitchens across the world are busy creating simple, delicious meals with her weekly Menu-Mailers, freezer dinner kits, and best-selling cookbooks, Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes and Shopping Lists to Bring Your Family Back to the Table, Saving Dinner the Low Carb Way, Saving Dinner for the Holidays, Saving Dinner the Vegetarian Way and Saving Dinner Basics: How to Cook Even if You Don’t Know How. Learn more about Saving Dinner from their website: http://www.savingdinner.com

About BigTent

BigTent (Big Tent Design, Inc.) is where trusted groups connect online.  The free platform for family-friendly organizations strengthens group involvement and simplifies group management. By combining the best of today’s social networking features with group management tools, Big Tent helps real-world communities share, communicate and organize online and in-person. Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in San Francisco and currently hosts parents groups, PTAs, preschools, clubs and thousands of other community groups. Learn more at www.bigtent.com.

About FlyLady

Founded in 1999 by Marla Cilley, FlyLady is a mentoring group that uses the “Sidetracked Home Executive” (SHE) system to help members organize their homes and lives. Marla adds humor, spunk, and a dose of common sense to her advice. When members join FlyLady, they receive daily FLYmail with FLYing Lessons around setting up routines, removing clutter, and Finally Loving Yourself. The public is invited to join this group at https://www.bigtent.com/groups/flylady

New at BigTent: membership management, enrollment upgrades

Published September 14, 2009 Big Features 2 Comments
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Now it’s even easier to sign up members and manage their information in your BigTent groups:

Member manage page. This new addition your group’s Manage area enables you to navigate all the ins and outs of the membership process. You can change membership types and end dates, suspend or remove members, and create exceptions to your group renewal rules.

For example, let’s say Helene enjoyed her trial membership and upgraded early to a full membership. In just a few clicks, you can make this change in your group records:

manage group members on BigTent

manage group members on BigTent

Revised enrollment process. We’ve shortened the number of steps it takes for a new member to join your group, and we’ve made things more familiar by adding your group name and logo to every sign up page.

join a group on BigTent

We hope these changes, in addition to our new support for international time zones and group subscription changes via email, help you connect with your trusted communities. We want to hear from you — please feel free to share any questions or feedback you have.

Best,

Michelle  & the BigTent team

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

Meet the queen of coupons on BigTent

Published August 31, 2009 Big Group Additions 30 Comments
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Kathy Spencer grew up with a passion for saving money and finding great deals. Today, the Boxford, Massachusetts, married mother of four shares her savvy with thousands of followers in her BigTent group, How to Shop for Free.

Following a bevy of coverage in WalletPop and other blogs, The Boston Globe,  and a call in segment on Denver radio station Alice 105.9 (click on “Wanna Save HUNDREDS on Groceries? Here’s How…”), consumers have flocked to Kathy’s group in hopes of slashing their grocery bills. After hovering around the 1,500-member mark, How to Shop for Free has welcomed 4,000 new members this month. Way to go, Kathy!

The BigTent team had an opportunity to interview Kathy after she started her BigTent group in July 2008:

Kathy Spencer shows off her stockpile of toilet paper - all of which she got for free

Q. We’d love to know more about you. When you’re not managing How to Shop for Free, what else are you juggling?

A. I have four kids, ages 3 to 18, so life is never dull in my house. I LOVE and I always will love, to save money and find great deals. I also run an Ebay store, which has enabled me to dress my kids in designer clothes like Limited Too and Baby Gap for free, and I can help others do the same.

Q. Why did you switch from Yahoo! to BigTent?

A. Our group talks about so many different stores and subjects, it was challenging to keep things organized by categories. BigTent has been such a huge time saver, and the group runs so much smoother now. I love it!

Q. What makes your group unique?

A. We do group meetups where we all meet to exchange coupons. Then we help newbies get through the grocery store, with a cart of super-cheap goods.

Our group chat also has a language of its own, with our talk of cats, Ecbs, onyo’s, tearpads, and blinkies. There’s also an imaginary friend, KWIM. Most newbies think we are nuts, but within no time they’re sharing coupon codes — and mentioning KWIM.

Q. Why does it cost $1 to join the group?

A. The fee is just there to make sure we build an active community that keeps out spammers and is full of people who really want to learn the secrets to coupons.

Q. What are your future hopes and plans for the group?

A. I would like to focus more on charity work with the group. We all have large stockpiles of items, and many members already donate to family, friends, churches and soup kitchens. I know we could do more as group.

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

Join our FREE webinar: How to Engage Your Group

Published August 24, 2009 Big Features 1 Comment
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BigTent webinar: How to Engage Your Group

Hello again, awesome admins and community leaders!

I’m pleased to announce that our last webinar was a huge success, drawing over 40 group leaders from across the country. To continue the conversation, we’re hosting another free session on Thursday, September 10, to share best practices for engaging your group.

During this webinar, I’ll share 10 tips and tricks on how to increase online and in-person participation for your group. We’ll discuss how to nurture your members’ interests, how to keep members logging into your group site, and more.

Here are the details:

How to Engage Your Group
Thursday, September 10 @ 9 am Pacific/12 pm Eastern
Register for FREE: bigtent.webex.com – click on “How to Engage Your Group”

I have used the tips covered in this webinar to get members active and participating in my own group, Moms and Tots San Diego (www.bigtent.com/groups/mtsd) . I have also partnered and shared best practices with over 3,000 groups on BigTent.

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like more information. I hope you can attend!

Best,

Jaine, BigTent Community Coach since 2007

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

Happy BigTent-iversary, MPOMC!

Published August 14, 2009 Big Features Leave a Comment
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This week, BigTent celebrates the third anniversary of bringing on our first group, Marin Parents of Multiples Club (MPOMC). On August 13, 2006, BigTent issued over 100 invitations for members of the Northern California parenting club to join the site.

BigTent had just finished its original product definition when MPOMC called for help.

the original BigTent

“The person who managed our club account couldn’t remember the Yahoo! Groups password that had been set up, and we were locked out of our account,” says Jenn Hagerman, former Co-President of MPOMC. “Luckily for us, I knew Laney [Whitcanack] and that she was getting BigTent up and running. The timing was perfect, and we were thrilled to partner with BigTent as we moved more of our programs online.”

As an early employee of BigTent, I look back fondly on the time our team spent sheperding MPOMC members onto our site. I recall sending personal email follow ups to each member, explaining a bit about BigTent and the need to finish activating one’s club membership online.

Among the many key learnings of moving over our inaugural group, the need for browser compatibility testing became readily apparent when our site layout wouldn’t display on Internet Explorer for Mac. We quickly put up signposts, recommending that users stick to Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari when using BigTent.

Luckily, the browser fix paved the way to much smoother sailing.

“One of the most memorable parts of switching to BigTent was getting email from members about how easy it was to sign up and thanking the club for finding such a great tool to support it,” says Jenn.

Hats off to MPOMC for taking the plunge with technology. We’re proud that you call BigTent your online home!

Best,

Mia & the BigTent team

Join our FREE Webinar: How to Grow Your Group

Published August 6, 2009 Big Thoughts Leave a Comment
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Grow Your Group with BigTent

Hello admins and awesome community leaders!

My name is Jaine and I’m one of BigTent’s Community Coaches. I wanted to let you know about a fun, free, and educational webinar I’m hosting next Thursday, 8/13, on how to grow your group. I have grown my own group, Moms and Tots San Diego (www.bigtent.com/groups/mtsd), from zero to 700+ members in just three years. I have also partnered and shared best practices with over 3,000 groups on BigTent.

During this webinar, I’ll share 10 tips and tricks on how to grow your group. We’ll also have a portion devoted to sharing our best practices so we can learn from each other. Here are the details:

How to Grow Your Group

Thursday, August 13 @ 9 am Pacific/12 pm Eastern

Register for FREE: bigtent.webex.com – click on “How to Grow Your Group”

Please let me know if you have any questions or would like more information. I hope you can attend!

Best,

Jaine, BigTent Community Coach since 2007

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

BigTent had a blast at BlogHer

Published July 31, 2009 Big Group Additions , Big Thoughts Leave a Comment
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Over 1,500 bloggers ventured to Chicago last week for BlogHer ‘09. Donna Novitsky, BigTent CEO, and I were thrilled to be part of this record attendance crowd! We learned about the latest trends of business and blogging, and met with mom bloggers and the throngs of advertisers interested in reaching their community. For an extra dose of BlogHer buzz, we also joined the three-day unfolding of events on Twitter.

BlogHer

A great opening keynote conversation with Lisa Stone (one of BlogHer’s founders), Tina Brown (Founder and EIC, The Daily Beast), Donna Byrd (Publisher, TheRoot.com), and Ilene Chaiken (executive producer of The L Word), set an energizing tone for the event. It was uplifting to hear how each woman has brought her successful, offline media career into the social media world.

BlogHer then gave participants a chance to explore every niche of blogging imaginable. Sessions ranged from WordPress geek labs, a personal favorite of mine, to discussions on changing FTC guidelines for bloggers.

In the thick of Tweeting, crowds, and flashy swag filling every corner of the Sheraton Chicago, Donna and I enjoyed catching up with some of our friends and leaders of groups on BigTent, including Silicon Valley Moms Group and Manic Mommies.

The parties, which included unicorn cake*, weren’t bad either.

BigTent is excited about the role we can play in helping bloggers evolve their conversations with readers and build strong communities. See you in New York in 2010!

Best,

Caroline & the BigTent team

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bigtentgroups

*unicorn cake:

unicorn cake at BlogHer 09

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