The OAC now has an excellent homepage hosted at NING, a just-add-water social networking platform that I hadn't even heard of until now. I'll probably review it in full at a later date, but it's incredibly simple to use and has all the features needed to develop a fully functioning online social network.
The Cooperative has quickly grown to over 200 members from many different locations and backgrounds. Members can create their own profile pages with a variety of content widgets and layout tweaks. Groups are simple to form for focused discussion and can be in any language. Hopefully more regional languages will appear to reflect the diversity of anthropology around the world. You can watch the activity and contributions of members from the homepage in real-time and any member can add photos and videos to the public pool or comment on any user, group or discussion page. There's even a built-in simplified IRC client for chat.
Haven't convinced you to join yet? It's like Facebook, only better. For anthropologists.
The social features are excellent in their present state, but there is also plenty of room for the Cooperative to grow and take on new tasks. Have a look at Lorenz Khazaleh's post for more information on suggested directions and features that the Cooperative may absorb in due course.
I've become a strong advocate of the OAC because I feel that such a network is long overdue, especially for a discipline like anthropology. Being able to connect to other researchers in a few clicks without the awkwardness of formal channels is more than a little refreshing.
Here is my page at the Open Anthropology Cooperative.
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2 comments:
Thanks for this info! I love the idea of an open forum to discuss anthropology, one that isn't limited to the boundaries of the academic world. Especially now that I'm in the field, it's a great way to keep the conversation going...
By the way, do you mind if I include a link to your blog on mine?
Hi Charlotte,
Thanks for your comment. The OAC now has well over 1,000 members. There are some very interesting conversations and new initiatives forming all the time, such as the recently launched Wiki-style archives.
Of course you can add a link to my blog, and I'll also list your research blog in my anthro blogroll.
Don't forget to add me as a contact on the OAC.
Fran
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