playground for young social entrepreneurs
Frequently Asked Questions
ABOUT FUTURESHIFTERS:
What does Futureshifters do?
Futureshifters is basically an online network for social entrepreneurs. Within this network, we encourage other like-minded individuals to showcase their stories, share their resources and connect with others to find support, ideas, funding and resources. For more information, check out our “About Us” section by clicking the tab at the top if the page.
How is Futureshifters useful to me? What can I do on Futureshifters?
Futureshifters is an online community of other like-minded individuals. Many of the members on this site have vast experience, connections and access to resources. We want the site to be a place where you can showcase your work, hold lively discussions, create partnerships and relationships with others, and play in an environment where you can develop your knowledge and direction for your upcoming projects.
Also, we encourage you to use the site to market (within reason and without spamming members!) yourself and your work. Feel free to explore yourself in a creative environment as well as explore the work that others have been doing too!
What is YSEI?
The Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) is a high-engagement social venture program for emerging young social entrepreneurs in developing countries.
Through the Emergence Fellowship , YSEI aims to invest in young visionaries who have big ideas and who need crucial startup support to turn their ideas into action. The start-up support includes:
* Startup financing
* Essential development knowledge & tools on social entrepreneurship
* Technical consulting through mentorship
* Access to diverse networks
For more information, go to http://www.ysei.org/
What is the connection between Futureshifters and YSEI?
Futureshifters was developed by a group of dedicated individuals from the Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI). YSEI is a high-engagement social venture program for emerging young social entrepreneurs in developing countries. YSEI aims to invest in young visionaries who have big ideas and who need crucial start-up support to turn their ideas into action.
We wanted to create an online social networking platform that was solely dedicated to the promotion of social entrepreneurship. We wanted it to have a youth focus and try and use some of that inspiring, energizing and motivating youth energy.
Futureshifters is also the outreach arm of the YSEI program where social entrepreneurs can post announcements and get feedback and support about their ventures as they move forward. It is a place where people can get involved and YSEI can engage more people and advertise our program.
Who/What is Technorati?
Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs, competing with Google and Yahoo. As of June 2008, Technorati indexes 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media. The name Technorati is a portmanteau, pointing to the technological version of literati, or intellectuals.
Technorati uses and contributes to open source software. Technorati has an active software developer community, many of them from open-source culture. Sifry is a major open-source advocate, and was a founder of LinuxCare and later of Wi-Fi access point software developer Sputnik. Technorati includes a public developer's wiki, where developers and contributors collaborate, as well as various open APIs.
The site won the SXSW 2006 awards for Best Technical Achievement and also Best of Show. It was also nominated for a 2006 Webby award for Best Practices, but lost to Flickr and Google Maps.
Technorati is an external organization and Futureshifters and YSEI are not responsible for their content.
For more information, please go to http://technorati.com/
HOW TO:
How do I share an interesting article or link?
All you need to do is follow these quick and easy steps:
1) Log into your Futureshifters account
2) Click “Blogs” from the tab near the top of the page
3) Click “Add a Blog Post”
4) Enter your title and blog post in the provided boxes and click “Publish Post” at the bottom right corner of the page
How do I connect with other people?
Click the “Members” tab on the page header at the top of any Futureshifter’s page. From here, you can click on people’s profiles to learn more about them. There will be a button on the left of your screen that says “Add Friend”. Click that button and a friend request will immediately be sent.
What is a blog and how do I post one?
A blog is a place where you can post and share ideas. You can post information about a current event, an article you came across, an announcement, an issue you want to highlight, an event that you would like to spread the word about or any other type of relevant information that you would like to share. In a blog post, people can comment on posted items, but not a lot of discussion or feedback should be expected. The place where you should start conversations would be in the “Forum” section. Please feel free to post a blog about your discussion or forum item to get the word out! Once you log into your account, you can select “Blog”. From here, you can select the button that says “+ Add a Blog Post”. Then you can add in your blog post and click “Publish” at the bottom of the page to post your blog immediately. Alternatively, you can select a later date that your post will go live on.
What is a discussion and how do I start one?
A discussion, also known as a forum, is a place where you can host a discussion about a particular topic. Usually, a discussion will have some sort of prompt (like a question) that you would like the community to respond to with their expertise, opinions and thoughts. It is meant to be a place where you can encourage other community members to have dialogue about a specific subject. Once you log into your account, you can select “Discussions”. From here, you can select the button that says “+ Add a Discussion”. Then you can add in your discussion and click “Add Discussion” at the bottom when you are through.
What is a group and how do I start one?
A group is a sort of network within a network, so to speak. The ability to form groups on the Futureshifters site allows you to create your own more specific networks that are often focused around a specific topic, idea, event or area of interest that allows you to create a common identity within the network. It allows you to create close groups that share something more than the common interest in social business. For example, groups can be formed around a particular event, for fundraising opportunities, for scholarships, for microfinance, and even more complex style groups like a Yahoo! answers type group. Be creative and form your own groups! Just make sure you keep the group active!
What is the difference between a blog, discussion and group?
The simplest version is this:
A blog is a place where you can share information and make announcements and you expect little to no “feedback”.
This is a LEVEL 1 in terms of collective participation.
A discussion is a place where you post your opinions, your questions and your thoughts in order to get collective feedback and actively talk about the topic you are conversing about.
This is a LEVEL 2 in terms of collective participation.
A group is a number of people that are all coming together for a particular purpose. They are forming some type of micro-identity that is focused around a particular subject, event or topic within the Futureshifters’ network.
This is a LEVEL 2 to 3 in terms of collective participation.
How do I change my account information (picture, name, details, profile information, email address)?
Once you have logged into your account, click the tab on the header that says “My Page”. From your page, click the button on the left hand side that says “Change My Photo”. From here, you can change your account information for your Profile, Appearance, Privacy and Email by clicking the appropriate tab on the left. Make sure you click “Save” at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
How do I post a video?
Once you log into your account, you can select “Video” from the header at the top of the page. From here, you can select the button on the top left of the page that says “+ Add Videos”. Then you can add in your video from your computer by double clicking from the tab on the left to find the video’s location and then you just drag and drop it into the large upload box in the middle of the screen. Alternatively, you can add a video from YouTube or from Google by following the instructions on the links at the bottom of the page.
How do I post a picture?
Once you log into your account, you can select “Photos” from the header at the top of the page. From here, you can select the button on the top left of the page that says “+ Add Picture”. Then you can add in your picture from your computer by double clicking from the tab on the left to find the picture’s location and then you just drag and drop it into the large upload box in the middle of the screen and then click “Next. Alternatively, you can add a picture from your Flickr account by following the instructions on the links at the bottom of the page.
How do I find a mentor?
Click the “Members” tab on the page header at the top of any Futureshifter’s page. From here, you can click on people’s profiles to learn more about them. There will be a button on the left of your screen that says “Add Friend”. Click that button and a friend request will immediately be sent. Once they have accepted your friend request, you can contact them directly and ask for their mentorship, advice and support.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
How can I contact Futureshifters if I need help?
You can email us at info@ysei.org
Who do I contact if I need to report spam, junk, harassment, inappropriate content etc? First you can block the person, then you can report to us by emailing info@ysei.org .
When I “subscribe to get the latest from FutureSHIFTERS”, what am I signing up for? When you sign up for our newsletter, you will be on our mailing list to alerts and updates of latest activity posts to our site. You can adjust your email settings by logging on to your account, selecting “Settings” on the right hand side of the page and then clicking “Email” on the left hand side of the page. From here, you can choose which network activity you want to receive an email notification for. You can set the following settings:
Email
* Messages sent to me
* Messages sent to groups I belong to
* Messages sent to the whole network
* Messages sent to all friends
* Alerts sent via Applications
Member Activity
* Friend requests
* People that I've invited to join this network
* I have new comments to approve
* I have new network content to approve
* Feedback and problem reports
Following Discussions and Blog Posts
* Follow discussions and blog posts I add
* Follow discussions and blog posts I reply to
Clear My Follow List
*If you click 'Clear My Follow List', you will stop following all discussions and blog posts that you're currently following.
How do I unsubscribe to Futureshifters? Once you have logged into your account, click the tab on the header that says “My Page”. From your page, click the button on the left hand side that says “Change My Photo”. From here, you can change your account information for your Email by clicking the “Email” tab on the left. At the bottom of the page, check the box next to “None: I don't want to receive emails from Futureshifters”. Make sure you click “Save” at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
Alternatively, you can click the link at the bottom of the page in the email that you receive from Futureshifters that says “To control which emails you receive on Futureshifters, go to: (link)“. From here, you will be re-directed to a page where you can change your email settings directly.
PLEASE ADD ANY QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ANSWERED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR EMAIL THEM DIRECTLY TO brooke@ysei.org AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO ADD THEM HERE!
THANKS!
What does Futureshifters do?
Futureshifters is basically an online network for social entrepreneurs. Within this network, we encourage other like-minded individuals to showcase their stories, share their resources and connect with others to find support, ideas, funding and resources. For more information, check out our “About Us” section by clicking the tab at the top if the page.
How is Futureshifters useful to me? What can I do on Futureshifters?
Futureshifters is an online community of other like-minded individuals. Many of the members on this site have vast experience, connections and access to resources. We want the site to be a place where you can showcase your work, hold lively discussions, create partnerships and relationships with others, and play in an environment where you can develop your knowledge and direction for your upcoming projects.
Also, we encourage you to use the site to market (within reason and without spamming members!) yourself and your work. Feel free to explore yourself in a creative environment as well as explore the work that others have been doing too!
What is YSEI?
The Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) is a high-engagement social venture program for emerging young social entrepreneurs in developing countries.
Through the Emergence Fellowship , YSEI aims to invest in young visionaries who have big ideas and who need crucial startup support to turn their ideas into action. The start-up support includes:
* Startup financing
* Essential development knowledge & tools on social entrepreneurship
* Technical consulting through mentorship
* Access to diverse networks
For more information, go to http://www.ysei.org/
What is the connection between Futureshifters and YSEI?
Futureshifters was developed by a group of dedicated individuals from the Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI). YSEI is a high-engagement social venture program for emerging young social entrepreneurs in developing countries. YSEI aims to invest in young visionaries who have big ideas and who need crucial start-up support to turn their ideas into action.
We wanted to create an online social networking platform that was solely dedicated to the promotion of social entrepreneurship. We wanted it to have a youth focus and try and use some of that inspiring, energizing and motivating youth energy.
Futureshifters is also the outreach arm of the YSEI program where social entrepreneurs can post announcements and get feedback and support about their ventures as they move forward. It is a place where people can get involved and YSEI can engage more people and advertise our program.
Who/What is Technorati?
Technorati is an Internet search engine for searching blogs, competing with Google and Yahoo. As of June 2008, Technorati indexes 112.8 million blogs and over 250 million pieces of tagged social media. The name Technorati is a portmanteau, pointing to the technological version of literati, or intellectuals.
Technorati uses and contributes to open source software. Technorati has an active software developer community, many of them from open-source culture. Sifry is a major open-source advocate, and was a founder of LinuxCare and later of Wi-Fi access point software developer Sputnik. Technorati includes a public developer's wiki, where developers and contributors collaborate, as well as various open APIs.
The site won the SXSW 2006 awards for Best Technical Achievement and also Best of Show. It was also nominated for a 2006 Webby award for Best Practices, but lost to Flickr and Google Maps.
Technorati is an external organization and Futureshifters and YSEI are not responsible for their content.
For more information, please go to http://technorati.com/
HOW TO:
How do I share an interesting article or link?
All you need to do is follow these quick and easy steps:
1) Log into your Futureshifters account
2) Click “Blogs” from the tab near the top of the page
3) Click “Add a Blog Post”
4) Enter your title and blog post in the provided boxes and click “Publish Post” at the bottom right corner of the page
How do I connect with other people?
Click the “Members” tab on the page header at the top of any Futureshifter’s page. From here, you can click on people’s profiles to learn more about them. There will be a button on the left of your screen that says “Add Friend”. Click that button and a friend request will immediately be sent.
What is a blog and how do I post one?
A blog is a place where you can post and share ideas. You can post information about a current event, an article you came across, an announcement, an issue you want to highlight, an event that you would like to spread the word about or any other type of relevant information that you would like to share. In a blog post, people can comment on posted items, but not a lot of discussion or feedback should be expected. The place where you should start conversations would be in the “Forum” section. Please feel free to post a blog about your discussion or forum item to get the word out! Once you log into your account, you can select “Blog”. From here, you can select the button that says “+ Add a Blog Post”. Then you can add in your blog post and click “Publish” at the bottom of the page to post your blog immediately. Alternatively, you can select a later date that your post will go live on.
What is a discussion and how do I start one?
A discussion, also known as a forum, is a place where you can host a discussion about a particular topic. Usually, a discussion will have some sort of prompt (like a question) that you would like the community to respond to with their expertise, opinions and thoughts. It is meant to be a place where you can encourage other community members to have dialogue about a specific subject. Once you log into your account, you can select “Discussions”. From here, you can select the button that says “+ Add a Discussion”. Then you can add in your discussion and click “Add Discussion” at the bottom when you are through.
What is a group and how do I start one?
A group is a sort of network within a network, so to speak. The ability to form groups on the Futureshifters site allows you to create your own more specific networks that are often focused around a specific topic, idea, event or area of interest that allows you to create a common identity within the network. It allows you to create close groups that share something more than the common interest in social business. For example, groups can be formed around a particular event, for fundraising opportunities, for scholarships, for microfinance, and even more complex style groups like a Yahoo! answers type group. Be creative and form your own groups! Just make sure you keep the group active!
What is the difference between a blog, discussion and group?
The simplest version is this:
A blog is a place where you can share information and make announcements and you expect little to no “feedback”.
This is a LEVEL 1 in terms of collective participation.
A discussion is a place where you post your opinions, your questions and your thoughts in order to get collective feedback and actively talk about the topic you are conversing about.
This is a LEVEL 2 in terms of collective participation.
A group is a number of people that are all coming together for a particular purpose. They are forming some type of micro-identity that is focused around a particular subject, event or topic within the Futureshifters’ network.
This is a LEVEL 2 to 3 in terms of collective participation.
How do I change my account information (picture, name, details, profile information, email address)?
Once you have logged into your account, click the tab on the header that says “My Page”. From your page, click the button on the left hand side that says “Change My Photo”. From here, you can change your account information for your Profile, Appearance, Privacy and Email by clicking the appropriate tab on the left. Make sure you click “Save” at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
How do I post a video?
Once you log into your account, you can select “Video” from the header at the top of the page. From here, you can select the button on the top left of the page that says “+ Add Videos”. Then you can add in your video from your computer by double clicking from the tab on the left to find the video’s location and then you just drag and drop it into the large upload box in the middle of the screen. Alternatively, you can add a video from YouTube or from Google by following the instructions on the links at the bottom of the page.
How do I post a picture?
Once you log into your account, you can select “Photos” from the header at the top of the page. From here, you can select the button on the top left of the page that says “+ Add Picture”. Then you can add in your picture from your computer by double clicking from the tab on the left to find the picture’s location and then you just drag and drop it into the large upload box in the middle of the screen and then click “Next. Alternatively, you can add a picture from your Flickr account by following the instructions on the links at the bottom of the page.
How do I find a mentor?
Click the “Members” tab on the page header at the top of any Futureshifter’s page. From here, you can click on people’s profiles to learn more about them. There will be a button on the left of your screen that says “Add Friend”. Click that button and a friend request will immediately be sent. Once they have accepted your friend request, you can contact them directly and ask for their mentorship, advice and support.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
How can I contact Futureshifters if I need help?
You can email us at info@ysei.org
Who do I contact if I need to report spam, junk, harassment, inappropriate content etc? First you can block the person, then you can report to us by emailing info@ysei.org .
When I “subscribe to get the latest from FutureSHIFTERS”, what am I signing up for? When you sign up for our newsletter, you will be on our mailing list to alerts and updates of latest activity posts to our site. You can adjust your email settings by logging on to your account, selecting “Settings” on the right hand side of the page and then clicking “Email” on the left hand side of the page. From here, you can choose which network activity you want to receive an email notification for. You can set the following settings:
* Messages sent to me
* Messages sent to groups I belong to
* Messages sent to the whole network
* Messages sent to all friends
* Alerts sent via Applications
Member Activity
* Friend requests
* People that I've invited to join this network
* I have new comments to approve
* I have new network content to approve
* Feedback and problem reports
Following Discussions and Blog Posts
* Follow discussions and blog posts I add
* Follow discussions and blog posts I reply to
Clear My Follow List
*If you click 'Clear My Follow List', you will stop following all discussions and blog posts that you're currently following.
How do I unsubscribe to Futureshifters? Once you have logged into your account, click the tab on the header that says “My Page”. From your page, click the button on the left hand side that says “Change My Photo”. From here, you can change your account information for your Email by clicking the “Email” tab on the left. At the bottom of the page, check the box next to “None: I don't want to receive emails from Futureshifters”. Make sure you click “Save” at the bottom of the page to save your changes.
Alternatively, you can click the link at the bottom of the page in the email that you receive from Futureshifters that says “To control which emails you receive on Futureshifters, go to: (link)“. From here, you will be re-directed to a page where you can change your email settings directly.
PLEASE ADD ANY QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ANSWERED IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OR EMAIL THEM DIRECTLY TO brooke@ysei.org AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO ADD THEM HERE!
THANKS!
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