Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Affiliations: what are they and why should I use them?



When you log in to Community Weaver (CW) at timetrader.timebanks.org there are a lot of options for you, and a lot of potential pieces of information you can share with other members of the timebank. Keep in mind that any information you put into CW is accessible only to those people who have become members of Time Trader.

Let's talk about some of that information. Click on the tab that says “My Account”. Look to the left side of the screen, in the white rectangle where your profile photo is. (Don't have a profile photo? Add one before May 15, send me an email telling me you did so, and I will credit your account 1 Time Credit!)If you scroll down to the bottom of the white rectangle you will see the words, “Edit Profile Details” in blue. Click on them.

On the next screen, if you scroll down just a bit, there is a thin gray line making a box that is titled “Networks.” Within that is a box titled “Affiliations.” These are community groups and organizations that you may have ties to – schools, churches, civic groups, etc. in alphabetical order. You may click on more than one, you just have to hold down the CONTROL key as you do so, then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “SAVE.”

Affiliations are useful in Time Trader because people can search with them. Thus, if someone needs a ride to a particular church, they can search for people who are already going there to get a ride. Similarly, you can look at affiliations to see if there are people who belong to a particular civic group or who are affiliated with a school or community activity about which you may want information or which you find trustworthy. Want information about getting your child involved with a 4H or scouting group? Trying to decide between two people who offer the same thing? You could use their affiliations (or their location, or their availability) as the tie breaker.

Affiliations are one more way for you to tell people who you are and what is important to you. The more information you share, the more likely you are to find people who wish to exchange services with you.

Questions? Comments? Want a particular affiliation added to Community Weaver? Contact the Coordinator at timetrader@familyservicerochester.org.