{Thank you to Frederique for starting this page!  We'll be editing and adding to it more soon}

Making the most of the AIN website

If you’ve just arrived at the Applied Improvisation Network ning group, you may be looking at all the features and wondering where to start.  This note might be helpful…

The site features:

• A forum where topics of interest to all are discussed
• Groups dedicated to specialist topics
• Members details, profiles and blogs
• Photos and videos – relating to Applied Improvisation practice and our conferences
• Events put on by the AIN community
• Notes – the ‘official notice board’ of the AIN

 

As a visitor you can read and view all of the above. However, you can’t reply or post your own stuff.

As a member you can:

• Use your own personalised page to display details about yourself
• Post to the Forum
• Join the Groups (or even set one up yourself)
• Write your own blog
• Reply to other people’s blogs
• Post relevant photos and videos
• Embed photos and videos on your own website
• Link up with ‘friends’ and easily share messages, photos etc with them
• State your intention to go to the events
• Get email or RSS alerts about new postings and activity

Membership is free and open – just click the ‘Sign Up’ link at the top right of the page.

New to AIN ?

If you are new to the network, you can find out about us by reading the FAQ. Click on «Notes» on the navigation bar at the top of this page or on the main page FAQ in the welcome text. New to this Website ?

Once you have created your profile you can connect with others,  post comments, add pictures and videos, or participate in discussions.

Creating your profile

Click on « My page/Edit Settings » and then choose the "About me" tab. You can update it as often as you wish.

Connecting with others

You can connect with people :

• who already have a profile in AIN Website: Click on «members», search for a name (or city, or interest, etc.), and in their personal profile click on « add as a contact » under their picture.  A network request will be sent automatically to them.

• who are not yet registered: click on «invite » or on navigation bar or on « invite more » on the right side. Once you have filled the fields, an email will be sent to the email address you gave.

• who send you a contact request (by default setting you are notified by email). Check at the top of the page, near the sign , if someone has requested to be connected to you a « ! » will appear, click on it. Once you have accepted the request, you are both connected.  Notice also the mail  icon for when you have mail.

Working with groups :

Groups are useful for thing like :

• working together on a specific topic : Organizing a conference, writing a book, …
• meeting people of the same geographical area/same country/same state.

The advantage of being in a group is that you can have separate (optionally private, if group is created as invite only) conversations about various topics, and be notified when conversation is happening (depending on your personal settings.)

Joining a group

Look at the existing groups http://appliedimprov.ning.com/groups and choose those of interested for you. Click on the name of the group and then click on Join « Name of the group » top right (Note : you need to sign in/Sign up first)

 

Creating a group

If no group exists for your geographical area or your project, click on «  Create a group » top right.

1. Step 1: Set up your group's information

For geographical group the name is often cear, for topic group, please give a description of the objective of this group.  

What else is important to set up (Group Address/Url, features, Privacy)and why when creating a group ?

2. Step 2: Invite members

Reading  comments/messages that have been sent to you

Check the little mail icon  at very the top left of the page, when new message is here, „New“ will appear.

On your personal profile, comments will appear at the end of the page in the comment wall.

 

Posting a comment/ message

To someone

• If you write a comment to someone in the Comment Wall when visiting his/her personal profile page, this message will stay at the bottom of the profile page of the person and be visible to anyone. –This is 're a way of leaving quick little hellos and public messages, encouragement, etc. You can add pictures, links and even 'embed code' in these messages.

 

• For private message, you can use the option “Send a message” under the picture in the profile, if you are connected together. See “Connecting to people” otherwise look at if there is an email address in the profile.

 

To a group

If you have joined the group, you can :

-       Send a comment in the Comment wall

-       Answer someone in a discussion

-       Start a discussion

If a reply is added in a discussion, an email will be sent to all members of the group (according to their settings)

There is no such warning for a comment. Comments will only be seen when people open the group page.

 In the forum

You can answer any discussion in the forum. Discussion are grouped under categories.

The latest answers in any discussion of the forum will appear on the main page.

 

Posting photos

• Tutorial coming soon, click here to get started.

Posting Videos

•  Tutorial coming soon, click here to get started.

Sharing documents (in progress)

For the moment documents can be uploaded to a discussion, we are looking at a document management tool.

 

Controlling your settings

To control your settings on The Applied Improvisation Network, click on «My Settings» on the right side, then click on the left side to manage :

• Your email address, password, ... click on «Account»
• Your profil click on «About me»
• Who can see your pictures, videos, ... the comments posted,... click on «Privacy»
• Which events (Messages, Activities on the web site,...) you want to be notified by email, click on «Email»