Keeping Groups Safe and Secure, Part 2

Thanks for tuning into part two of our series on Big Tent security features. This time, we’ll take a look at some features that groups use stay safe on our site:

1. Timed memberships. Sit back and relax, while Big Tent manages the membership process for your group. With Big Tent, you can have automatic renewal invitations sent out to your group, and lock out anyone who fails to renew in time.

As a result, you ensure that only paying and/or active members get to enjoy the benefits and resources your group has to offer.

2. Membership approval. Big Tent gives group leaders controls to approve or reject potential new members. When someone first applies to join, you’ll have a chance to review his membership form before letting him into the club:

3. Customized group information sharing. Each group leader on Big Tent gets to decide how information sharing works within her group. She decides how much admins get to see about members, and what members can see about each other. In small groups, members often see lots about each other, such as phone numbers or addresses, while larger groups tend to restrict this information to leaders.

No matter how you set up your group, group admins can access the information needed to keep the group running, while members can feel comfortable participating online.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at hello@bigtent.com. Want to try Big Tent? Click here to sign up your group.

–by Mia Lee, Marketing Manager

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Big Tent Beautifies Bridges in McLaren Park

Late last month, the Big Tent staff completed a volunteer project with Hands on Bay Area (HOBA). Decked out in our grunge wear, our team carpooled to McLaren Park, the second largest park in San Francisco. After breaking into groups we put our painting skills to the test. We spruced up several bridges in the park, while rocking out to Laney’s tunes, noshing on granola bars, and catching some rare sun on a warm San Francisco day.

Sara and her daughter, Maya, paint hand in hand.

Hats off to Pearl, resident QA guru and a seasoned social manager from her days at Stanford, for organizing this volunteer activity. Our whole team agrees that is was a great opportunity to bond and give back to our local community. There’s no denying it – it just feels good to do good! And we’re mighty fine painters, if I do say so myself.

Some team members strut their painting garb on a freshly finished bridge.

By Mary Liz McCurdy, Summer Intern

Keeping Groups Safe and Secure

One of Big Tent’s main goals is to provide a secure online place for community groups to call home. Depending on your group, the notion of security can take on a variety of definitions. For a parents group, it might mean giving members a way to upload photos of their children — and having peace of mind that only other trusted members will see the images. For an alumni group or professional association, security might mean the ability to restrict the roster and other networking resources to members who are paid-in-full. For all groups, it means protecting members from spam and other unwanted intrusions.

Here are three ways we’ve set things up to fortify Big Tent against prying eyes:

1. Restricted access. The only way members can join a Big Tent group is through a special email invitation from a group leader. The leader may invite a member directly, or the member may cruise over to the group’s website and use it to request an invitation. To see this in action, check out our public page for the demo mothers’ group, Bay Town Mothers’ Club. If you look in the upper righthand corner, you’ll see a mini-form for potential members to request group membership:

Keep in mind that invitations are single-use only, and can’t be forwarded to unauthorized recipients.

2. Site encryption. We use https to keep outsiders from accessing your data when it’s in transit between your computer and our servers. This is the same standard that online banking and other sensitive transactions rely on to keep hackers at bay. And for those keeping score, we use 256-bit encryption on our pages, which is much stronger than the 128-bit industry standard.

3. Individual logins. A lot of groups that switch to Big Tent are used to maintaining their own admin-only website areas, where the whole group shares a single username and password to log in. Sharing login information creates a problem whenever a member leaves (or gets banned) from the group, since that person can still access protected data.

On Big Tent, each member of your group uses his or her own email address and password to gain access. Members can change their email addresses at any time, and can even use them to join multiple Big Tent groups.

Stay tuned for another post that covers the tools we offer admins to guard the gates of group information.

Can’t wait to learn more about Big Tent? Sign up for a live web demo, or drop us a line at hello@bigtent.com.

Big Tent: Management Magic for Your Multiples Group

It all started in August 2006, when a local club, the Marin Parents of Multiples Club, became the first group ever to adopt Big Tent. Supporting close to 300 members in Marin County, Calif., the group and its leadership team were seeking a better way to manage its membership, including tools to organize a special sub-group for parents of twins over five.

Today, Big Tent currently hosts many parents of multiples groups that span 15 states, with new states coming into the pipeline each month.

So what fuels the passion that multiples groups have for Big Tent? In some ways, the proof is in the pudding — or rather, the increased rate of participation. Mica Garretson is Newsletter Editor for St. Petersburg Parents of Twins and Supertwins in St. Petersburg, Fla. Mica loves the fact that Big Tent has streamlined membership renewals for her group. “This time last year, we had 16 people pay their dues on time,” she says. “This year we have 33. Thank you so much, Big Tent, for making this process so much easier!”

Wondering what Big Tent can do for your group? Just check out the screenshots below for more examples. You can also sign up to attend a live web demo, or start setting up your group today.

Membership forms

With Big Tent you can design a custom membership form to collect vital information for your club. Find out who’s interested in volunteering, who’s on bedrest, and more:

Database reports

Use our secure, admin-only database to look up information for your group! This will allow you to contact members and support them more efficiently:

Sub-groups

Want to organize playgroups and hobby clubs for your group? You can create sub-groups to your heart’s content on Big Tent. Plus, you can make private sub-groups for your board and other special commmitees:

Have questions about starting a group on Big Tent? Just email hello@bigtent.com for more information.

Extra, extra! Community Coach wins award in Hollywood

The reasons for celebrating keep rolling in! This time we’d like to applaud our team’s very own Jaine Murphy, who was honored as one of Nabisco’s 100 Extraordinary Women this past weekend in Hollywood. The national contest sought out women who strive to improve their surrounding communities, and Jaine received the award for founding Moms and Tots San Diego (MTSD), a large parent support group in San Diego, Calif.

“Being chosen was a total shock,” said Jaine. “While my members always send me notes telling me about how the group has touched their lives (which is validation enough), it felt really nice to be spoiled a little in recognition for all my hard work.”

Jaine started the group in May 2006, anxious to find support from other moms adjusting to their lives as caretakers for fragile newborns. Today, Moms and Tots has 675 members on Big Tent, connecting 24/7 to chat and share advice. In fact, Moms and Tots members generated over 5000 discussion messages in June alone!

Accompanied by her husband, Brad, and their toddler daughter, Alexis, Jaine jetted off to L.A. for a weekend of pampering and fun. Somewhere between photo shoots, a private screening of Phoebe in Wonderland, and dancing a conga line with two nuns (who also won the contest), Jaine also managed to squeeze in some fine dining. According to her, “The chocolate dipped strawberries with cheesecake filling were to die for!”

Jaine is now back in San Diego, single-handedly (wo-)manning MTSD and helping Big Tent launch new groups in her role as a Community Coach. Reflecting on her weekend, Jaine says, “I was truly humbled and proud to be in the presence of so many great women.”

Look for Jaine and her 99 extraordinary cohorts in an upcoming edition of People magazine.

Jaine and Alexis, watching Daddy guest star as a dinner show pirate

Jaine with Bill Pullman, who’s starring in Phoebe in Wonderland

Jaine on YouTube, selling the benefits of Moms and Tots (and a very vintage version of Big Tent!)

Big Tent launches in Nebraska

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Bethel MOPS! This active North Platte, NE group is our first in the state — a feat we owe to the innovative work of their Publicity Director, Kendra Carper.

In her efforts to spread the word about MOPS, Kendra was delighted to discover Big Tent as a web solution for her group. Kendra raves, “Every part of Big Tent is created as though it was inteded for our group!” She’s a particular fan of Big Tent’s color-coded calendar, our folder for sharing newsletters and other documents, and sub-groups for organizing her steering team.

Kendra has been involved with Bethel MOPS for three years. When asked what fuels her community involvement, she said, “I believe whole-heartedly in MOPS International’s ministry philosophy that ‘Better Moms Make a Better World.’ I love helping women become better mommies, which in turn grows a whole generation of better kids.”

Kendra credits her husband, Steven, for helping her balance her schedule and build quality ministries within her MOPS group. When not working with MOPS, Kendra is busy with her two boys, four-year-old Jackson and one-year-old Brady, and the family’s “temperamental dachsund,” Abby.

Our team applauds your hard work, Kendra, and wishes you and Bethel MOPS the best of luck in your ongoing endeavors!

All Aboard! Big Tent rides Cluetrain

We just can’t seem to leave you alone! We love it when our group admin list teems with suggestions of new ideas. We’re giddy when a new user takes our survey on ways to improve our current technology. We devote many of our communications to spotlighting our groups’ efforts to stay innovative and organized.

You may be wondering, what’s our thinking around always stirring up the conversation with members? Recently, Laney and I participated in a conference honoring the 10-year anniversary of the Cluetrain Manifesto. Back in ’98, some visionary techies declared that marketing was going to completely change, and companies had better get with the program. They predicted the extinction of “one way marketing,” where companies have control over what is said about their products and services. Instead, they spoke of marketing becoming a two-way conversation, where customers would spread their product reviews in wide-open public forums on the Internet. According to the manifesto, companies who participated in these conversations with authentic and honest responses would thrive, while those who tried to control all the messages would, well, die a slow and painful death.

Now here we are in 2008, where the incredible channels of blogging and social networking give power to the people, who in turn keep companies honest. There is no room for “spin.” We at Big Tent couldn’t agree more! Our team is here because we’re passionate about a partnership with our groups and their members. We love your ideas. And if you haven’t been part of the dialogue yet, please feel free to send us a line at hello@bigtent.com — or better yet, post it in your blog.

-Donna Novitsky, Big Tent CEO

Vroom vroom! Mother of the Year stays cool

Recognizing your volunteers is a surefire way to increase morale in your community group. So imagine how Kat Whiteley, technology guru and leader in her Seattle parenting group, Eastside Mothers of Multiples (EMOMS), felt when she was named Mother of the Year by the club.

“Actually, I felt a little bit embarassed,” says Kat. “I’ve never been ‘good’ at receiving compliments, and this has been about the biggest compliment I could ever be given.” Kat is a mother of two sets of twins (yes, you read that right) and describes her parenting role as “the most important job I’ve ever had.”

Kat, Dave, and their two sets of twins

Since EMOMS has been active on Big Tent since August 2007, we’ve been fortunate enough to ask our resident Mother of the Year to share some parenting advice with us. Kat, in her usual down-to-earth manner, assures that “you do what you have to do.” In her words:

So much of the time we worry about doing the exact “right” thing. But when you are in the thick of things, living one day at a time, and sometimes one hour at a time, you have to just do what is appropriate in the moment. Maybe that means turning on the TV for half an hour so you can have a quiet moment to regroup. Getting through each day and being true to yourself will let you be the best mom you can be for your kids.

Throughout her busy days of parenting, Kat finds time to roll up her sleeves and get to work in the community. When EMOMS jobs for an email and website administrator went unfilled, Kat stepped up. Scanning the group discussion forums for members’ questions with zero responses, Kat chimes in — researching outside resources as needed — and makes sure everyone feels supported. In addition, Kat serves as Publicity and Web Site Manager for her church group, Northshore Baptist MOPS.

What keeps Kat going? “I know what is possible using technology, and I am anxious for groups to reap the benefits,” she says. “The other major force that fuels my continued passion for volunteering is my faith, and the belief that I can make a better world by doing what I can, one mom at a time.”

Kudos to Kat, another wonder woman walking in our midst! And when she’s not wrapped up with her seven-year-old boys and five-year-old girls, look for her to whizz by, riding a dirt bike — one of her favorite hobbies.

Vroom, vroom, there goes Kat

Celebrating National Volunteer Week

Mark your calendars! Next week (April 27 – May 3) is National Volunteer Week. In honor of the upcoming event, Big Tent would like to recognize some of the devoted volunteers from the great groups we support. Here are a few of their reasons for giving back:

Anita Owens, Vice-President of Anne Arundel County Council of PTAs. “I wanted to be involved in my children’s schools. The people I meet and the work I do for all children are what keep me going, even when I want to quit. There are children in our schools that have no one to speak for them, and that is the job of the PTA — to speak for all children, not just your own.”

Jamie Heston, Co-Director of F.U.N. Mothers’ Club. “After I had my second child, I got eight meals delivered through our in a pinch program. I felt I had to give back for that, so I started delivering meals to other moms. I got such a good feeling from helping others the way I was helped. I continued to take on more and more volunteer roles in the club, as I suddenly felt this huge responsibility to let other moms know how great the club is, what resources we have, and how it gave me a great social life for me and my kids.”

Steve Teffenhardt, Vice-President of Ohio State University Aviation Alumni Society. “I originally got involved because at an early age, I figured out that you don’t get until you give first. I saw a professional fraternity as my first chance to make a difference, get to know people, to network, and to build something that I would be proud to be a part of.”

Kristen Geary, Membership Chair of Double Joy Mothers of Multiples. “I loved coming to club meetings and learning the answers to many questions that a new mom of twins might not necessarily know to ask. Everyone was friendly, helpful, and understanding. I just wanted to be part of a great group of ladies who helped me realize what a blessing I’ve received by having two babies at once.”

What inspires you to volunteer? For more information on National Volunteer Week, visit the website for the nation’s two largest volunteer networks, the Points of Light Foundation and the Hands on Network. You can also check out 1-800-volunteer.org for opportunities in your own backyar