Figure 7 and Figure 8 below are screen shots from Myobuzz that show the community affiliations of two different persons.
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Figure 8
Users may create their own communities or select the communities that they wish to belong to. All the communities that an individual is connected to is visible in a list and, by clicking on the community name in the list, the community gateway is accessed and the user is able to interact electronically within the community and its members.
Myobuzz provides basic core constructs that are applicable to virtually all communities. These include the following modules:
What’s the buzz. This module allows members to capture news, upload multimedia items and for others to give comments and feedback. Figure 7 is an example of news items that have been written by various members. Communities may also create news categories in order to structure content. This is illustrated in comparing the “What’s the buzz” categories in Figure 7 and Figure 8.
Events. This provides daily, weekly, monthly and timeline calendar view of community events. The events of all selected communities or a filtered list of selected communities can be displayed.
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Community Profile. This module allows for community administrators to set up or specify
o what the community is about,
o the geographic location of the community,
o the community’s affiliation to other communities,
o the various community roles that people can register for. For example, a school community comprises of learners, educators, parents, a governing body, educational officials, etc.
o the Myobuzz modules that are relevant to the community. o the curriculum and learning course structure.
Community History. Many communities have rich histories and the system provides for the chronicling of past events and experiences that can be captured in various multi-media formats.
eLearning. A learning curriculum can be structured and multi-media learning material can be uploaded.
Market buzz. This section allows local businesses to advertise their products and services within the local community at a nominal fee. This module is expected to generate revenue for MicroVision.
Communities are inter-connected with other communities and MicroVision has made a distinction between three types of linkages, namely embedded, affiliated and associated communities.
Embedded Communities
An embedded community is contained within a hierarchical structure and is ‘owned’ by the parent community. For example, a government school, from an organisational perspective, is embedded within a circuit structure, which is embedded in a regional structure which is embedded in a provincial department which is embedded in the national department. Myobuzz makes the following provisions for embedded communities:
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1. Information can be shared from the parent community to siblings and vice versa. When a news item it posted, the author can specify the communities that the item can be shared with – across the hierarchical chain.
2. Business intelligence can be derived across the global structure.
The integration of Myobuzz with the MasterC schools management system provides immense extended capability to derive business intelligence for education organised within an embedded form and MicroVision intends to harness this potential.
Affiliated Communities
Communities affiliate to a coordinating body, which itself is a community, in order to engage in a common practice. For example, a school can affiliate to a schools sports organisation that manages sporting activities on behalf of participating teams. A business can affiliate to a business forum for the purpose of networking or creating an environment conducive for business. Affiliated communities could be autonomous and interconnect by choice.
The organisation of sport is an example where both affiliated and embedded types of communities can be prevalent. A soccer club can be embedded in a soccer league because this is the key focus. A school on the other hand that is embedded in an educational circuit, can be affiliated to a sports organisation of which soccer is one of the sporting codes. Sports communities are one of the targeted types of communities of Mobuzz and the system will contain features for league management. The controlling body will have the functionality to create leagues, competitions, teams, set up fixtures and capture results. Affiliated or embedded communities will be able to link their communities to teams and view fixtures, results of matches and the log. Affiliated communities will also be able to upload multi- media articles relating to the event.
The affiliation of schools to a community that manages a common curriculum is another example of affiliated communities of practice. The common curriculum can be managed by a controlling body responsible for the management thereof on behalf of its affiliated organisations.
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Associated communities are linked for any reason that may be of some mutual benefit. For example, communities may associate because of geographic proximity. Businesses, religious organisations, schools, etc. may associate themselves with a geographic community. The association is not necessarily because of a common practice. Rather, the link may be established for purposes of common expediency.
Myobuzz is another example of how the web is being rebuilt around people. Paul Adams, widely recognised as one of the leading thinkers on the social web and currently working as the Global Brand experience manager at Facebook, argues that this people-centred web is a fundamental re-architecture of the internet as opposed to just a small change94. He identifies four major shifts that are shaping our world. The first is the rise in accessible information. There is an exponential increase in the store of information digitally. Hundreds of millions of people are posting information online every day. Secondly, the web is moving away from a document-linked web to a web where social behaviour is the key feature. Thirdly, the tremendous amount of stored interactions gives the ability to mine data examining social patterns that gives insight into how trends develop and this will change the way in which business is done. The fourth shift is the dramatic increase in our understanding of how we make decisions. Adams says that have previously over-emphasised rational thought and greatly underestimated the power of the non-conscious brain. Myobuzz fits into this re- architecture of providing individuals with the ability to engage with inter-woven communities and we are passionately driven by the potential of owning this kind of software. We anticipate the ability to collect and mine massive amounts of data and hope to examine the patterns of individuals as they interact within their communities at a social and learning level.