For those who are invited to join the basic idea is that this should be easy -- and at the same time be set up in a manner that the database can be quickly accessed and scanned by those who are seeking counsel, working partners, speakers, panelists, organizers, sources of independent critical appraisal, et al. To guide our select list of invited participants, we have prepared a "sample bio" which is intended to demonstrate how a certain number of what should for most of us be readily available materials can be permutated and linked -- with the only additional original materials needed being the two hundred or so word "bio note" and the keywords that are intended to facilitate the database searches.

To do this, we took the materials we happened to have on one person here, since they were all immediately at hand -- and if we point you to this here it is for its structure and as an example, and not for its content or choice of words. You may find it even more helpful to look through the several completed profiles that already have been put on file. Hopefully, if you work through the button bar that appears at the top of each profile, you will see (and appreciate?) the basic structure that is proposed. In addition to your short bio note, which we can prepare together, we also need to set links to the other indicated materials which can help to fill out the profile.

Sample Database Entry

Bio - These crisp introductory statements hold the key to the rest. In each case a short, perhaps somewhat lightly written bio note, that makes clear the abilities and main accomplishments, bearing in mind that they must lend themselves to quick scanning and be of interest and intelligible to non-specialists. Long lists are definitely out (except for keywords). One wants the reader to be able identify the individual character and well as the work of that person, and perhaps to stick in the mind. 300 to 500 words max. - a single screen-full -- should do it quite nicely. 150-250 words or so - a single screen-full should do it quite nicely.

Photo - We will need one in jpg format about the size indicated please. If people have a picture of you in their mind, they somehow seem to latch on to all the rest. After all, we may never actually meet, but we can still get to know each other.

Links - The links are there (see below) in order to provide examples of how that person's mind has worked in a couple of specific and striking instances (with hopefully one print example and one using other media or approaches). Once one has read the bio and run the links, the person should just about step off the computer screen.

And here you have a copy of the button bar that appears at the top of each entry. It is put there in the hope that it will permit users to access quickly the information that they will need to have a good view of the originality and accomplishments of each of the group. A few words on each are possibly in order:

résumé

essay

concept

web page

index

search

translate page

http://www.ecoplan.org/advocates/eric-britton-bio.htm

• résumé - The idea here is simply to link to your full Vitae or something like it (and of course if your Vitae is not available on the Web, we can put lodge it in the database as well).
• essay - A short sharp print piece that will give people who may not know you a feel for how you attack these matters. Once they have read this, they will remember who you are, how you look at the challenges of sustainabilty. (Again this is probably already available somewhere on the Web, so a link should do it. If not, we can work it out.)
• concept or presentation - The idea here is to link to something that is other than a print document. In our sample bio we link to a standard PowerPoint presentation, but more interesting and useful yet will be sound or video files (excerpts or all of an actual conference). Just in case you are not familiar with how that can work, you may want to try linking right here to a very good conference by Arno Penzias on Knowledge, Technology and & Society, by way of handy example. (These other-media presentations require software in most cases, which though in daily use by those who work frequently on the Web may require downloading in some cases. For the help you need on this, please see the section on Software Tools and Utilities under our Help Desk. You may also wish to note that these are almost always rather hefty files, so if you have a slow connection, you may wish to skip this for now.)
• web page - Here the link to your web page if you have one, or that of your group, etc.
• search - This search function is directly explained when you click it.
• index - Self explanatory
• translate page - This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of this whole operation. See our translate help here. Since Systrans needs a URL, to save you trouble we have placed the page address in each case right under the translate button, so that all you need to do is copy and paste with your mouse.

Please comment.

Back to top

Suggested Keywords

access, action, air, art, benefits, blacks, children, cities, communications, community, consumption, costs, culture, cycle, daily life, danger, dematerialization, demonstration, development, dialogue, discrimination, distance education, drawing, eco-efficiency, economics, economy, eco-restructuring, education, environment, employment, energy, equity, ethics, externalities, film, focus group, food, future, gender, globalization, green space, handicap, incentive, industry, industrial metabolism, information, innovation, jail, jobs, justice, knowledge, labor, labour, learning, leisure, life quality, local, management, media, minorities, neighborhood, networks, new ways to work, non-motorized, non-paid, nurturing, parking, participation, phased strategies, policy, polluter, poster, poverty, plan, practice, prevention, prison, private practice, profit, public policy, public/private partnerships, radio, recycling, regional planning and development, religion, renewable, research, resources, rethinking, risk, safety, saving, self-help, sharing, shelter, society, solidarity, spread, stewardship, story, strategy, suburb, sustainability, sustainable, taxes, team work, technology, telecommunications, television, telework, theater, third world, town, traffic calming, transport, two-speed, unemployment, walking, waste minimization, water, women, work, underdeveloped, unemployment, union, video, volunteer,

Note: We want to be sure that we keep the list of keywords down to no more than a couple of lines for each of us. Also, if a word or phrase already appears in the short bio note, there is of course no reason to repeat it here.

Geographic Areas: Incidentally, if your work involves specific regions, countries or places (cities), it will also be useful to have a few keywords to help there as well.

Back to top

Your Inputs and Suggestions

Have any ideas, nominations, criticism or feedback for us? This is the right time to step forward -- and the right place to let us know is right here.

Back to top

---

The Commons Home

@Forum

Post Office