Nature Blog Network

As Mike explained yesterday

Everyone has one month to recategorize and make sure you’ve installed the tracking code you each received when you were accepted to the NBN. On August 1, we will delete from the rolls any blog that still hasn’t installed the code. That’s the stick.

I get tell you about the carrot.

I’m really excited about this, and not just because I like carrots. We’re launching two new NBN pages, a map and a calendar. These were the top two wishlist items from last week’s poll.

Any member with the tracking code installed can be added (by city and state) to the NBN map. This will make it easier to find other members who live near you, or who live in an area you will be visiting. Great for organizing meet ups! Participation is voluntary, and you can indicate what city to use for your location. If you live in a small town, you can indicate a larger nearby city if you prefer.

Any NBN member (again, with the tracking code installed) can send in events for the calendar. We’ll be adding meetups, birding events, and individual blog activities that involve network members. Seabrooke will be continuing the community bulletin board on Sundays, and we’ll add events from that post to the calendar as well.

Appropriately, we’re using Google Maps and Google Calendar, respectively, for these pages. I say “appropriately” because Google has raised beta releases to an art form. Think of both of these new pages as beta versions, because we’ll be learning as we go. We need your feedback on what’s working, and what’s not. The future shape of these services, and their usefulness, can only be determined by use, evaluation, and adjustment.

Most of our readers are network members. We want to provide useful and helpful information for you, and be both a resource and a community. Let us know how we’re doing, and what you need.

And fasten your seatbelts - it’s going to be a fun ride!

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PS: Please include your blog’s URL (along with its name and your city & state) when you ask to be added to the map or have an event for the calendar. Thanks!

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