Are You Ready to Evolve Your Project?

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Danielle

How many news articles or blog posts have you read this week? What if they weren’t edited? What if the project you’re currently working on didn’t evolve?

If I didn’t edit this post, the initial paragraph could have been:

You already took the first step and signed up for ^IfMine. You created a project and invited people to become Collaborators and Mentors. Now it’s time to Evolve your project.

Or…

I believe we were put on Earth to learn everything we can about life and evolve together. When you’re learning something new and making necessary changes to improve yourself, you are evolving.

I didn’t chose the first paragraph since the ^IfMine community is still growing and most users have yet to create their first project. The second paragraph was too much about life and not the point of this post.

What IS the point of this post? Change is good. Edits are necessary.

When it comes to project development, editing is crucial. A good idea cannot become great without project evolution. At ^IfMine, you can Evolve your projects like never before.

Click the Evolve button and you can revise your ^IfMine project. This is essential when your project has reached a new stage of development. You can add new files or project description and easily update your Followers, Mentors and Collaborators about your latest project breakthrough.

Each time you Evolve your project, a new version is created which gives you a fresh start. Don’t worry about losing your first draft, you can still view all previous versions and comments with each project evolution.

Give it a try! Sign up for ^IfMine and become part of our beta testing group. We’re evolving and you can be with us every step of the way.

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Photo Source: kevin dooley (Flickr)

Stop, Collaborate & Listen

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Danielle

Teamwork. We’ve all done it. Some of us thrive in a team environment. Others, like myself, dreaded when a teacher announced it was time to split up into groups. I can’t recall most of the projects we worked on, but I do remember learning about other people. One particular experience stands out above the rest.

I’m a visual person and love the written word, which made it easy to join the high school newspaper staff. Our team of editors cut and pasted articles the old-fashioned way and developed photographs in the dark room. We took each of our unique abilities and successfully worked together under the guidance of our adviser. The end result was an award-winning student newspaper.

We were Collaborators on a project, the student newspaper, and our adviser was also our Mentor. We learned the importance of teamwork and how to benefit from expert advice.

Experiences like this are life-changing and can now happen outside the classroom thanks to the Internet. People from around the world are working together, collaborating with and mentoring each other. We are just beginning to see this at ^IfMine.

An ^IfMine user has the ability to create projects, but can also become a Mentor, Collaborator…or both. What’s the difference?

Like the newspaper adviser, a Mentor on ^IfMine is a person whose comments are valuable and helpful. A Mentor gives feedback to guide the development and success of a project.

And like the team of editors, Collaborators work together and contribute to a project. A Collaborator is able to edit project descriptions, add photos or documents and even Evolve the project as it progresses.

Are you ready to benefit from teamwork? Take the first step and sign up for ^IfMine. Do you know other people who have ideas needing feedback? Share this post with them.

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Photo Source: wonderferret (Flickr)

How to Create a Successful Project & Gain Effective Feedback

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Danielle

Do you have a brilliant idea, but don’t know what to do with it?

What if you can share your idea with knowledgeable people a thousand miles away or simply across town? Imagine that idea progressing into a successful project with help from a team of Collaborators and Mentors.

It’s possible to gain effective feedback on your ideas without leaving home or your office. You can start today by joining ^IfMine’s growing community.

^IfMine is building a project-based network where you can socialize and develop relationships with your peers, as well as experts in a variety of fields.

Our community of ^IfMine users has the ability to share ideas and projects in an environment that encourages feedback.

You can begin by creating a new project on ^IfMine. You’ll name your project, add a synopsis and an image that best represents your idea.

You can chose to make your project public for all to see, restricted to only Collaborators and Mentors or completely private. Next, enter tags to describe your project.

Elaborate on your idea by composing a Detailed Project Description.

Before you hit the save button, Invite People to join your project. (You may skip this step and invite people at any time by editing your project.)

Invite People to become Mentors or Collaborators by entering their email addresses or ^IfMine usernames. Users must accept your invitation before they become your project’s Mentors or Collaborators. You may also create a group of people for quick access on future projects.

^IfMine makes it easy to edit your project, add additional photos or team members. Once you’re ready to Evolve your project, you can create a new Detailed Project Description and not worry about losing your followers, Collaborators or Mentors.

We’ll talk more about Mentors and Collaborators on Thursday and how projects Evolve next week. Until then, sign up for ^IfMine if you haven’t done so already.

Want up-to-date ^IfMine information? Follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook and circle us on Google Plus.

Photo source: Sudhamshu (Flickr)

*Post updated (11/7/12) due to website design changes.