community spotlight (19)

Community Roundup: Veterans' Communities

November 11th marks Veterans' Day in the US and related holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day around the world. After the camaraderie and shared experience of active duty service, many military veterans seek out a form of community when they return to civilian life. Here are some of our favorite communities where US Veterans can find support and resources.
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Take thousands of people all over the world devoted to peacebuilding and international collaboration, put them together in a community and what do you get? The Peace and Collborative Development Network. Founded by Dr. Craig Zelizer in 2007, PCDN has been uniting both job seekers and esteemed professionals in social development fields to help make the world a better place. With a robust selection of resources and a self-maintained advertising program, PCDN is leading the way in its field. Dr. Zelizer took some time to speak with us about where the network has been and where it's going.
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Fish farming, or aquaculture, is the fastest growing agriculture method, making over $80 billion just a few years ago. In this swiftly growing industry, AquacultureHub brings together people interested in their goal to "help advance the development and implementation of aquaculture programs around the world that promote sustainability, food security and food safety, research and advocacy." Network administrator Dr. Barbara Payne McLain, ATOLL Project Director at the University of Hawaii-Manoa, spoke with us about the passionate aquaculture community behind AquacultureHub.
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Beards aren't just for lumberjacks and pirates. In fact, they have a long history as the facial hair of choice for statesmen, educators, and philosophers. Look no further than Bearded Gents for a new generation of bearded wisemen. The site's creator, Gary W. Norman, took a moment to speak with us about the Bearded Gents Community, beard history, and bringing together a community from around the world.
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Ben's Friends Patient Support Communities was launched in 2006 to help people find others suffering from chronic and rare illnesses. It is now a network of over 30 rare disease support communities. John Stamler, a member of Ben's Friends since 2010 and survivor of Atrial Septal Defect, took some time to speak with us about this inspiring and encouraging network of communities.
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Shamshir Rai Luthra is a welfare activist, community catalyst, and quotable visionary who has developed four Ning communities to spread his message of oneness through self-knowledge and self-expression. Read on for our interview.
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You may know singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles from her recent radio hits (Love Song, King of Anything, Bottle It Up, or newest single, Brave) or from her judging stint on the third season of NBC's The Sing-Off. The members of the SaraBFans Community can tell you about her awesome Twitter interactions, her early college a capella days, and how awesome it is to see her live with a group of your best fan friends. The community's creator, Clément Grellier, took some time to answer our questions about how Sara Bareilles fans have made one of the best fan-run communities on the web.
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Lectures at home and homework during classroom time? Sounds like the education world turned upside down, right? Over at the Flipped Learning Network, that's just what they're trying to do: bring innovation to education by "turning learning on its head." Utilizing technologies such as screencasting and virtual textbooks, teachers of flipped classes attempt to reach every student like never before. Educators into Flipping their Classrooms gather together at the Flipped Learning Network's Ning Network, Flipped Classroom, where Jerry Overmyer, Mathematics and Science Outreach Coordinator for the Mathematics and Science Teaching Institute at the University of Northern Colorado, oversees the community of over thirteen thousand members. Jerry took some time to talk to us about Flipped Classroom and how to manage such a large community.
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Spanish singer-songwriter Enrique Iglesias can teach us a thing or two about community: He's recognized as one of the 50 most influential celebrities on the internet and there has been some semblance of an international fan forum present at EnriqueIglesias.com since the late 1990s. We caught up with Enrique's management team to chat about the engine that powers all that activity and the motivations behind the recent site redesign.
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Rokkus Radio is more than a radio station, it's a community with bucket loads of personality, a lot of heart, and a dedication to trans-media storytelling. We caught up with the charismatic founder of Rokkus.com, John Starr. In this interview, John takes us through aspects of the launch and daily operation of a narrative radio station and alternate reality entertainment-based community.
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Carnegie Hall has developed the Carnegie Hall Musical Exchange, a place for young musicians to connect with peers, share performances and compositions globally, and join creative projects led by professional artists from Carnegie Hall in a free online community. This community offers budding musicians new ways to learn and grow as an artist, establishing a dialogue with peers who share a passion for music and the desire to learn about cultures from around the world.
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On June 21, 2013 at noon, thousands of geospatial professionals will switch on their survey grade GPS devices to simultaneously measure and record information about their location in the largest scale land surveying project ever undertaken. The project is sponsored by the Land Surveyors United (LSU) community. We asked LSU Founder Justin Farrow to explain the significance of Survey Earth Day to the community and planet.
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JunoWallet caught our eye recently with the huge amount of activity it drove to its site after just a few weeks on Ning. What started as a simple app for consolidating all your gift cards (and leaving your plastic behind) has blossomed into a community of people interacting and taking actions that get rewarded with credits for gift cards and other prizes. We spoke with Kyle Leonard, JunoWallet Community Manager on what the JunoWallet community is like and how they got started.
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Our friends at Music for Relief have been working to raise funds and help victims of natural disasters all over the world since 2005. To support recovery efforts for the families affected by the recent Moore, Oklahoma tornado, they've teamed up with Linkin Park to give one lucky supporter the chance the win a trip to LA to hang with Linkin Park in the studio.
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Meet Daniel Kerr, COO of AdjusterPro and founder of Well-Adjusted, a community of insurance claims adjusters. In this interview, Daniel discusses the ins and outs of cultivating a community of practice in a tight niche and shares bits of wisdom along the way.
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