The Australia Project is using the Australia Project Google Group

Question

As an important aspect of re-organising the Australia project, we have been looking at the most effective way for us to communicate as a project moving forward. Google Groups are used by almost every project on WikiTree. They have the advantage that members can have a say in a less formal environment than the G2G, If you are an Australia Project member and don't yet belong to the Google group, there is a link to request to join on the Australia Project page at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Project:Australia. Don't forget to add your name and Wiki-ID so we can recognise you.

Gillian and Veronica

Comments

What if you don't do google?

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Hi Melanie, I don't know if this answers your question, but you don't have to have a gmail email address. You can use any email address, and you can even register that email address so you can log in to the google group. You can also manage the frequency that you receive emails from the group.

Alternatives are the G2G and the Facebook page, which will still operate as they have up till now.

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I am on facebook and part of the Aussie fb group.  I have two original gmail addresses that I stopped using years ago (more than 10) when I discovered that not only was google tracking everything I did, they did not delete my emails even after I deleted them.  A little too much butting into my life.  I no longer have the google taskbar, either, for the same reason.  (Of course, that does not stop google from tracking me anyway, but it is without my consent .)

If G2G and fb aren't enough for communication, I guess I'm not really that much a part of the Australian Project.  Something that makes me sad.

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I know there has been a lot of discussion about communication within Australia, so I'm sensitive to your concerns. And thanks for all your really wonderful contributions to the Australia Project. I love your posts on pages!

We will be moving to get the teams up and running very soon, so there will be opportunity to communicate directly with the team/s that you decide to be part of. Also we plan to get a regular Newsletter happening, which will be posted to the G2G. You may like to be part of that activity.

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Melanie, you're one of the big contributors to discussion on Australia-related topics here on G2G and also on Facebook. No reason to feel you're not part of the project.

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Melanie, you are most definitely a part of the Australia project, it wouldn't be the same without you!

Have you considered discord for communication? Because to be honest with you, I have been using google groups for a long time now and still don't quite get it. It is difficult to use I find. And having used discord recently for the global cemeteries project, and have proved the worst at getting the hang of it haha I am finding it overall more user friendly, intuitive, and aesthetically pleasing, which some Aus members have told me they prefer about facebook.

Just a suggestion.

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Hi Kylie, Discord is a great option, especially for teams. Thanks for suggesting that.

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Just to clarify - Discord is great for quick communications between project members, etc. but any serious project discussions need to be in G2G or the Google Group.  Thanks!

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Thanks Eowyn, I agree. Projects need a functioning google group in conjunction with the G2G to form the core of communication. The google group is great because it’s easy to log in and check what’s going on. That combination is the most successful way I’ve experienced to be confident that everyone is able to be in the loop,

The other options are adjuncts.

The other problem is that most of us are time poor. Especially if we belong to a number of projects, we need to know the places where the important communication is happening so we don’t miss stuff that matters.

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Would it be helpful if we had a free-space page, where people could add the link for G2G questions that they have posted relevant to the Australia Project? It would also make it easy to find past discussions. We could also have a similar page for the Indigenous Australians project.

Re google groups, quite a lot of people on WT create a special email account just for google groups. That keeps everything together and might resolve privacy concerns.