[bestbits] Soft launch of new Best Bits website!

[Jeremy Malcolm]

Today we are soft-launching the new Best Bits website at
http://bestbits.net.  Big thanks to Deborah from Access, Lea from Global
Partners and others who have been working on this with me!

Here are some of the major new features (so far):

  * An event calendar at http://bestbits.net/events/.  New events can be
    added directly to this calendar, but we also subscribe to (currently
    six) calendars from other groups like Access, Fight for the Future
    and the Internet Governance Project.  Events automatically imported
    from those calendars can be revealed by selecting "Events from other
    calendars" from the "Categories" drop-down menu.
  * A fully-functional events calendar can also be embedded in other
    websites, in a number of different formats.  You can also choose to
    embed or subscribe to just certain categories of events - for
    example, just IGF and ICANN events.  Let me know if you want more
    information about this great feature!
  * We are officially abolishing the hierarchy between "Lead organisers"
    and "Other supporting organisations" that used to be shown on the
    website.  Any civil society organisation that has participated in
    the Best Bits network can now have their logo displayed as an
    organiser/supporter.  So please email me your logo, or a link to it,
    if you would like yours added.
  * Whereas previously the website was designed to highlight a single
    event, there are now multiple event pages available from a drop-down
    menu on the right of every page.  Having said that, there are still
    some changes to be made (such as removal of the countdown ticker
    from the top right corner).
  * We now have a Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus account!  The
    Twitter account is _BestBits (with a leading underscore).  The
    Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/bestbits.net (events from
    the calendar can be published to Facebook automatically, though we
    haven't done that yet).  The Google Plus community is at
    https://plus.google.com/communities/104087848331196964155.

There are still some features to be added (many of these are due to
constructive comments received):

  * It will be possible to RSVP for events, so that you can see who else
    is planning to cover an event, such as the WTPF, for example. 
    Funding options will also be shown.*
  * Events in the calendar will soon be able to be linked to dedicated
    pages elsewhere on the site (eg. with a statement, full agenda, etc).*
  * It will be possible to upload briefing documents for any event, and
    reports following from any event, and for these to be listed
    alongside the event and on the front page.*
  * We will be adding some background information pages for each
    institution (eg. ITU, ICANN, IGF) and for each issue area (eg. human
    rights, standards).
  * We want a brighter, friendlier looking background for the page, and
    to redo the theme for the calendar page, with a clearer division
    between months.
  * There are some other bugs with the calendar; mainly, you can't set
    your timezone when viewing or adding events, which may mean times
    are represented wrongly.
  * We need to find some 400x400 icons for events that fall into the
    categories of "non-institutional forums" and "events from other
    calendars".

*  For now, you can just add comments on the event to approximate for
this functionality.

Any volunteers who would like to help us work on the site are more than
welcome, no matter whether or not you are technically skilled or have an
eye for design - we can easily find something for you to do, such as
helping add details to events.  We are soon going to be establishing a
loose, geographically-inclusive steering committee for Best Bits, and
part of its work will be to establish a roster for such ongoing work.

I hope you like the new website and look forward to receiving your comments!

-- 

*Dr Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Policy Officer
Consumers International | the global campaigning voice for consumers*
Office for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East
Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 7726 1599

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