Updating the Website

The Google Site and Eventbrite are the two places where content is updated monthly.  Note that https://sites.google.com/site/systhinkon is the address for editing the page, and that http://wiki.st-on-org is an alias address for reading the page (only). Here's some hints on doing the monthly update.

1. Update the previous month's page on the Google Site

If there are any artifacts or blog posts to be added to the past meeting, add them.

2. Update the meetings in the left sidebar navigation on the Google Site

For the future meetings section ...

• Under the "Edit more actions ...." (Gear) button in the upper right ....

• Select "Edit site layout" ...

• Mouseover the left navigation bar to "Sidebar", and then slide down to the upper sidebar section.  Select "Navigation" to pop up a window.

• From "Select pages to show" ... select last month's meeting, and delete it with the trash can.  Theb select the upcoming meeting, and use the arrow key to push the date up to "WHERE AND WHEN".

For the PAST MEETINGS section ...

• Mouseover the left navigation bar to "Sidebar", and then slide down to the lower sidebar section.  Select "Navigation" to pop up a window.

• "Add page" ..., select the upcoming meeting date.  That will be inserted at the bottom of the list.  To preserve reverse order navigation, use the arrow key to push the date up right under "PAST MEETINGS'.

3. Update the upcoming meeting content on the Google Site

This has usually been a copy-paste-edit activity.  Most of the content can be written, except for the link to the Eventbrite page.

4. Create the registration page on Eventbrite

The easiest way to create a new event is to copy an old one.

• At "My Events" at https://www.eventbrite.com/myevents/ , "Manage ..." an old event (probably one with the same venue information as for the upcoming meeting).

• The titles of the prior meetings have conventionally been "Systems Thinking and ..." so that newcomers to the group will maintain some identity with the branding.  Fill in the new event name, and select the "Copy Event' button.

• Update the event details.  Some of the content can be copied from the Google Site page, but for full information, provide the web link back to the specific http://wiki.st-on.org page (which is an easier address to remember than http://sites.google.com/site/systhinkon).  Save the page.

• Eventbrite allows editors to Edit ... Design ... Manage ... the page.  To create a simpler URL, Manage ... the page.  Change "Your Event URL" to something simpler, (eg. st-on-yy-mm).

• When all of the content looks good, "Make Event Live"

5. Update the link to the Eventbrite page on the Google Site

The last detail is to make the Google Site point to the Eventbrite page (since you should already now have the Eventbrite page pointint to the Google Site).

6. Promote the meeting

Now that all of the content is ready, a notification can be sent out to the Google Group, pointing to the new meeting at http://wiki.st-on.org.