About Zambian Online Community Wall
(Online community of Zambians and friends of Zambia, Powered by Google’s social network) Zambian Online Community Wall is a social network, i.e. an online community for people who share interests and/or activities. The interests shared by members in the Community Wall are on all things Zambian. Below are frequently answered questions (FAQs) on the Zambian Online Community Wall. Click here to listen to or download an MP3 audio version of this long page - if you prefer audio. What is the purpose of the Zambian Online Community Wall?
The primary purpose of the community or networking service is to share interests related to Zambia: Zambian friends, Zambian charities, businesses, churches, schools, etc. This online community section on Zambian Website (Zambian.com) is where Zambians and friends of Zambia can create personal and institutional profiles on their own without submitting to the webmaster. This gives Zambians and friends of Zambia the freedom to manage their profiles on a country and Zambian community website we all feel part of. What are the benefits of joining the Online Community Wall?
The benefit of joining the Zambian Online Community Wall is having your own Zambian.com web presence and networking opportunities with like minded people on Google’s vast network. Your own web presence on a country website that has a personal name for every Zambian: Zambian.com. Our friends love it too. Network and create personal pages, charity pages, business pages, Zambian church or ministry pages, pages for your Zambian schools, etc. How does the Online Community Wall work?
The Zambian Online Community Wall works by using Google's social network services. This has two main advantages:
1) It allows everyone that already has an existing profile on Google's vast social network to easily join the Community Wall and use their existing Google network profile on the Community Wall.
2) It allows all members to have access to more people to connect with in Google's vast social network. Not only can friends connect with each other on the Zambian Online Community Wall they can also connect with each other on networks that are part of Google's social network. What is Google's social network and how does it relate to Zambian Online Community Wall?
Google's social network comprises of social network or online community websites that have teamed up with Google to offer social networking services. These include the following:
1. Google (called Google Friend Connect, social net service mainly offered through third parties),
2. Plaxo.com,
3. Orkut.com (a Google owned social networking website), and
4. Twitter.com.
In relation to the Zambian Online Community Wall your profile (personal or institutional) on the Community Wall is linked to any profile(s) you create with Google’s social networks. For example, if you have a profile with Plaxo.com you can easily use it as your profile on the Zambian Online Community Wall, by selecting it as your preferred profile (in your account’s “Settings” section). Do I have to sign up for a Google account to join the Zambian Online Community Wall?
Yes and no.
1) Yes you do if you do not yet have any Google account like Gmail, Blogger, Picasa, etc. However if you prefer not to have a full Google account (like Gmail) all you have to do is join with your existing email from Yahoo.com, Zambian.com email, etc. When you click the “Join” button a new page opens up. Then click on the bottom link labeled “Create a new Google account). Then use your existing email (Yahoo Hotmail, Zambian.com email, etc) to create an account that enables you to join. 2) No you do not have to create another Google account if you already have a Google account like Gmail, Blogger, Picasa, etc. Do I have to be a Zambian to join the Online Community Wall?
No. Just like you don’t have to be a Zambian to live in Zambia. All friends of Zambia are most welcome to be part of the Zambian Online Community Wall. I’m already a member of one of Google’s social network. How do I join the Community Wall?
If you’re already a member of any of Google’s social network (Google itself, Plaxo.com, Orkut.com, Twitter.com) all you have to do to join the Community Wall is to simply click the "Join" button on the Community Wall members’ page. There are no extra membership forms to fill in. The "Join" button is on the page where photos of Community Wall members show. It looks like this:
You’re instantly joined to the Community Wall once you’re done with the simple setup of you account on the Google Account setup page and have have opted to join the Community Wall. What’s next is using your existing account on Google’s social network. To do this you’d need to click the link labeled “Settings.” Here is an illustration.
 Once you click the link labeled “Settings” a new window opens showing various options for managing your profile that is associated with your Zambian Online Community Wall account. At the top of the page “Settings” page there is a link that once you click on it gives you the option to associate your account with any profile on Google’s social network (Google itself, Plaxo.com, Orkut.com, Twitter.com). I’m not yet a member of any of Google’s social network. How do I join the Community Wall?
If you already have a Google account like Gmail, Blogger, Picasa, etc then you’re already part of Google’s social network. If you don’t have one you’d need to create a Google account. However if you prefer not to have a full Google account (like Gmail) all you have to do is join with your existing email from Yahoo.com, Zambian.com, etc. When you click the “Join” button a new page opens up. Then click on the bottom link labeled “Create a new Google account). Then use your existing email (Yahoo Hotmail, Zambian.com email, etc) to create an account that enables you to join. To get started click the "Join" button. The "Join" button is on the page where photos of Community Wall members show. It looks like this:
How do I login or sign into my Zambian Online Community Wall profile account?
Easy. As you can see from the illustration above, next to the "Join" button is a link labeled “Login/Sign in to your Zambian Online Community Wall profile.” On the Community Wall members’ page click on the link to login (or sign in). There are also sign in buttons near the top and bottom areas. How do I logout or sign out of my Zambian Online Community Wall profile account?
Once you log in the “sign in” buttons near the top and bottom areas change to links that are labeled as follows: “Settings | Invite | Sign out.” Once you log in here is how they look like Community Wall members’ page:
The illustration above shows Online Community Wall Network’s account after signing in. Yours will show your account. You’ll be signed out or logged out if you click on the “Sign out” link. Do you have any example of profiles created?
Below are examples of personal profile accounts created by the Online Community Network, the admin account for Zambian Online Community Wall. Your profile can be for a business, a school, a church, personal one, etc that you wish to associate with the Community Wall. Here are Online Community Network’s profile accounts linked with the Zambian Online Community Wall: 1. Online Community Network’s Google profile linked to the Zambian Online Community Wall
2. Online Community Network’s Plaxo profile linked to the Zambian Online Community Wall
3. Online Community Network’s Twitter profile linked to the Zambian Online Community Wall Note that Online Community Network has three accounts from the Google social network (Google, Plaxo and Twitter). This is optional. You only need one account to link and join the Zambian Online Community Wall. You can have more if you wish to network with more people in the entire Google social network. I’ve joined the Zambian Online Community Wall. I only see my photo with no description and no links to any of the four social networks on the Google network. What’s going on?
Adding a description and links to your profile is done by you once you join the Zambian Online Community Wall. To do this you’d need to click the link labeled “Settings” (assuming you’ve already logged). Here is an illustration again. Once you click the link labeled “Settings” a new window opens showing various options for managing your profile that is associated with your Zambian Online Community Wall account. There are many options, it’d take a lot of time describing each of them. The most important to note is the link labeled “Edit your Google profile.” If you click on it you’ll be able to add a description and links to your profile. If you take a bit of time assessing the options you’ll become more familiar with how to add and remove info to your profile. I’ve joined the Zambian Online Community Wall. I see the other people but it says I don’t have any friends. What’s going on?
Joining the Zambian Online Community Wall is different from having personal friends. You’d need to add the people you personally want to associate with in the the Zambian Online Community Wall. How do I add add the people I want to personally associate as friends?
It’s simple. Just click on a photo of a person and an “Add as friend” link opens next to the photo. Click on the link and a “Send” button will show up. Click the “Send” button to invite the person to be part of your personal friends. You can try this out by clicking on Online Community Network’s photo. It’s the one with a photo of hands of people interlocking. Simply click on the photo wherever you find it on the Community Wall members’ page. I’ve sent invitations to some people by clicking “Add as friend” on each familiar person. However they still are not among my personal friends on the Community Wall. What’s up?
This is because they still need to accept the invitation you sent. The invitation you sent will remain active until they add you. To add you they’d need to login into their accounts. You too may have people that sent you invitations and you may not know it until you login into your account. This is how it is for now. Google keeps improving the networking service. It’s expected that in future you’ll be able to have an option to be notified by email. So for now you’d need to go to your account settings from time to time. To got to your account settings you’d need to click the link labeled “Settings.” Here is an illustration:
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In your account settings there is a link labeled “Manage friends” on the left side (based on the December 2008 Google layout of settings). On the “Manage friends” area is where you’ll be able to add and remove people as your personal friends. I’m not familiar with anyone in the photos. How do I add people I know to be my friends?
There are at least four options:
1. Use the search bar above to search for friends or Zambian institutions you know. Enter a person’s name in the search bar. The search bar has been configured to search for people and institutions among Google Profiles (GP). You can click and select Plaxo Profiles if you wish to search for people on Plaxo. To search for people on Orkut you’d need to log in to Orkut and use the search bar there. 2. The second option is to click the “Invite” link that is next to your photo. You’ll see many options pop up in a new window. If you have all four accounts from the Google social network (Google, Plaxo, Orkut, and Twitter) all the people you know that are members in each one will show up. This is assuming you have provided your email address to access your address book. If you do provide them with your email address the people you’re familiar with will pop up because your address book’s data is automatically pulled from your email by any of the four social networks. 3. The third option is to manually invite people you know. For instance you may have friends on MySpace, Facebook or Live Spaces you know. You can log in to these accounts and sent invites to them. 4. The fourth option is to use your email. You can email friends you wish to be personal friends on the Zambian Online Community Wall. Once they join the Community Wall you can then invite each other to be personal friends. How do I contact people who’re among my personal friends on the Online Community Wall?
Each person has different settings for his/her account. Some have enabled their profiles to receive email from others, while others have disabled it in their settings’ options. In addition some may have to links other sites that they’re part of. It’s likely some of the sites do allow email or other contacts. What is the purpose of the “Comments” section on the Zambian Online Community Wall?
The “Comments” section serves as a message board on anything you wish to share with other members of the the Zambian Online Community Wall. Add your comment about Zambia, about a friend, message about an event, a bible verse, a joke, news item, health tip, YouTube video link, etc for others to read on your profile. If you want to share a YouTube video link click "Add a video" on the right just below the comment section. How come there aren’t many features on the Zambian Online Community Wall?
If you manage your profile through the “Settings” panel you’ll actually find there are more social networking features than you initially thought. Plus the opportunity to combine all four of Google’s social network. However the basic information you setup to be displayed serves as window to all other info on any profile you have on Google’s network or any profile that you create a link for others to access. The Zambian Online Community Wall associates your account with any of the four accounts from the Google social network (Google, Orkut, Plaxo, and Twitter). It is able to extract key profile data for people to know you or about your institution. The description and links you provide are relevant for others you wish to share your info with. When people click the links you provide they’ll know even more about you or your institution. What matters most is that you’re in the Zambian Online Community Wall where people can find you, where you can find others, share your work, interests, and so on. Do you have profiles that are powered by networks like MySpace and Facebook?
Not yet. We may add more major social network sites to be easily linked with the Zambian Online Community Wall. MySpace and Facebook are currently offering open social network services to third party websites. We may add them. For now we believe the four parties in the Google network are adequate enough. However if you have your main profile on MySpace and/or Facebook you can easily create a link to that profile. This helps others to easily access you through your preferred profile. What matters most is that you have a basic presence on the Zambian Online Community Wall. It thus helps having a basic or detailed profile on the Zambian Online Community Wall. My security concern: Do Zambian Online Community Wall admin have my account access?
Your privacy is strictly guaranteed. Although you’re a member of the Community Wall the administrators on Zambian Website do not have access to your profile data, leave alone your Google related account. Your profile account data is strictly in your private hands - guaranteed by Google, the service provider of the Zambian Online Community Wall. Does the Zambian Online Community Wall send unsolicited email to members?
Absolutely not. Expect no email whatsoever from the Zambian Online Community Wall, unless for email you personally request for from the Zambian Website. Right now there are no newsletters to register or request for related to the Community Wall. So no unsolicited email forever and ever. Amen. The Online Community Wall is simply a place where people can find you, where you can find others, share your work, interests, and so on. Power to the people, not to control-freak institutions. *****
We'll continue making improvements to better serve you and adding services that can help in your personal life, career, ministry, business, entertainment, etc. May God bless you. Click here to return to the Zambian Online Community Wall page
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