For Industrial/Commercial exchange administrators

We've added a new link called 'Password Help’ to the Members pane on all Industrial exchanges.

An ‘Account Help’ link already exists on the log in page, but we added the 'Password Help’ link so it was more visible to members who were having password problems.

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For Industrial/Commercial (with organization accounts) and Biomass admins

We added an ‘Add Location’ feature on Industrial/Commercial exchanges with organization accounts and Biomass Exchanges. Now members may add a new company location when they create a listing. So instead of going into the company profile, adding a location, going back out and then creating the listing, members can instantly create a new location while posting the listing; it’s much quicker and easier.

See release notice here: http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/support/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=2213

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For Industrial/Commercial (with organization accounts) and Biomass admins

When members click on the ‘My Account’ link, they'll see a new tab called ‘Listings.' When they click on the new 'Listings' tab they'll see a list of all their listings and an option to view, edit or delete them.

Members can still click on the 'My Company' link and see ALL the company listings including their own by clicking on the 'Listing' tab, but this new link under 'My Account' gives them direct access to just their own listings.

See here for more details: http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/support/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=2226

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For all admins

Did you know you can add and delete admins yourself? When you add and admin please let us know and we will send them an invite to the Communication Center (CC) so they can be part of the iWN community. And, when you delete an admin, again, please notify us so we can delete them from the CC.

Adding and deleting admins is easy. Here's a short tutorial for you to download: http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/admin_guides/administrators.pdf

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For Industrial/Commercial admins

Whether you’ve managed a virtual materials exchange for one month or a physical reuse center for 15 years, ReuseConex is for you! Organized by the Reuse Alliance, this first-of-its kind conference will allow you to learn from and network with experts from around the country and abroad.

ReuseConex will be held on October 18-20, 2010 at the Hilton North Raleigh in Raleigh, NC. Attendees will expand their knowledge of reuse; hear from over 60 speakers who will share the triple bottom line benefits of their reuse-based services; and learn to incorporate these green strategies into their daily lives.

For more details click here: http://reuseconex.org/about

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Barbi Ives, administrator of Maine Foodtrader and Maine Agtrader.

How long have you been an iWN exchange administrator and what’s it like?

I have managed Maine FoodTrader for almost a year and Maine AgTrader for about 8 months. It is a fairly easy job, once you get in the swing of checking the listings and/or your email regularly. At first, there was a lot of activity because both sites had fairly big launches. FoodTrader was talked up through a couple of farmers’ groups before it went live, and then I demonstrated it at the New England Resource Conservation & Development annual conference. AgTrader was introduced at an Agricultural Trades Show the month it launched, where we had graduate students manning a booth with the Maine Department of Agriculture; they helped new users sign up on the spot. Both of these launches were very effective.

Do you have any advice for other administrators?

You need to start with a bang. Develop a launching strategy before you go live, because how you begin will have a lot to do with how you will continue. As I said before, you need listings from producers already in place, to convince buyers that the site is worth going to. If you can get the attention and buy-in of a large group of producers, you have a good beginning. The first step, then, is to promote to sellers and get the listings, and the second step is to promote to buyers.

Do you have any tips/suggestions on how to promote an exchange?

We did our initial outreach by attending conferences, where sometimes we presented and sometimes we simply participated in conversations.

We have created some very nice brochures, designed by a talented grad student, and a matching poster that has a pocket to distribute the brochures. We created a smaller version of the poster, as well, with tear-tags containing the URL. We place these around town to promote to consumers.

I have created a business card for AgTrader that I can carry around with me and hand to food producers I meet. You definitely want a different type of material for each site, because you’re marketing a different product to a different customer. And you want to have it with you when you’re out and about, always ready to distribute.

Another promotional method I’ve been using is Facebook. I created a page for each of my Traders, and I post food-related newspaper articles, quotes from books I’m reading, thoughts I have about food and waste issues; and I announce on Facebook every time I approve a new listing. I find that Facebook gets a more immediate response than the Trader sites because people are there for so many other reasons. I have definitely seen more activity on both sites since I began posting on Facebook.

I have sent email to my members and it’s worth reminding people you’re there, because we are all very busy and have too many choices to make in a day; people sitting at their computers reading email are more likely than anyone else to visit a website for a minute.

Do you have a favourite quote?

“A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered” – Emerson

Tell us three things about yourself

• I have gotten very interested in local agriculture since I began promoting these websites
• I was trained to be a high school English teacher, but now I work for the EPA - life is strange
• I live in an old farmhouse with my husband, 2 daughters, 2 cats, and a dog (and rodents in the walls)

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We welcome our newest exchange partners to the growing iWasteNot Systems community!

Website: http://www.2good2waste.org/tallahassee
Type of Exchange: Residential
Site Administrator: Adam Schlachter
Client: Eco-Minded, LLC

Website: http://exchange.strathconagreenzone.com
Type of Exchange: Industrial/Commercial
Site Administrator: Sophie Agbonkhese
Client: Strathcona Business Improvement Association

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For Residential administrators

It's that time of year again; with so many students headed back to college and university, many of them are in need of cheap or free furnishings for their dorm or apartment. This a great time to send out an e-mail to members to remind them to use your exchange for these types of items.

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21 Things You Should Never Buy New: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/21-Things-You-Should-Never-usnews-2356162080.html?x=0

Trash Free for one year: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/couple-lives-trash-free-one-year.php

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