Norm's Notes
Our (R)evolutionary Process: Using nature as an inspiration for software development
Many of our modern inventions use nature as a model. The Teasel plant inspired Velcro, and the spiral shape of the Nautilus inspires the design of fans and pumps.
And because human and natural ecology are similar in some ways we believe that the design of software in ‘new ecosystems’ can be inspired by the approach nature takes to colonizing new spaces on earth.
We are still exploring the space where the internet meets the environment. And because iWasteNot Systems services many niches that are constantly evolving as new information is presented, our software too must constantly evolve.
In order to do so effectively, our business model must be set up in such a way that allows for constant change. This is accomplished in a couple of ways.
First, we know we won’t get it perfect the first time, so we plan for imperfection. Like nature we build in feedback loops so that our customers let us know when something isn’t a perfect fit with the need, and requires repair or improvement.
Secondly, like nature, we’ve implemented a decentralized ‘continuous learning’ approach to problem solving within the company and among our clients and in many situations.
Thirdly, nature has ‘social organizations’ where one learns from the other. So we encourage our clients to share their efforts and best practices with each other. This sharing of problem solving lifts all boats while at the same time making the load less for everyone. Everyone is open and listens to ideas, weighing them as a group and then picking the best, or a couple of ‘best bets’ and then we try them out.
Based on these discussions we continually refine and improve our documentation, our software, and all of our systems. This is the least costly, most efficient way to get as close to perfection as possible, while recognizing that the definition of perfection changes as the world changes.
The software has undergone many updates in the last few months in conjunction with and response to you, our partners. In this issue of resource, we highlight some of these new features. As always, please share your ideas.
Wishing you success in reducing, reusing and recycling, and in living a more sustainable life in general.
Norm Ruttan
Contact Information: Action Needed
You can now provide detailed contact information to users. We've made some adjustments to the 'Contact Us' page (previously 'Feedback') and there's a new admin control panel. You should set this up as soon as possible.
The NEW ‘Contact Us’ control panel controls:
1) The administrator name that displays in the ‘Exchange Info’ pane and the email address that users click on to contact you. (Previously located in the 'Main Settings' control panel.) The email address is also the address that the exchange uses to send all notifications to.
2) NEW! Contact information. e.g. address and phone number, displayed when the users clicks on the ‘Contact Us’ button at the top of your exchange. This is optional.
Please click the link to download a tutorial (pdf format) on how to add or modify your contact info: http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/admin_guides/contact_information.pdf
Alert Your Members!
Alerts notify your members by email when there are new listings on the exchange. Members can now subscribe to receive an alert to ‘All categories’ instead of specifying individual categories. In this way, members can be notified of ALL new listings posted on your exchange. Members can still choose individual categories if they do not wish to be notified of new listings in all categories.
We prepared a sample news item you can use to keep your members informed. To add a news article: Click on Admin panel >> Click on News (Under ‘Manage the Exchange’) >> Click on ‘Add News Item’ >> Then copy and paste this text & formatting code below into your news article:
Article Title: Get Email Notifications for All New Listings
Description: New Options to receive listings by email
Body of Article:
Setting up Email Alerts for New Listings
NEW! Members can now create an 'Alert' to receive email notifications of new listings in [b]all categories[/b]. If you choose this option you will be notified by email of any and all new listings on the exchange. You can also choose to receive Alerts for new listings only in a specific category.
Please click the link below for a tutorial on how to set up or change your Alerts:
http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/tutorials/alerts_food_exch.pdf
http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/tutorials/alerts_res_exch.pdf
http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/tutorials/alerts_ind_exch.pdf
Note to Admins: Please SELECT ONLY ONE TUTORIAL link above for your users before copying this. We have provided three which are customized to different types of exchanges.
If you are operating a food exchange, select alerts_food_exch.
If you are operating a residential exchange, select alerts_res_exch.
For all other types, select the alerts_ind_exch.
Help Members Find it Fast
iWasteNot's new ‘Listings Browser’ puts listing search and display front and center for your members.
Administrators can now provide this new interface to users on all types of exchanges.
The ‘Listings Browser’ essentially moves the ‘Search’ pane into the center column of your exchange and adds a ‘Category’ browser, giving members a more powerful, intuitive and easy-to-use method for finding listings.
The new ‘Listings Browser’ is displayed by default for newer exchanges (including most Industrial, Electronics, Biomass and Food Exchanges). Admins of older exchanges (mostly Residential exchanges) must adjust the home page layout if you wish to display this new feature.
An exchange displaying the ‘Search’ pane:
An exchange displaying the ‘Browse Listings’ pane:
To replace the ‘Search’ pane with the NEW ‘Browse Listings’ pane, please click the link to download the tutorial on how to adjust your Home Page Layout: http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/tutorials/listings_browser.pdf
Take Control of Your Exchange
Most people who use a materials exchange have only good intentions. However, in some cases administrators need to check listings before they are shown on the website to avoid spam or fraudulent listings. As part of every exchange, iWasteNot provides a system which allows administrators to ‘Review and Approve’ new listings before they hit the exchange.
If you find approving listings tedious, there is another option. Exchanges display a link to 'Ask administrator to review this listing' below each listing which allows users to police the exchange by reporting violations to you. If your exchange does not show this link with listings, it has probably been turned off. Look in the 'Layout Options' control panel (under 'Configure the Exchange'), under 'Listings' and uncheck the tick-box next to 'Hide Request Listing Review Link' to turn it back on.
The settings which control the approval system are found in the 'Main Settings' control panel (listed under the heading 'Configure the Exchange'). When you have selected 'All new listings require approval', listings will not display on the exchange until you approve them. Listings held for review/approval are located in the Listings control panel, (under 'Manage the Exchange').
We have prepared a tutorial to help you understand how to configure the exchange if you choose to approve new listings. Please click the link to download a tutorial (pdf format) on how to add or modify your contact info: http://www.iwastenotsystems.com/admin_guides/listings_review&approve.pdf
Administrator Spotlight
Previously an Environmental Engineer with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Nancy joined the Small Business Development Center's Environmental Management Assistance Program back in 2001. She shares the exchange administrator role with colleague Laurie Leas, in addition to their many other job responsibilities at the center
The Backstory
We initially launched the PA Material Trader in 2004 and the PA Manure Trader in 2007 and converted both sites to iWasteNot Systems platforms in 2007. For the PA Material Trader, we were already trying to arrange exchanges on an “ad hoc” basis and needed a better way to keep track of information. We started with an in-house exchange developed by one of our student interns, but upgraded to the iWastenot platform to take advantage of the additional administrative features, tracking and security (very important as our in-house exchange was hacked into). The PA Manure Trader grew out of a request from the PA agriculture folks looking for a way for farmers to comply with new regulations which limited the amount of manure they could store on their farms. Although the original idea was to create a “manure subset” in PA MaterialTrader, working with the iWasteNot staff, we determined it would better serve the farming community and other end users of manure to have a stand alone exchange devoted to trading manure. We have always wanted to expand our programs to offer an exchange devoted to biomass—particularly for alternative energy production. We do this informally now with both exchanges, but feel that offering an exchange that focuses on biomass would be timely and useful for PA businesses.
Advice for Other Administrators
Try to line up supporter/users before you launch the site. It is not easy to get the exchanges populated when they are new, so having some dedicated and committed users lined up can really help! We try to keep the exchange on people’s minds by including some of thecurrent listings in our quarterly newsletter. We find that reminders help and we get a flood of new listings
User Success
Check out THIS STORY of one member who forged some great relationships through materialtrader.org.
When asked about the most memorable listing Nancy can recall on either of the exchanges: "When you run a manure exchange, almost all of the postings are memorable!"
New Exchanges
We welcome our newest exchange partners to the growing iWasteNot Systems community!
Website: www.kppc-kime.org
Type of Exchange: Industrial
Site Administrators: Rebecca Cash and Bob Miles
Site Operator: Kentucky’s Pollution Prevention Center, University of Louisville's J.B. Speed School of Engineering
Website: www.nyfoodtrader.org
Type of Exchange: Online Farmers Market - Part of SharedHarvest Network
Site Administrators: Melissa Young, Sarah Kelsen and Kathleen Forrest
Site Operator: Environmental Finance Center, Syracuse University
Website: www.vbmx.org
Type of Exchange: Industrial
Site Administrators: Mary Ann Remolador and Lynn Rubinstein
Site Operator: The Northeast Recycling Council Inc. (NERC) under contract with the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
The Environmental Finance Center (EFC), who operates the successful Maryland foodtrader.org and agtrader.org sites have partnered with the State of Delaware to add two new exchanges to their stable.
Site Administrators: Joanne Throwe and Elizabeth Skane
Site Operator: The Environmental Finance Center (EFC) located at the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland
Website: www.deagtrader.org
Type of Exchange: Agriculture
Website: www.defoodtrader.org
Type of Exchange: Farmers Market - Part of SharedHarvest Network
Bits & Bytes
- Check out some pretty innovative ways to reuse at SUPERUSE
- For The Birds! Donate old signs to LAST CHANCE FOREVER and help a worthy cause.