Small Business Advisory Task Force

May 23, 2001 Meeting Minutes

Participants

Task Force:  Bob Bilbrough, Chairman – Qualcon
                   David Chisum -- A Novo Broadband
                   Heather Beshears -- Duraswitch
                   Mike Hamill -- Digital Planet

AeA Staff:    Matt Page -- D.C. Office
                  Josh Hiller -- Santa Clara Office
                  Jill Wingett -- Midwest Council

Online Networking Demonstration

Starting in June 2001, AeA will launch a new member service that will follow through on a commitment to allow members to network with each other via the Internet. This new service, to be known as AeA’s Online Networking, will provide members a forum to communicate on a virtually limitless number of topics.

The purpose of the demonstration was to allow Task Force members to see what AeA has been developing and for the association to receive valuable feedback before the service is officially launched.

Task Force members are encouraged to take a look at the service and you may still examine the functionality of the Online Networking program. The following directions will allow you to access the Online Networking service.

1. Go to the AeA website (http://www.aeanet.org) and login normally. You MUST login to www.aeanet.org in order to participate in the demo.
2. Upon login, you will be redirected to the member's homepage, (or "My AeANet" depending on your settings). Move your mouse to the "Address Bar" at the top of your browser (where the URL is) and type in "http://www.aeanet.org/aeaforums".
3. This will then auto-detect that this is the first time you have entered the Online Networking website and will AUTO-ASSIGN a username and password for you. The username and password will be the same as main AeA website. You will be asked to verify your information.
4. If you experience any troubles getting registered, there is a "Help" link at the upper right-hand corner that you can click to receive assistance.

When the Online Networking service is launched, there will be an area set aside for small and emerging growth businesses. This small business area will be designed to facilitate and foster discussion among AeA’s smaller companies. Interest categories, such as Energy, Taxes and Human Resources issues, can be set up for members to ask questions of their peers or discuss generally. For example, a human resources manager will be able to ask a question and have a peer in another company respond with how they have handled a specific HR problem.

The Online Networking program AeA is using is very dynamic and can be modified to be as broad or narrow as the users want the service to be. Initially, the service will be open to only AeA members to use, but the development team is considering an option that would allow non-AeA members to participate.

One of the best features about the Online Networking services is the "subscription" function. This function will allow a user, who may be keenly interested in a particular subject or issue, to be notified by email when any other user has posted a message on the desired subject. In short, the "subscription" function eliminates the need to continually check the site for activity. Instead the user will know exactly when their query or subject has generated a response.

The system AeA is developing provides the user with the ability to make complex messages. Similar to the edit functions found in Microsoft Word, the user will be able to change the font and size of their text; they can modify text color, make the text bold, italicized or even underlined. A user will also have the option of including an email and/or URL addresses imbedded in the text of the message, which will then show up as a hyperlink to the viewer. However, users will not be permitted to include an attachment to their message.

The Online Networking service also contains an email function, so members can be contacted for more private conversations.

Comments/Feedback

Following the demonstration of the Online Networking service, Task Force members were asked a few questions to elicit feedback on the site.

When asked about specific issue categories they would prefer, Task Force members were generally pleased with the ones provided for the demonstration. It was suggested, however, that a category for finance related questions/discussion should be added. It would also make sense to establish an area for Council related information.

On the issue of site design and user-friendliness, Task Force members were satisfied with the look and feel of the design and felt the service was fairly straightforward and easy to use. No real criticisms were offered.

Jill Wingett of the Midwest Council stated that the members of her council are eagerly awaiting the launch of the Online Networking service.

Next Meeting

Next regularly scheduled meeting
Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2001
Time: 4:30 p.m. EDT/1:30 p.m. PDT

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