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Summary of our first online chat session

DrAmandaGraham
EX Team
EX Team
0 13 111

Dr. Hays and I hosted the first live chat session on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at 1pm EST. The purpose of the chat session was to provide additional details – as we currently know them – about our plans to evolve the BecomeAnEX website and to answer questions that EX members brought to the chat. We used a software platform called Chatzy which allowed all of us to “chat” as a group.

We had a GREAT discussion and appreciate the feedback of everyone who was able to attend.

The full transcript is available here. Check it out and then please share YOUR questions, ideas, or musings 1) at the next online chat session in early April (scheduling underway - stay tuned - we're planning an evening session so more people can attend), 2) below in the comments section on this blog, and/or 3) in the EX Member Feedback Group.

* NOTE: the full transcript opens as a PDF - if you have any issues accessing it, let Mark know and we can send it to you another way

** There was a Chatzy setting that we overlooked that limited the chat to 10 members for the first few minutes. We got it fixed quickly and all future chats will have unlimited spots available for everyone to join with any additional steps.

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Below is a summary of the questions/ideas that came up during this first session.

1. How Changes Will Affect Communication on EX

      
  • The EX development team has been meeting with different community platforms to ensure the new platform will give EX members more communication channels and tools (such as easier ways to create and customize profiles, and upload images/videos/gifs).
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  • We still aim to provide features that EX users like and value (such as blogs, private messages, knowing who is online at any given time).
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  • Our goal is to make it easier and less confusing to have conversations on EX.
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  • The group discussed the potential – and excitement for – a live chat option for members to be able to chat 1:1 or in groups in real-time.

1.A. Making it Easier for New Members

      
  • A recurring theme was that it’s currently difficult for new members to know where to go, what to do, and how to talk to/get support from other members.
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  • Our goal will be to make it much easier for new members to get oriented and for current members to recognize who is new to be able to welcome them into the fold.

1.B. Blogs

      
  • Some members expressed frustration about blogs timing out and difficulty with writing and editing posts. A new community platform should improve that experience with spell check and editing.
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  • New platforms also enable us to sort blog posts by both chronology (by date of original post) or by activity (posts with most recent comments/responses). We will be looking into ways to optimize this so it’s easy to see when new or active threads are posted.

1.C. Groups

      
  • The group discussed how the group functionality on EX has room for improvement. Members noted they would like to see old, unused groups be cleaned up (with notification to the members in advance) so it’s less confusing and groups are more active.
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  • Mark (EX Admin) highlighted that we'll evaluate the number of groups and determine where there is duplication. Overall, the goal is to revitalize the use of groups.
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  • Groups will be for a mix of experienced members and new members, with opportunities to better structure the community to know where people are in their quit journeys and membership.

2. Overall User Experience

2.A. Spam

      
  • There are a number of technical things we can do going forward to limit spam and allow users to flag content as spam (without risking accidentally banning legitimate users who are looking for help!).
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  • Mark will continue to work with members and community platform vendors to address this concern.

2.B. Freedom Train

The Freedom Train is an integral part of the EX experience for many users. We asked the group whether there are ways we could help facilitate making “running the train” easier and more inclusive.

      
  • One hope is that by making it easier for members to note their quit dates, that it would help the “conductors” identify quit dates and reach out with an invite to join the train.
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  • Members who currently “conduct” the Freedom Train will be involved in this ongoing exploration.

2.C. Quit Dates/Quit Date Tracking

There was a good discussion about how to make it easier for people to post their quit date and make it more visible to others in the Community.

      
  • One idea is to give people the option to designate it in its own field in the profile. Some people may want to keep it in their username. Members liked the idea of being able to see who quit on the same day as you easily (perhaps with a calendar view).
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  • Others discussed the idea of having a more visible, fun, possibly customizable “quit counter” to show how long someone has been smoke free. This will be part of the actual experience in the community and not something members will have to copy or adapt from other places.
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  • We want to support lots of different ways that members can see their own progress and be part of a group progressing together.

2.D. Notifications

      
  • Notifications will improve on the next community platform. Knowing when someone has reached out is a critical part of Community and one that we know can be done better.
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About the Author
Hello! I run the Innovations Center at Truth Initiative, the parent organization behind EX. I manage the large team of people that is responsible for bringing EX to you.