Communication Sphere release announcement

Hello, fellow judges!

In the last few years, the judge program has grown and evolved a lot (and I thank you all for that) but with increasing membership we face a new challenge – communicating effectively with; and receiving feedback from; the community.

The leadership of the program is aware of this need and we want to improve the communication channels. I am in charge of the Communication Sphere, and in this post I’ll try to explain the goals of the Sphere and request help from you – the community.

Goals.
The big goal is creating effective communication channels. In order to achieve this need, we need to break this into smaller goals.

Identifying the needs: We understand that different types of users exist; some of us like to surf from page to page, reading things. Others like a single, well-structured webpage with all the “need to know” information. Some of us like to share our knowledge and ideas via articles, and others prefer the forums – and so on, and so on.

Identifying the weaknesses of current communication channels: Communication in the judge program has existed since its inception. As the program grew and technology evolved, as did the way we communicate – and it will continue to change in the future. It’s one of this Sphere’s priorities to identify where we can do better – and do it better.

Developing, implementing, and improving communication channels: The next step is using the above information to create new communication channels, or improve the ones that we already have. Things must be done carefully; every change needs to be considered, tested, and evaluated. Please don’t expect huge changes from one day to the next. Communication affects us all, and we must ensure that we cater for everyone.

Request for help
I’ve explained to you what we’re trying to achieve, and now it’s time to think about how you can help.

Providing feedback and ideas: Each and every judge can help here. It doesn’t matter if you’re an L5 who has been a part of the program forever (Hi, Scott!) or the newest L1. In order to help with the first two goals I need you to tell me about any number of the following topics:
What don’t you like about the current communication channels? Why?
What would you change? Why? How?
What would you like to see in the future (regarding communication)?
Please leave your feedback here:

Open in a new Window

Participating in projects: If you have the time – and yes, this is going to take time – and you’re interested in the Sphere, you can become a part of it. Please email me at alfonsojudge@gmail.com with “Communication sphere volunteer” in the subject line. Please use these exact words to help me categorize your email. In your email, tell me about your background.

Please note, to start with, this is going to be a very small group (3 to 5 members) but as we grow I’ll contact you to see if you’re still available and willing to help.

As I said before, we’ll read and consider each and every one of your messages. But this takes time. Please don’t be disappointed if I don’t respond within a couple of days, but I will respond eventually. If you write in another language than English, it may delay things while we find a translation, but your messages are welcome in any language.

Thank you Jack Doyle for editing.

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