January 10, 2008
Review: GroupLoop
Posted by Kevin | Print This Article
(And we pause for a post that is a bit more, shall we say, functional.)
Up until last month, my organization held an account with Grouploop for the better part of a year. I’m pretty sure I first found Grouploop through a blog comment, and I think (but am not sure now) it was a comment on Acronym.
Grouploop is essentially a simple application that functions as a message board and file sharing system for small groups. It is not a terribly sophisticated system in what it offers, but that is why it is also very easy to set up and relatively easy for users (including those who are not particularly tech-savvy) to understand.
I first set Grouploop up because I needed a quick and dirty “closed” communications vehicle for our Board and a few other committees. We wanted to get away from having to mail hard copies of documents to committee members, but emailing large PDF files is problematic. At the time we were still in the building phase of our new website and I needed a quick solution.
Grouploop served the purpose. We were able to quickly set the account up, add members to various groups, and immediately begin posting messages and documents. Having never had such an online vehicle before, and working with members who are not typically web-centric in their daily behavior, for a while the communications were pretty much staff to member, with few interactions between members. Over time, especially when a particularly interesting topic came up for discussion on the agenda last fall, participation and discussion on the site increased greatly.
For associations who might be looking for such a closed loop forum and do not have need for more sophisticated features, I can recommend Grouploop. It’s inexpensive and easy to use, though there are a few issues to be aware of. For example, when posting a message or uploading a file, the poster has to take an extra step to have the message emailed, members of a group cannot manage separate group notifications or opt-out of receiving emails when they are sent, and the emails sent by Grouploop only identify them as coming from Grouploop, not the individual group from which they originate (which can be very confusing when you have members on multiple committees).
The biggest drawback is that it is a separate system, requiring you to add and manage the people in a group beyond your own management system. In fact, that is why it was never more than a stop-gap system for us and we canceled the account with the launch of our new website, which includes an e-groups system we built that is fully integrated with our database and very flexible (all I have to do is a check a flag in my database and the group now exists online for those attached to it).
But, while I like integrated features as much as the next guy, I’m a big fan of quick and dirty when it needs to be done. I can think of a million different ways a million different associations could use a simple program like Grouploop — particularly smaller local organizations, but we’re a national association and it served a good purpose for us.
The hardest part with this system, which is the same for any similar system, is getting people to use it. We discovered that the best way was simply to have something interesting for them to talk about (whodathunk?). And, like me you will probably find it amusing to find the silly name “Grouploop” quickly ingrained into your committee/board culture and enjoy overhearing members ask each other, “Did you see that thing on Grouploop?”
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