4.28.2011

Prelaunch page is live!

We have launched an introductory page at http://www.clickingcreateschange.com , which describes the process of Project C and how to donate to us!

We are also in the process of sending out Marketing and Media packages around Ohio and even some will be going to connections in California, New York, and Washington D.C.

Follow us on twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/projectC_ and make sure to share and spread the word!

Our last big update is that our launch date is officially set for May 31st, 2011. The voting will be one week long and will close June 6th.

4.26.2011

Project C member talks about the importance of a team

The importance of teams within the workplace is undeniable. In the fast-paced world of today, things can generally get accomplished faster and more efficiently by a team. Teams are one of the most effective tools in tackling large or complex problems, so long as the team does not encounter derailing internal problems along the way. A team is like a large machine, with each part moving in a coordinated fashion to execute the overall purpose, or goal; if one of the pieces in the machine malfunctions, it can throw off the entire effectiveness of the operation. We want to avoid these malfunctions before they happen, and the same holds true with a team.

Although a team can be said to be machine-like, the truth is that it is an organic thing; we are humans, after all. Teams indeed have a lifecycle, and teams pass through 5 stages in their lifetime: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Each stage represents the dynamics that happen through the course of team development. Simply put, forming is coming together as a team and meeting each other, storming is getting to know the team and how to work together, norming is getting used to functioning together and creating team norms that take effect, performing is actually getting the work done and moving smoothly as an efficient machine, and lastly, adjourning is when the team completes, abandons, or fails in reaching the goal or purpose of the team. The stages of team development follow no specific order after the initial forming; a team could revert back to storming if they encounter a problem while in the performing stage, and likewise for any other stages.

As Project-C is heavily team based, with small production teams forming a larger overall team, I found it in our best interest to go through a series of team-building activities. Last Thursday, the members of Project C were presented information on team development and led through exercises in building team cohesion by myself. As a Leadership Consultant, I often find myself observing organizations that reach one stage of the team development lifecycle and plateau or fall short before reaching their goals, whatever they may be. Even in performing, certain shortcomings always occur (accountability, communication, and tracking results being very common) that cause even the best teams and organizations grief. To avoid these common pitfalls, I tried to teach the Project C team about the team development stages and how to identify what stage they are in; in knowing this, team members will be able to identify potential issues before they arise. The team-building aspect was simply for fun and building camaraderie. An important aspect to working as a team is getting along with those you work with, so by having fun and letting our guard down around each other, we were able to build trust and instill good feelings toward all.

After the activities, several people commented that they had a really good time and actually met new people as a result. Imagine that...we had been working as a team for nearly 4 weeks and there were still people learning names! That is one heck of a forming stage. But regardless, the information was received well by the team and many positive feelings and energies resulted toward our work in the future. With our added sense of team cohesion, we can succeed abound.

If you are interested in leadership or team development, visit www.ohio.edu/leadership to learn more, request consulting services, schedule a presentation, and more!
--
Brandon Logan 
(Member of Project C)

4.19.2011

We Are Here to Learn

On March 31, Pamela Pate met with the Project C team to educate and inform the group of the most dominant social issue affecting Athens and surrounding counties in Southeast Ohio: poverty. As an AmeriCorps Vista, Pate currently works for Ohio University's Campus Involvement Center. She has not only experienced poverty firsthand through her fieldwork, but has started the Jethro Project, an after-school community to tutor poorly performing middle school children, eat a nourishing meal together, and enhance social skills.

As storytellers and documentarians, Pate urged the group to hone in on one-on-one experiences with the subjects of our documentaries. Because of the intense level of poverty in some families and areas, she urged caution and gave words of advice when speaking with others. She believes that we are "not here to save, but here to learn."

Her charismatic personality and true passion for helping the people of Southeast Ohio deeply inspired the group to step beyond the boundaries of the university and experience the true culture of Appalachia before our time at Ohio University has gone.

Project C hopes to help sustain the Jethro Project by documenting the stories of the people involved. This will be one of four non-profit organizations that we cover.




4.11.2011

Design Team Wireframing

The design team started working on wireframes at our second break-out meeting last Wednesday. At our next design meeting, we'll decide on a final wireframe for the main page and begin mocking up details. Here are some of the wireframes our designers brought in to critique and discuss.

Rachel Orr »



Kiersten Bonifant »




Annette Drapac »



Dustin Scarpitti»

Steph Rumph »




4.06.2011

Donation Collection

The Ohio University Multimedia Society (http://ohioums.com/), a student organization, will be partnering with us and accepting any donations on behalf of Project C for the duration of the project.

If you are interested in donating to our initiative then please email us for more information at: donate@clickingcreateschange.com


Levels of Donation

Friend - personal donations ($1- $99)
• Your name will be listed on a page of the site as “Friend of
Project C”

Sponsor - organization and personal donations ($100 - $499)
• Your organization will be listed on our site as a “Sponsor”
• Link to your organization’s site on the donations page
• Logo will be displayed on the donations page

Partners - organization and personal donations ($500 - Above)
• Your organization will be listed on our site as a “Partner”
• Logo displayed on the donations page and in the footer of our
site
• Link to your organization’s site on the donations page and in
the footer
• Organization will be included in all press releases and other
marketing initiatives.


All checks:
  1. make payable to Ohio University Multimedia Society 
  2. Project C in the memo line

**NOTE: All donations will be disbursed at the end of the project to the foundations our site has highlighted.

4.04.2011

The Project C Logo

We have fined tuned our favorite logo concepts and have finally decided on the symbol that will brand our project!


Great job to the whole team for pitching in and starting this project off right with a strong and iconic brand.

Another update as well, creMedia (http://www.cremediaproductions.com/) is currently editing a video interview shoot with the three project directors, which is aimed at explaining our goals for the project more in depth.

4.03.2011

First Design Meeting

The Project C designers met to discuss the web site design and color palette. We decided on a site with a white, neutral, background color and integrating a color palette we found warm and inviting called: "Ocean Five." (http://www.colourlovers.com/palette/1473/Ocean_Five)


We also had a conversation about the limits of technology for our target audience, which is primarily Southeast Ohio. With this in mind we came up with guidelines for our user interface designers to design for:

  1. dial-up internet connections
  2. vimeo
  3. growth - vertical design
  4. access to stories from each page
  5. 4 stories, 3 pieces with each: video being the main piece. (main nav and sub nav heirarchy?)
  6. steps: learn about causes, vote, ect... (fixed bottom showing where user is in steps?)
  7. each computer (IP address): 2 votes
  8. live voting update/ front door after voting?
  9. EQUAL REPRESENTATION FOR EACH STORY
  10. One click away from content
  11. icons/visuals
  12. plan for future projects
  13. archive system
  14. follow-up stories

Advanced wireframes are due on Wednesday at 7 o'clock, where we will discuss the possible design directions. Also, Dustin is now finalizing the design for our logo as well, and we will post it as soon as we get the file.