Welcome to a whole new GlobalCitizen.org.
The Global Citizen team has been hard at work bringing the community a new interface, a new way to present and interact with content, and a more in depth environment to take action and redeem rewards in. Some of the key changes, include a whole new navigation, much better featuring of authors and partners, and comments that will be visible on content pieces and on Facebook. Some of these changes are cosmetic, but others include brand spanking new ways to find and discover content. Our issue areas have an improved presentation, a tagging system that allows you to find articles by specific topics, and our featured partner pages allows you to follow the latest news and actions from your favorite organizations (cool, right!?).
Our actions have also been given an overhaul. Now your powerful tweet messages to world leaders will also earn you rewards points. Global Citizen is the platform to amplify your voice and now it can reward you for taking a stand. This new version of GlobalCtizen.org is just the beginning. 2015 will see new forms of content, recurring series of content, new languages being offered, improved user profiles and capabilities, and so much more. But instead of me telling you about this, how about you take my guided tour of the site yourself:
1. You need to sign in again. If you are an existing user, NO WORRIES, your information will be ready and waiting for you once you re-sign in.
2. Go to your settings (under the user icon on the top right corner of any screen) to add a photo for your user profile, and fill in a section near and dear to us all: “Why I’m a global citizen.”
3. Head back to the homepage and take a look at the stunning new layout (a big round of applause to Lightmatter, my boss Stefan Portay, our Chief Technology Officer Matt Webster, tech guru Guy Kirkpatrick, and our front end web developing queen, Beckylee Dell). They deserve a standing ovation for their hard work!
4. Check out the new Global News section. This carousel (use those little red arrows people!) will be your daily resource for the news and opinions from around the world. GlobalCitizen.org brings you the information you need to know about the world, but we are humble enough to respect that our media compatriots have a lot of news updates that are valuable. Now, we made sure our homepage has the best of our content, as well as updates from the rest of the web!
5. Look at the featured rewards. There is now a direct portal to see the rewards and opportunities being offered to global citizens. Take Action for a chance to win amazing rewards!
6. Take Action - it’s easy! The “Take Action” button (the fun looking circle on the side of content pieces) will follow you as you read an article to give you the best way to convert your gained knowledge into high impact action.
7. Discover stories in your favorite issue areas by reviewing the latest content in each of our major global themes, from Women and Girls to Environment to Citizenship, our theme that gives information and advice on how to be the best global citizen possible!
8. Videos. Yes, you heard me: Videos. It may not be groundbreaking to watch videos online (yes, Thank you YouTube for changing the planet) but our website is now highlighting the best videos from our events, our staff and our partners. So, get ready for more visual media in the next few months!
9. Find your favorite organization’s content and actions. Global Citizen has some AMAZING partners - and we want to showcase them by helping YOU get involved with their causes! By following your favorite organizations, or clicking on their content pieces, you can stay informed and help others to get onboard in their efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030.
10. FEEDBACK. Yes, I put that in capital letters for a reason. GlobalCitizen.org needs your feedback! On the bottom right corner of every page there is a light-bulb icon. This function will allow you to vote on development issues.If you have an idea for the website, send us a message through this function. We will do our best to get back to you..
The community is guiding the development of this platform, and needs your input to make it the best tool to end extreme poverty the world has ever seen.
BONUS: A lot of changes have been underway. Be patient. Large projects are not finished overnight. We are working hard to make sure the site has every piece of your user history and a ll our features working smoothly, but (fair warning) there may be problems. Let us know what they are (see #10) and keep coming back to see the improvements we are deploying all the time.
Reminder: the changes I’ve walked you through today are just the beginning. 2015 is THE year to get the world to decide to end extreme poverty and stop climate change, and it is THE year of major upgrades to GlobalCitizen.org (like how I made that comparison there?). Stay engaged and discover the newest tools we are offering you to empower citizens to change the world for everyone’s benefit. Oh, and one last thing, ENJOY the beautiful new site. It’s a great, right?