Jordan Employment & Freelance Office (JEFLO) aims at providing its members with regular employment and/or freelance contract work opportunities inside Jordan or from Jordan to the outside world !
Website design is my game, I have done several web projects
There are so many points that can be entry criteria to site structure: - Business Model/Process Map/ Workflow - Business requirements - Service Portfolio - Target Audience - Others
For our case, we need to have blocks like this in our site:
Homepage: - Attractive home page (i.e. rotating flashcards to be used for headline news & services)
Quick Sign-Up - Freelancer (free) - Company (free)
Membership Plans (at later stage): - Choose from three plans with predefined level of services)
Find: (NO login required) - Find Freelancers - Find Projects
Post: (login required) - Post a Project (Sign Up) - Create a Freelancer/Company Profile (Sign Up)
Featured: - Projects - Freelancers
Basic: - About Us (includes mission and vision) - How it works (for both Freelancers & Companies) - Contact Us - Follow Us (Twitter, FB, LinkedIn) - Members Count - Privacy Policy - Service Agreement
this is a high level only, there are other factors that we should take into consideration like appearance, A/E user interface, ease of use, etc)
Thanks Khaled for your detailed elaboration on the web site layout and functionality. You just got yourself a seat in the committee for the JFLO Web site !
I have couple example web sites that we can benefit from in the design and the functionality as well !
In the meanwhile, I would like to stress the need for the following as well
1- groups and subgroups 2- referral system 3- blogs 4- Partners area 5- Opportunities & Leads 6- Projects in progress 7- Closed projects 8- ...
To keep it as simple & easy to use as much as possible, We need to have few main areas, which I called “blocks” which will form the "core sections" of the site. then, some functionalities can be developed/added to the site within these sections (i.e. part of process, subpages, etc.), for example:
1- groups and subgroups > If you mean categories/subcategories for both projects/freelancers, then this should go part of post/search functionality 2- referral system > or affiliation system, can be managed under Member area ( for instance, you may ask the new member to provide a referral account ID when he ask to join for the 1st time/ as an option or mandatory) 3- Blogs > Frankly, I don’t recommended it at this stage, I don’t feel like we should have blogs at our site, blogs are more desired for communities and social activities. I prefer to have a professional website only for business only. What do you think? 4- Partners area > covered under Members area. 5- Opportunities & Leads > covered under (Performance Tools) for each respected member type, i.e. companies, freelancer, etc.. 6- Projects in progress > same as above 7- Closed projects> same as above
P.S. I suggest to direct our discussion through our website or one-one meetings/ small group to brainstorm about this topic. I don’t really see practical to split ourselves thin between, Gmail, Google+, JFLO website, blog, etc…what do you think?
Let us discuss here whether JFLO should be registered as a "society/association" , a "commercial entity" or maybe should remain for the time being as an "informal group" of freelance consultants in Jordan and in cyberspace (internet)
Sorry for not participate in the discussion earlier due to some technical errors i faced during the past two days.
With reference to the website issue: my colleague Khalid have presented wonderfully the basic need for the website. However, I am working now on a proposal to be set on the table next meeting for a draft structure of the website. I can give a brief of what it includes within the coming two days. The reason of delay was due to urgent an expected tasks were given to me at my work place.
Also I would strongly recommend that the JFLO should stay as an "informal group" at least for the time being, but keeping the idea of turning it into a society association or commercial entity in the future, I personally prefer the second one, this only to stand a foot in the society as a recognized firm before we take a big step like that.
Moreover, with respect to the mission/vision statements. Any suggestions yet?
Dear Mohammed and all All of you is doing a great job, but I wish we could focus .The ideas are great , but the inconsistency is obvious . 1- I totally agree with Khalid on the structure of the website.It is seems that web design is really his baby. May be he and Aziz can sit together and finalize it outside the meeting.There will be no time during the meeting to discuss such details .Let the meeting be a venue where we present what we did rather than repeating what are we going to do . The website is essential and could be amended any time. 2- Again , I do not see a point , at this stage at least , that we have to visit too many places just to get or post an info i.e. I second Khalid's suggestion that there is no need for the members to check their e-mails, visit the Blog, go to iTeamwork, and visit JFLO website to know what is going on.This is a waste of time and efforts , plus the confusion which will happened , for example who is going to read the comments on this blog ??? the answer is : those who are registered here only, but the rest of the members will not. Lets focus on our website and ignore other communication tools. 3- I do not agree with Khalid that Partners area is covered by members area , they are completely different. 4- the data related to who we are , what we do, vision, mission, company portfolio are almost there , but they need minor tuning and proofreading.I will be happy to contribute to this . 5- Our list of services is not yet finalized , may be we can discuss this in the next meeting. This is essential for concluding the vision and the mission . 6- The bottom line is that what is going on now is healthy and this is the way it should be ,but this can not go on forever . To avoid any disperse of efforts , I would suggest that we draft a concrete and SMART action plan , divide into teams with certain assignments and just go ahead . Blessings
Bear with me through this transformation phase of the JFLO initiative.
1- I know there are lots of good ideas/suggestions and we should accommodate all good ones with no exception.
2- I agree that the current situation is inconvenient and lacks consistency in getting news and updated about JFLO initiative.
2-1 This is why I created temporaty JFLO web site to act as the information hub and collect content for the follow-on formal web site that we all agree we should have ASAP
2-2 and in light of complaints that members cannot participate in the content of the web site directly, I created this temporary blog to give "author" privilege and allow members to participate actively in shaping our thoughts and further building the content for the follow-on formal web site.
3- For now, and till we have the follow-on formal web site, I would advise that the two resources we need are the web site and the blog mentioned above.
3-1 You can check JFLO Announcements page for news updates along with other pages in this web site.
3-2 Those active members who are keen to participate in the discussions and share their thoughts can do so on the JFLO blog.
4- As we agreed we have some "homework" to do in preparation for the next meeting, and as many members wanted to take role and participate in the elements which are needed for next meeting, I created iTEAMWORK environment to coordinate the activities and tasks among these members.
5- I know what we have is not perfect, and I know it is always easy to criticize (which I do not mind by the way), but and I insist on inviting everyone to bring forward anything that is better and ready to run NOW, and we will endorse it.
re.: Our entity If we are a non- profit making entity , then we can not be Commercial . Lets stay as an Informal Entity for the time being . May be we can solicit a lawyer .Please remember the tax issues!!!!
Yes definitely, we need to watch the implications of being not-for-profit or commercial entity. I agree that we need lawyer advice and we need to be aware of tax implications.
I also support the idea of staying as "not-for profit group" for the time being, and let us consider spinning off a commercial entity ASAP
A nonprofit organization (abbreviated as NPO) is an organization that does not issue stock shares or distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses the funds to help achieve its goals.[1] Examples of NPOs include charities (i.e., charitable organizations), trade unions, trade associations and public arts organizations. Most governments and government agencies are described by this definition, but in most countries they are considered a separate type of organization and not considered as NPOs.
While Not-for-profit organizations are able to earn a profit, more accurately termed a surplus, such earnings must be retained by the organization for its self-preservation, expansion, or plans.[2] NPOs have controlling members or boards. Many have paid staff including management, while others employ unpaid volunteers and even executives who work without compensation.[3]
Profit is not the primary goal of an NPO, but because an NPO can legally and ethically trade at a profit, the term Not-for-profit is often considered more appropriate than Non-profit. The extent to which an NPO can generate income may be constrained, or the use of that income may be restricted. Nonprofits therefore are funded typically by donations (which may be tax deductible) from the private or public sector, and are typically exempt from income and property taxation. Some NPOs may internalize profit in the form of comparatively good wages or benefits.
Nature and goalsNPOs are often charities or service organizations; they may be organized as a not-for-profit corporation or as a trust, a cooperative, or they may be purely informal. Sometimes they are also termed foundations, or endowments that have large stock funds. A very similar type of organization termed a supporting organization operates like a foundation, but they are more complicated to administer, they are more tax favored, and the public charities that receive grants from them must have a specially determined relationship.
Foundations give grants to other NPOs, or fellowships and direct grants to participants. However, the name foundation may be used by any not-for-profit corporation — even volunteer organizations.
Formation and structure: Nonprofits can have members but many do not. The nonprofit may also be a trust or association of members. The organization may be controlled by its members who elect the Board of Directors, Board of Governors or Board of Trustees. Nonprofits may have a delegate structure to allow for the representation of groups or corporations as members. Alternatively, it may be a non-membership organization and the board of directors may elect its own successors.
Problem experienced by NPOs: Capacity building is an ongoing problem experienced by NPOs for a number of reasons. Most rely on external funding (government funds, grants from charitable foundations, direct donations) to maintain their operations and changes in these sources of revenue may influence the reliability or predictability with which the organization can hire and retain staff, sustain facilities, create programs, or maintain tax-exempt status. For example, a university that sells research to for-profit companies may have tax exemption problems. In addition, unreliable funding, long hours and low pay can result in employee retention problems. Resource mismanagement is a particular problem with NPOs because the employees are not accountable to anybody with a direct stake in the organization. For example, an employee may start a new program without disclosing its complete liabilities. The employee may be rewarded for improving the NPO's reputation, making other employees happy, and attracting new donors. Liabilities promised on the full faith and credit of the organization but not recorded anywhere constitute accounting fraud. But even indirect liabilities negatively affect the financial sustainability of the NPO, and the NPO will have financial problems unless strict controls are instated.
Here we go gents, have a good start!
ReplyDeleteLet us start with the website details...
ReplyDeleteWhat we need to have in it. If we can gather all ideas to come up with the right structure of the site.
Yes ... let us go ahead with that .. What do you have Aziz since you mentioned this is the start point ?
ReplyDeleteHi Pals,
ReplyDeleteWebsite design is my game, I have done several web projects
There are so many points that can be entry criteria to site structure:
- Business Model/Process Map/ Workflow
- Business requirements
- Service Portfolio
- Target Audience
- Others
For our case, we need to have blocks like this in our site:
Homepage:
- Attractive home page (i.e. rotating flashcards to be used for headline news & services)
Quick Sign-Up
- Freelancer (free)
- Company (free)
Member Area:
- Freelancers: (Profile(s), Projects, Performance Tools, Watches, Messages, etc)
- Companies: (Profile(s), Projects, Performance Tools, Watches, Messages, etc)
Membership Plans (at later stage):
- Choose from three plans with predefined level of services)
Find: (NO login required)
- Find Freelancers
- Find Projects
Post: (login required)
- Post a Project (Sign Up)
- Create a Freelancer/Company Profile (Sign Up)
Featured:
- Projects
- Freelancers
Basic:
- About Us (includes mission and vision)
- How it works (for both Freelancers & Companies)
- Contact Us
- Follow Us (Twitter, FB, LinkedIn)
- Members Count
- Privacy Policy
- Service Agreement
this is a high level only, there are other factors that we should take into consideration like appearance, A/E user interface, ease of use, etc)
Regards
Khaled
Thanks Khaled for your detailed elaboration on the web site layout and functionality. You just got yourself a seat in the committee for the JFLO Web site !
ReplyDeleteI have couple example web sites that we can benefit from in the design and the functionality as well !
In the meanwhile, I would like to stress the need for the following as well
1- groups and subgroups
2- referral system
3- blogs
4- Partners area
5- Opportunities & Leads
6- Projects in progress
7- Closed projects
8- ...
What do you think ?
Regards
Mohammed Thiab
Hi Dear,,
ReplyDeleteTo keep it as simple & easy to use as much as possible, We need to have few main areas, which I called “blocks” which will form the "core sections" of the site. then, some functionalities can be developed/added to the site within these sections (i.e. part of process, subpages, etc.), for example:
1- groups and subgroups > If you mean categories/subcategories for both projects/freelancers, then this should go part of post/search functionality
2- referral system > or affiliation system, can be managed under Member area ( for instance, you may ask the new member to provide a referral account ID when he ask to join for the 1st time/ as an option or mandatory)
3- Blogs > Frankly, I don’t recommended it at this stage, I don’t feel like we should have blogs at our site, blogs are more desired for communities and social activities. I prefer to have a professional website only for business only. What do you think?
4- Partners area > covered under Members area.
5- Opportunities & Leads > covered under (Performance Tools) for each respected member type, i.e. companies, freelancer, etc..
6- Projects in progress > same as above
7- Closed projects> same as above
P.S. I suggest to direct our discussion through our website or one-one meetings/ small group to brainstorm about this topic. I don’t really see practical to split ourselves thin between, Gmail, Google+, JFLO website, blog, etc…what do you think?
Regards
Khaled
JFLO formal entity
ReplyDeleteLet us discuss here whether JFLO should be registered as a "society/association" , a "commercial entity" or maybe should remain for the time being as an "informal group" of freelance consultants in Jordan and in cyberspace (internet)
your thoughts please !
Formal Entity
ReplyDeleteWill share with tomorrow all my thought regarding JFLO idea.
ReplyDeleteDear All,
ReplyDeleteSorry for not participate in the discussion earlier due to some technical errors i faced during the past two days.
With reference to the website issue:
my colleague Khalid have presented wonderfully the basic need for the website. However, I am working now on a proposal to be set on the table next meeting for a draft structure of the website. I can give a brief of what it includes within the coming two days. The reason of delay was due to urgent an expected tasks were given to me at my work place.
Also I would strongly recommend that the JFLO should stay as an "informal group" at least for the time being, but keeping the idea of turning it into a society association or commercial entity in the future, I personally prefer the second one, this only to stand a foot in the society as a recognized firm before we take a big step like that.
Moreover, with respect to the mission/vision statements. Any suggestions yet?
Formal Entity would be excellent
ReplyDeleteDear Mohammed and all
ReplyDeleteAll of you is doing a great job, but I wish we could focus .The ideas are great , but the inconsistency is obvious .
1- I totally agree with Khalid on the structure of the website.It is seems that web design is really his baby. May be he and Aziz can sit together and finalize it outside the meeting.There will be no time during the meeting to discuss such details .Let the meeting be a venue where we present what we did rather than repeating what are we going to do . The website is essential and could be amended any time.
2- Again , I do not see a point , at this stage at least , that we have to visit too many places just to get or post an info i.e. I second Khalid's suggestion that there is no need for the members to check their e-mails, visit the Blog, go to iTeamwork, and visit JFLO website to know what is going on.This is a waste of time and efforts , plus the confusion which will happened , for example who is going to read the comments on this blog ??? the answer is : those who are registered here only, but the rest of the members will not. Lets focus on our website and ignore other communication tools.
3- I do not agree with Khalid that Partners area is covered by members area , they are completely different.
4- the data related to who we are , what we do, vision, mission, company portfolio are almost there , but they need minor tuning and proofreading.I will be happy to contribute to this .
5- Our list of services is not yet finalized , may be we can discuss this in the next meeting. This is essential for concluding the vision and the mission .
6- The bottom line is that what is going on now is healthy and this is the way it should be ,but this can not go on forever . To avoid any disperse of efforts , I would suggest that we draft a concrete and SMART action plan , divide into teams with certain assignments and just go ahead .
Blessings
Bear with me through this transformation phase of the JFLO initiative.
ReplyDelete1- I know there are lots of good ideas/suggestions and we should accommodate all good ones with no exception.
2- I agree that the current situation is inconvenient and lacks consistency in getting news and updated about JFLO initiative.
2-1 This is why I created temporaty JFLO web site to act as the information hub and collect content for the follow-on formal web site that we all agree we should have ASAP
2-2 and in light of complaints that members cannot participate in the content of the web site directly, I created this temporary blog to give "author" privilege and allow members to participate actively in shaping our thoughts and further building the content for the follow-on formal web site.
3- For now, and till we have the follow-on formal web site, I would advise that the two resources we need are the web site and the blog mentioned above.
3-1 You can check JFLO Announcements page for news updates along with other pages in this web site.
3-2 Those active members who are keen to participate in the discussions and share their thoughts can do so on the JFLO blog.
4- As we agreed we have some "homework" to do in preparation for the next meeting, and as many members wanted to take role and participate in the elements which are needed for next meeting, I created iTEAMWORK environment to coordinate the activities and tasks among these members.
5- I know what we have is not perfect, and I know it is always easy to criticize (which I do not mind by the way), but and I insist on inviting everyone to bring forward anything that is better and ready to run NOW, and we will endorse it.
Thanks and best regards to all
Dear all
ReplyDeletere.: Our entity
If we are a non- profit making entity , then we can not be Commercial . Lets stay as an Informal Entity for the time being . May be we can solicit a lawyer .Please remember the tax issues!!!!
Yes definitely, we need to watch the implications of being not-for-profit or commercial entity. I agree that we need lawyer advice and we need to be aware of tax implications.
ReplyDeleteI also support the idea of staying as "not-for profit group" for the time being, and let us consider spinning off a commercial entity ASAP
A nonprofit organization (abbreviated as NPO) is an organization that does not issue stock shares or distribute its surplus funds to owners or shareholders, but instead uses the funds to help achieve its goals.[1] Examples of NPOs include charities (i.e., charitable organizations), trade unions, trade associations and public arts organizations. Most governments and government agencies are described by this definition, but in most countries they are considered a separate type of organization and not considered as NPOs.
ReplyDeleteWhile Not-for-profit organizations are able to earn a profit, more accurately termed a surplus, such earnings must be retained by the organization for its self-preservation, expansion, or plans.[2] NPOs have controlling members or boards. Many have paid staff including management, while others employ unpaid volunteers and even executives who work without compensation.[3]
Profit is not the primary goal of an NPO, but because an NPO can legally and ethically trade at a profit, the term Not-for-profit is often considered more appropriate than Non-profit. The extent to which an NPO can generate income may be constrained, or the use of that income may be restricted. Nonprofits therefore are funded typically by donations (which may be tax deductible) from the private or public sector, and are typically exempt from income and property taxation. Some NPOs may internalize profit in the form of comparatively good wages or benefits.
Nature and goalsNPOs are often charities or service organizations; they may be organized as a not-for-profit corporation or as a trust, a cooperative, or they may be purely informal. Sometimes they are also termed foundations, or endowments that have large stock funds. A very similar type of organization termed a supporting organization operates like a foundation, but they are more complicated to administer, they are more tax favored, and the public charities that receive grants from them must have a specially determined relationship.
Foundations give grants to other NPOs, or fellowships and direct grants to participants. However, the name foundation may be used by any not-for-profit corporation — even volunteer organizations.
Formation and structure:
Nonprofits can have members but many do not. The nonprofit may also be a trust or association of members. The organization may be controlled by its members who elect the Board of Directors, Board of Governors or Board of Trustees. Nonprofits may have a delegate structure to allow for the representation of groups or corporations as members. Alternatively, it may be a non-membership organization and the board of directors may elect its own successors.
Problem experienced by NPOs:
Capacity building is an ongoing problem experienced by NPOs for a number of reasons. Most rely on external funding (government funds, grants from charitable foundations, direct donations) to maintain their operations and changes in these sources of revenue may influence the reliability or predictability with which the organization can hire and retain staff, sustain facilities, create programs, or maintain tax-exempt status. For example, a university that sells research to for-profit companies may have tax exemption problems. In addition, unreliable funding, long hours and low pay can result in employee retention problems.
Resource mismanagement is a particular problem with NPOs because the employees are not accountable to anybody with a direct stake in the organization. For example, an employee may start a new program without disclosing its complete liabilities. The employee may be rewarded for improving the NPO's reputation, making other employees happy, and attracting new donors. Liabilities promised on the full faith and credit of the organization but not recorded anywhere constitute accounting fraud. But even indirect liabilities negatively affect the financial sustainability of the NPO, and the NPO will have financial problems unless strict controls are instated.