This page supplements the email every new member receives from Joy Garman (NCDD’s office manager) after they join.  There are many different things you can do to get the most out of your membership in NCDD — Please pick-and-choose from the options and technologies that best suit you. Thank you again for joining NCDD!

1. Participate in the NCDD Discussion list

The best way to communicate quickly with almost all NCDD members is through our main listserv — the NCDD Discussion List. This active list (with ~1400 subscribers) is used for networking, information-sharing, and discussing challenges facing the D&D community.

The NCDD Discussion list is a source for advice, inspiration, support, and food-for-thought to many in the field.  People tend to be very generous with their expertise and know-how on the list, so it’s a great place to ask for practice-related advice.  Please look over the ground rules for the list if you plan to be active on the list.

To send a message to the list, subscribers simply email their message to NCDD-Discussion@lists.thataway.org (or reply-all to a list message). We recommend new members send a quick message of introduction to the list so NCDDers can learn a little about your work and interests.

The list can get quite busy at times, so email Joy at joy [at] ncdd [dot] org if you would like to switch to the daily digest or unsubscribe altogether.

2.  Participate in NCDD’s other listservs

Look over NCDD’s other listservs at www.ncdd.org/listservs and see if there are other lists you’d like to subscribe to — especially if you opted out of the main NCDD Discussion list.  None of these lists will burden your inbox too much, but give you easy ways to connect with others in specific regions, stay updated on job opportunities in the field, and more.

3.  Sign up for trainings and workshops offered by our partners

Look over the page at www.ncdd.org/discounts to see all of the great discounts we’ve negotiated for dues-paying NCDD members.  These workshops and trainings are some of the best offered in our field, and many of the discounts save you hundreds of dollars.

4.  Participate in NCDD’s social media groups and pages

Are you active on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter?  Well, so is NCDD!  We’d love to see you there…

• LinkedIn group:  www.tinyurl.com/NCDD-LinkedIn
• Facebook group (over 2,200 members!):  www.facebook.com/groups/ncddnetwork
• Facebook fan page:  www.facebook.com/ncddpage (super-useful, as we’re using the page to automatically share posts from dozens of our members’ blogs!). Note:  you can also sign up for a daily summary of page posts via email.
• Twitter stream:  www.twitter.com/ncdd

5.  Post and comment on NCDD’s Community blog

Since 2004, the NCDD news blog has kept thousands updated on news and opportunities in dialogue and deliberation. With new posts added every couple days, NCDD’s blog is one of the best places online to stay informed about upcoming events, news about programs, and educational and training opportunities in dialogue, deliberation, and public engagement.

Visit www.ncdd.org/news to stay updated on training opportunities, upcoming events, job and funding opportunities, and other news for the D&D community. You can use the search field, tags or sidebar navigation options to hone in. The blog is updated several times a week, so you’ll want to check back frequently. You can also subscribe to Feedburner emails from the blog and receive new posts via email.

Participate by adding comments to any post or by authoring new posts via the Add-to-Blog form at www.ncdd.org/submit (or by emailing your ideas to sandy [at] ncdd [dot] org). If emailing a suggested post to Sandy, keep your submissions brief (3 or 4 paragraphs is best), easy to cut-and-paste (no PDFs or charts please), and include a link where people can find more details.

If you would like to do more, consider joining our team of NCDD bloggers and regularly posting announcements or thought pieces about areas that interest you. Email Sandy if you’re interested in exploring this option.

6. Post to the NCDD Resource Center

Our Resource Center is chock-full of all kinds of resources about and for dialogue & deliberation.  We have categorized, described, and linked to over 2,700 discussion guides, assessment tools, case studies, D&D programs and organizations, articles, books, videos, and more.  It’s a must-see resource.

Find it at www.ncdd.org/rc, or click on “resources” at the top of any page on the site. You can use the search field, categories and tags, or additional sidebar navigation options to hone in. We especially recommend you use the “I’m Looking For…” sidebar box that lets you cross-search categories and tags. Use the site map to see a full list of all the categories and tags, or just look over the most recently added resources.  You can also subscribe to the Resource Center via Feedburner, and receive new posts in your inbox every couple days.

You can add comments to existing resources, but we especially encourage you to participate by adding new resources via the form at www.ncdd.org/rc/add.

7.  Familiarize yourself with NCDD’s Beginner’s Guide

Whether you are new to dialogue and deliberation, want to expand your knowledge about different types of D&D, or you’re just new to the NCDD website, we strongly encourage you to explore the Beginner’s Guide at www.ncdd.org/rc/beginners-guide.

In this section, you’ll find links to the basics about D&D (jargon-free descriptions, steps for organizing a program, our glossary, our D&D quotes page). You’ll also find links to some gems in our Resource Center – like our Best-of-the-Best Resources page, our Resource Guide on Public Engagement, and NCDD’s Engagement Streams Framework.

8.  Post to NCDD’s Idea Incubator

The Idea Incubator is a space on the NCDD site where members can pose ideas that benefit our field, gather feedback, and gain partners. Your post in the Idea Incubator provides a “home base” for your idea, where you can describe your idea, let people know how they can get involved, and keep people updated on new developments.

We strongly recommend you use the NCDD Discussion list, Facebook group, and/or LinkedIn group first, to see if your idea resonates with a significant number of NCDD members.  If it does, post it to the Idea Incubator so even more people can hear about your idea and get involved. And look over our “Moving from Ideas to Action” page for guidance on how best to proceed via the Idea Incubator and numerous free online technologies.

10.  Keep an eye on the emails you receive from NCDD

As a member of NCDD, we’ll be sure to keep you updated on NCDD’s biennial conferences and other events, and various NCDD activities (like Confab Calls) that you can get involved in.  The lists come from email addresses like “NCDD-MemberList@lists.thataway.org” since it will take us a while to switch our listservs from our old web address, thataway.org.

11.  Participate in the Members Network

If you joined NCDD before October 2012, please utilize the NCDD Members Network, which is at www.ncdd.org/members. Your welcome email from office manager Joy Garman included a link to your profile, as well as your login and password. (Note to new members: please be patient as we look for alternative technologies for helping our members search for and connect with each other.)

The members network is basically an interactive online directory, and you can use it as much or as little as you’d like. If we mention you in the NCDD blog, we usually link to your profile page so people can learn more about you and contact you easily.

Your login is the email address you used on your NCDD join form. Let Joy know if your email ever changes, and she’ll adjust your settings. If you’d rather not update your own profile, just send Joy any changes or additions you need made to your contact information or bio.

We’re so glad to have you as a member of NCDD, and we hope you find your membership both enjoyable and valuable!