Content sharing websites aim to give Porirua a new voice

e-Learning Porirua unveiled the new Our Porirua.com website on Friday 14 June at the launch of the ‘Porirua Education Initiative’ known as Shine.

The new site automatically captures content from other websites participating within a growing Our Porirua Online Community of websites. Those websites can also selectively share content with each other, creating a unique network where people and organisations can exchange news, information, stories and ideas.

e-Learning Porirua board member and Our Porirua.com Project Director Wendy Betteridge says, “websites operating within the network are able to self publish content to other Our Porirua websites, and selectively receive content back, while offering the chance to connect with relevant groups and networks. That’s exciting for organisations, businesses and community minded people.”

The new online community represents a major shift away from the previous Our Porirua.com website, which had been run by a discontinued trust. The new Our Porirua.com will connect up much of the community over time but it already has a hand-full of people and organisations contributing interesting news and information.

The first areas of focus for the online community are in health, education and business, but this will expand to include arts and culture, sport, clubs, faith and religion, and any number of causes such as housing, employment, environment, accessibility, older citizens, and youth development.

“An exciting aspect of the Our Porirua Online Community is the opportunity to tap into the ‘villages’ programme, an initiative involving Porirua City Council. In fact the Council have been instrumental in helping e-Learning set up the new online community and we’re indebted to them,” Wendy Betteridge says.

Our Porirua.com acts as a hub website to capture content from any number of websites participating from within a website platform called Flightdec.com, which was built by website development company, FRESCO.

The Flightdec.com creator, FRESCO’s Fraser Carson said he believes, “Websites should be able to network and exchange. Facebook and Twitter are wonderful, but people spend money on websites without realising their potential to publish content and be much more dynamic as a result. Porirua, and a Wellington regional economic development website called Technology Valley.co.nz, represent a radical new departure in website community engagement and we’re hoping in Porirua we can set an example to the world.”

e-Learning Trust Chair Graham Kelly says, “Our Trust, which runs computers in homes in Porirua, is excited about the opportunity to bring a greater level of community engagement to the educational and public good work that the Trust has been carrying out successfully for 13 years. Now we look forward to the community’s involvement in Our Porirua.com and the benefits that will result."

Websites operating within the Our Porirua.com Online Community can only do so if built on the Flightdec.com platform. Websites are self managing, optimised for mobile, and operate with the characteristics of a quality stand-alone website.

Websites: www.ourporirua.com | www.flightdec.com

ENDS

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