How did the Party go?

On Monday, we celebrated our 10th birthday with a virtual party in our mission-focused social network, OSCARactive.

We had people 'drop in' over a period of 24 hours from across five continents. We started with someone from Sri Lanka just after midnight and ended with someone from Australia just before midnight a day later. For most of the time we had between 10 and 15 people logged on, interacting and participating. There was a great buzz about being involved in something truly global in real time.

If you missed it but would like to join in, we're letting some elements of the party run on until the end of the month. Just visit www.oscaractive.net and click on the party tab.

OSCAR's 10th Birthday Virtual Party

It seemed appropriate that an online service like OSCAR should celebrate it's milestones online ... so today we're having a virtual party! It's an interesting concept that we have tried once before.

I had a letter from a trust last week who said that they thought 'online' and 'community' was an oxymoron, but then gave us a grant for having an inspiring vision! I think it's possible to build community online, we just have to stop measuring online relationships with a 'real' relationship yardstick. Very interesting programme on BBC about Facebook last week ... concluding that social networking is perhaps the first step in what could be a new 'total' communication revolution. Makes a change from the usual negative stuff that gets put out about it being a waste of time etc. That's a bit like saying talking to people is a waste of time. No, let's be more positive about what's happening online ... we're living in a revolution that could have great impact for the Kingdom.

OSCAR Annual User Survey 2009

If you're reading this, please take a couple of minutes to fill in our annual user survey. It will help us improve our services and better serve you in 2010. Thanks. Go to http://www.oscar.org.uk/oscaractive/survey.htm

Printer Cartridge Price Challenge

I challenge anyone to find a better deal on compatible printer cartridges than this one!

OSCAR's New CMS

After a long development time, we've launched our new website content management system. This means that mission orgs can now add their own vacancies to the OSCAR website. Things are just starting to pick up ... we had 24 vacancies submitted last Friday in the span of a few hours!

Finding the Cheapest Airfares

Access to the Web has turned everyone into their own travel agent. So is that it for travel agencies? Is it just about having access to all the booking systems or is there still specialist knowledge that travel agents have that we need?

For anyone looking for the best flight deal, I've recommended a process that utilises both the power of the Web and the expertise of specialised travel agencies. Take a look and see if it will help you with your next flight booking.

Vacancies Section Revamp

We are in the (long) process of revamping our vacancies section so that it is more user friendly (i.e. searchable) and easier for organisations to upload and update their vacancies. With over 120 vacancies currently listed, this is now the most popular sub-page of the OSCAR website with close to 1000 page views per month. Watch this space!