This blog post was written by Bill Clark, Senior Director of Outreach Programs at COPD Foundation and Community Manager of COPD360social.

Welcome to BronchandNTM360social! Long ago, we learned that knowledge is power, and we hope you will become a contributing and passionate member of the forum! In order to get the most from the forum, here are some tips to help you learn to navigate the site.

Registration is easy but it is also very important. To utilize some of the features like “Find People Like Me” and certain search functions, it is important that you not only register, but also take a few minutes to fill out the extended profile and upload a photo. During registration, pick out a display name that sets you apart from others. Just as a note, we do not allow the use of names of businesses, products, or illegal substances (not that you would do that kind of thing!).

When you first open the site you will be on the Activity Feed. The Activity Feed serves as your “open door” to the site by immediately telling you all that is going on in the community. In this section of the forum you will be introduced to new members, questions, topics and updates from the membership. To post something on the forum, a dialogue box at the top of the Activity Feed makes it easy... Just write what you want to share and click the Share button. One note on the Activity Feed: whatever you post here has a short lifespan as the feed continually updates and previous posts go to the bottom. So, if you are wishing to post something that you would like other members to comment on or provide input you would get better results by posting it as a question or an idea. This brings us to the next tip.

Posting a question is very easy. Click on “Questions and Answers” under the Community Discussions section on the left sidebar menu. In the Questions and Answers section you have the ability to search for questions previously posted, as well as the ability to post a new question. Pick a title for your question, selecting one that encapsulates what you want to ask. In the Description area, type your question. If you make a mistake here, you can always go back and edit. After writing your question, you will be asked to provide “tags.” Tags help search engines, such as Google, to index your post in an effort to help others find your questions or topics. To add a tag, type a word or short phrase that describes an element in your question, using a comma between each tag. For example if your question is something like: “Do you get the flu during flu season?” The tags might be: “flu, flu season, flu shot.” Once this is done all you have to do is click “Ask.”

An idea is posted like a question, the only difference being that an idea is a suggestion (not a question), and it is posted in the Submit Your Ideas section.

Interaction with other members on the site is an important part of establishing a community. You might notice that we do not use a “like” button as you might see in other forums. Instead, we use an I Care button. This tells the poster that you have read their comment, appreciate their situation or generally share their interest or concern. Community is all about sharing, and we need to acknowledge the joys, sadness and concerns others in our community experience! Friending someone is another feature of the site. To friend someone, click on their name, this will bring you to their profile page. Here you will find a button that allows you to send a friend request. A message will be sent to the other person that then allows them to accept your friend request.

These are just some of the basics. We will cover some more tips in future blogs. Should you have any questions about maneuvering the site, I encourage you to post them in the Questions and Answers section. Thanks again for joining us and we are glad to have you as a member of our community!