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Title edit
HobbySpace.co.uk - Get Involved!
HobbySpace is a free clubs and societies networking site launched in the UK in late 2007. The tag line for HobbySpace is …get involved.
The aim of HobbySpace is to help clubs and societies promote themselves freely on the internet, attract new members and retain existing ones. Clubs that sign up to HobbySpace effectively create their own minisite with fantastic features such as member contact lists, forums, photo and video uploads, GoogleMaps locations calenders and much more.
Importantly clubs choose their own url for external promotional purposes eg http://www.hobbyspace.co.uk/cdomanchester
Description edit
The aim of HobbySpace is to help clubs and societies promote themselves freely on the internet, attract new members and retain existing ones. We also help people find clubs, hobbies and activities to take part in during their free time and socialise and engage with those that share a common interest. This is particularly true in the case where an individual moves to an unfamiliar part of the country, looks to start up a new hobby or wishes to partake in an activity that they have since lost touch with.
The initial idea for HobbySpace was based around trying to find sports clubs and teams and for sports clubs to promote themselves and keep in touch with potential and existing members. This initial premise was expanded because of the observation that a large proportion of activities and pastimes aren’t sport related and that the same person that plays a sport may also have a keen interest in other pursuits such as music or literature.
As a result, the current format has the lists ten different categories in which clubs should associate themselves with. The names and the main divisions of the categories are based around the way that The University of Sheffield’s Union of students chose to categorise their clubs and societies. This is due mainly to the fact that three of the four co-founders of HobbySpace attended The University of Sheffield.
There are four different types of HobbySpace membership and all are free to use. These are: Individual Club, Facility and Governing Body
Individual
Everyone that registers with HobbySpace must first sign up as an individual member. Individuals are able to sign up to as many clubs as they choose and in doing so have access to each of the clubs “members only” sections. The benefits here include access to “Club Chat” forums, clubs photos and videos, calendar and bulletins as well as being able to contact other members of the same club via instant messaging.
Individual members can also upload their own videos and photos and customise their profiles. Members can show their club nicknames and positions for each club as well as being able to publicly display the clubs they are associated with.
Once signed up on as an individual, members are then free to able to register a club, facility or governing body. The individual that initially registers the club, facility or governing body is by default the club secretary. The secretary has all of the moderator rights. The secretary and therefore moderator rights can be transferred to another member by using the change secretary feature and using a member's HobbySpace ID. An additional moderator can be added to a club and I doing so they have all the same access to a club apart from the facility to change the secretary.
Clubs, Facilities and Governing Bodies
Each of these has a similar set up with Club Chat Forums, Photo and Video Galleries, Calendar, Locations map provided by Google Maps, Bulletins, Members Contacts list and Links and Affiliates. The links and affiliates feature allows sister clubs and societies to be linked to each other E.g. a men’s and women’s Football club that train at the same facility and share social events. Clubs can also be linked to the facilities that they train or meet such as football pitches or school or community halls as well as any Governing Bodies they operate under such as the Football Association.
When registering a club, facility or governing body a HobbySpace URL e.g. http://www.hobbyspace.co.uk/cdomanchester is chosen which links straight to that homepage. This is particularly useful for clubs facilities and governing bodies that don’t have their own websites. In the case where clubs do have their own site the HobbySpace URL can be used as an additional promotional tool in the way that music groups and bands often have a MySpace mini site as well as their own as a way to reach as many people as possible
Club
A club on HobbySpace is a social network or group of people that share a common interest. Examples include Rugby Teams, Book Clubs, Wine Tasting Groups, National Societies and Scouts and Guides. Facility
A facility on HobbySpace is a venue where people may go to partake in activities. These include sports halls, places of worship, museums and parks. Facilities will commonly be places where clubs meet regularly, in which case they may be affiliated to that facility. They may also simply be venues where individuals go to pursue activities unrelated to a particular club such as gyms or swimming pools.
Facilities on HobbySpace are able to list their key amenities and disability accessibility features so that users can easily search and find services that they are looking for. Governing Body
A governing body on HobbySpace relates to regulatory authorities that manage a particular activity or group or activities and even facilities. These include authorities councils and associations. Examples here include The Football Association, The Arts Council and the Church or England
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