Author: Christakos Anastasia

Co-Author: Rentzeperis Dionysis

Background and Motivation

 

Due to the delays in airing the renovated version of www.geitoniamas.net, the following paper is being submitted as an on-going research paper and is to be read as an introduction of the final research paper.

The initial proposal paper sent to EUTIC was sent with the belief that there would be ample time for the completion and working with its upgraded functions of the renovated site that would have provided the data points, arguments and conclusion for the research paper. However, during that time, we discovered that we were victims of fraud from one of our web masters (we provided the financing of joomla modules and components, which were never even bought) and a few others lacked the commitment. We were fortunate to have found Zoe Spathi and her assistant Korina Vaila to have accepted the challenge within a short period for the construction of the site. We bought the template at the end of July and after more than 100 neighborhoods, 1750 forums, 400 blogs, a hundred business directories, hundreds of components and modules, the renovated social network www.geitoniamas.net aired in mid-September.

This paper is divided into two parts being: the observations and conclusions that emerged with the initial site, which led to the decision for the second part, the updated version of the social network with an updated calling.

“Geitonia Mas”(www.geitoniamas.net) (“Our Neighborhood”) is a non-profit social network that publishes on-line its income and expense accounts. Its funds are exclusively from private/corporate sources such as on-line advertisement, corporate and private donations, etc. The focus of the paper proposal is to measure the effect of the “Geitonia Mas” social network in bridging the gap between the collective and individualistic tendencies of local communities already under pressure from a severe national economic downturn. While a crisis can often serve as a catalyst for greater cohesion and communal effort for improvement, this has not been observed in Greece to any great extent. Citizens have instead retreated from public engagement, treating any initiative with suspicion, distrust and apathy while projecting upon fellow private individuals the shortcomings, both perceived and real of the political class, which is seen as the main reason for the country’s current state.

The implementation of “Geitonia Mas” aims to reverse that trend by enabling its members to both fund/champion their local causes and be informed about their local issues. The site is broken down into ‘neighbourhoods’ following the administrative/geographic municipalities of Athens (with the possibility of other cities joining in) each headed by a local co-coordinator. It offers local news, blog space, individual/personal profiles and forums for discussion. The members are not limited in the range of topics up for discussion and are free to talk to about any issues. In fact conversations in the forums are varied, covering personal interests from child development and pet care to recipes, auto repair and local businesses.

The focus of the site’s content is to inform its members about the important local or regional issues that they need to be aware of, ranging from the discussions and issues in Parent-Teacher Association meetings to issues debated in their municipality’s administration. By presenting a one-stop shop of important local information we attempt to encourage increased awareness and interest in local politics and community issues, tapping into the growing G generation (being defined as the internet users generation between the ages of 15-85 who inter-engage, diffuse and respond to ideas on line and off.)

Geitoniamas.net is the brainchild of Anastasia Christakos Gritzalis. I am a Greek American, a dyslectic and owner of a neighborhood bookstore in Maroussi, a northern suburb of Athens, since 1988. Unlike parts of northern Europe where big chain stores are dominant or the only option, neighborhood bookstores in Greece traditionally provide for the needs of the local students and also provide office supplies to their local municipality and business. Their close interaction with the local education and administrative system makes them a nexus for information about local affairs.

Over the Christmas holidays in 2008, a family friend from England came to visit and mentioned that “the century of self” should be left behind. "This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy."[1] Adam Curtis’ award winning BBC production video had a profound impact on me, in so much as to question everything and reassess my priorities and beliefs with regards to established societal aspirations. I realized that much had been happening since the time of my graduation from college and had major gaps of knowledge that quickly needed to be filled. The internet was instrumental in being able to explore trends and issues brought up by socio-biology, psycho- sociology, neuro-science as well as developments in politics, direct democracy, economics and much more.  

Early in 2009, contrary to government and journalistic announcements at the time claiming that Greece was immune to the global crisis, I tried to inform my customers that citizens should press the government to take steps to insure against an inevitable economic calamity. I even suggested that both major parties in parliament, Pasok and New Democracy should combine forces in a joint effort to avoid the consequences of the global economic turmoil while there was still time. The reaction of my customers was almost uniformly that of disbelief. Not discouraged from the negative feedback I was receiving, I continued to press on with my warnings but at the same time researching and observing “swarms” or similar patterns of reactions and impressions from my customers. Noting that most of the people have accepted the view that “this is the way that things are done here in Greece” or in other words a closed system society, I continued and came up with the idea of a site with the aim of creating a community that would sustain and provide a better future by communicating and discussing issues in an open system. Resigned to the idea that the Greek government was a dysfunctional system that could not be easily adjusted and actively resisted change, I began to explore different approaches on how to adapt and establish a system of direct democracy so as to provide people with a focused means of political expression as well as a creative and innovative outlet.

I was surprised to discover that for a country with citizens where politics are often the main focus of discussions and a high percentage of participation in local and national elections (65%-85%)[2] there are significant barriers to direct action. These range from local city council meetings that open to the public just once a month to Parent-Teacher Association (like PTA) meetings that frequently devolve to partisan bickering along political party lines. Compounded by the fact that local politicians often play the role of an employment agency for an already overstaffed city hall in exchange for votes, a system whose henchmen actively work to discourage meaningful participation and cultivate apathy among those who seek to address its faults has arisen and entrenched itself.

Creation of the site

In September 2009, I started informing my customers of my plans to make a neighborhood site. Providing a very vague outline of what the site was to be about, I chaired a number of meetings with interested parties in my municipality so as to determine the main areas of interest.

During September 2010 the site finally aired on the internet in its then final format. Awareness spread entirely by word of mouth as there was no budget for advertising. The airing of the site in September proved to be a tactical mistake on my part. This was due to the fact that local elections were scheduled for early October 2010 and pre-election fever was consuming most of the local society’s interest. Rather than hearing the common questions asked when one hears of something new, “What is this about, etc.” , most of the feedback I received could be summarized in the following statements: “Are you running for office”, “How much are you going to make out of this?”, “You don’t fool me; I know which party you are coming from and who is backing you…,”.

A few months later, while researching for background material for the presentation of the social network at the Kapadostriako University of Athens, I came across the term post modernism[3]. I noted that the behavioral pattern observed during the time of local elections could easily be defined as a post-modernistic society. a) Incredulity – to be disbelieving; b) Skeptism; c) Fractured. Define the part in order to see the whole rather than the other way around. Political and existential fragmentation; d) Dismemberment – importance to sub sets rather than sets. Taken down to what is in it for me; e) Relativism in ethics and morals; f) Multiplicity; g) Sublime- expresses the edge of our conceptual powers and reveals the multiplicity and instability of the world; h) The subjective and not the objective; i) The collapse of cultural hierarchies; j) Answers cannot be found by appeal to an external truth, but only within the confines of the norms and forms that phrase the question[4].

The following is a comprehensive list of the reactions towards “Geitonia Mas”: (not compiled in any hierarchical order)

1) Socio -political climate was not conducive to active participation. Grounded in their “ideological and party culture” most people were very skeptical about “Geitonia Mas” as an entity. Skepticism was dominant, ranging from: “Yeah, sure where is the catch” to “who is behind this and why are you doing it”

a) The tyranny of Party politics: Many individuals who are active participants in the local politics, due to their party ties saw “Geitonia Mas” as a competitor. The same month that “Geitonia Mas” went on line, there were a number of Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) members who rushed to create and air their own site. (Ironically, there is one school now that has two sites for their own PTA, each competing and maintaining that this is the main site for their PTA-“Ours is better”).

b) There was great reservation bordering on fear, for a number of interested individuals in deciding to associate themselves with “Geitonia Mas”, for it would compromise their party ties or characterize/stigmatized them in such a fashion that would leave them vulnerable to suspicion and/or derision. Many “flirtatious” proposals were offered in exchange for “Geitonia Mas” to somehow associate either with a party or at least with the “left wing” or “right wing”. It was considered common sense that I should have taken a side.

2) The age of anxiety that we are living. The main complaint I heard and continue to hear is that many people are too exhausted to concentrate and invest time in participation. They see no way to fit it in their tight schedules and what little time is left is better spent elsewhere. Up to now, those who are unemployed were confused and disappointed to the point that: a) they did not want to stir things up, because they might miss an opportunity for a city or private sector job that has ties to a political party (stuck to their party lines- a lot of false promises were being made right and left) or b) pessimists dressed as optimists-complain, but wait for the wind to change back- tied to false expectations), c) there is no example or role model for them to copy in order to participate or volunteer for “Geitonia Mas”.

3) The condescending and patronizing myth: “Greeks don’t change” and “This sort of stuff is not for Greeks” which I saw as a meme that was cultivated by the established prominent members of my municipality.

4) “Neighbours” do not like each other; they compete and fight with each other and choose to avoid one another.(Parochialism)

At this point, I would like to take responsibility for certain areas that were found lacking due to my inexperience with such an endeavor and lack of communication.       “Geitonia Mas” should not have been described as a casual site but rather a social network for local involvement. (show previous site---) Many members, especially those lacking familiarity with the fluid nature of the internet, mistook entity for function.

It was taken for granted that members would understand the workings and the meaning of the social network and its implied collective and inclusive nature. However, that was not the case. When the very first vote was organized concerning the allocation of funds towards the budget of one of the local schools, many members that did not have children attending did not participate thinking that since they would not be directly benefitting, it was not their place to “interfere” as they put it.

Due to a number of heavily publicized scandals involving certain non-profit and charitable organisations and the misappropriation or misapplication of public/private funds, they are often perceived as self-serving. In that regard I was deficient in communicating that no public funds were sought or accepted and that it is the actual members that are responsible for the allocation of funds instead of a select few.

I was also late in communicating to other local associations with similar aims that we are not competing for resources and funds. "Geitonia Mas" has the potential to have access to funding a school cannot ever have. By supporting and being viewer conscious, ratings go up, thereby increasing advertising revenue, which in turn allows for more funding to be provided to the community.

Main Causes and issues supported by ‘Geitonia Mas’

As the launch of the site coincided with the local elections of 2010 one of the main issues was a greater call of transparency in the municipality of Marousi. The local authority has the unfortunate position of being one of the most heavily indebted in the country. With a population of 72,480[5] it has a combined debt (short, medium and long-term obligations) of €143,30 million[6]. Its accumulation cannot be fully accounted for, while large portions are still under judicial investigation. ‘Geitonia Mas’ publicized and actively sought to increase interest in the financial affairs of the municipality which continued to run large deficits. Success was limited due to the perception of the site being just another outlet of partisan bickering. While the presentation of plain facts could not be disputed, the level of suspicion and distrust was such that members did not think that they could have made any sort of meaningful change.

‘Geitonia Mas’ was very successful in engaging with the local schools and PTAs. In fact most of the awarded funds were given to local schools for the purchase of educational equipment or towards upgrading existing ones[7]. It was this engagement that familiarized our members with the voting system and spurred engagement through the submission of proposals for debate before being submitted for a vote. (show pictures of Gymnasiam—award winner )

It was very encouraging to see that this in turn created unsolicited interest from nationwide companies keen to participate and fund either directly through their corporate responsibility programmes or indirectly through the purchasing of advertising space on the site, the proposed activities despite the initial narrow focus on a single municipality. Surprisingly the site even attracted interest from industry associations such as from Ms Liouzotou, the current president of the Association of paper and stationary suppliers. This was in sharp contrast to the initial rejection of the site by local businesses when approached for advertising/funding. In 2010 eight out of 10 times I was rejected for fear that they would somehow be tainted as politically aligning with one or more of the established national parties.

The attraction of company/private interest and the active refusal to align with established political party orthodoxy and seek or accept any public funds whatsoever alleviated the climate of initial suspicion and distrust. It also provided me with confidence to again engage with wider local issues. Going into 2011 and the first half of 2012 articles and proposals were submitted for the idea of adopting a school uniform for reasons of economy and cohesion. The idea was that members would vote on a finalized proposal before being submitted to the local authority for consideration as a citizens’ initiative. Another such proposal involved greater transparency and a more open system with regards of the running of PTAs[8]. Members even started questioning and suggesting improvements to procedural issues for local schools such as the handing out of grades/progress reports from the teachers in the afternoon instead of the regular morning hours so that parents would have more time to discuss issues and concerns.

I was also successful in encouraging the creation of activities that reinforced collective participation such as the revival of May Wreath, a ritual that dates back to ancient Greece and involves children displaying their prowess and strength by jumping over burning wreaths. The tradition had stopped in the neighborhood for more than 20 years. Participation in the first year was small but soon word got out and the children came running to see what it was all about and test their strengths. The second year in 2012, with a city permit secured early enough the turnout was substantial.

Re-Design and Re-Launching of Geitonia Mas

In 2012 the limitations of the existing site design and capabilities were becoming apparent. Individuals from neighbouring municipalities had become aware of our efforts and wanted to create their own ‘neighbourhoods’ within the site. Although a temporary solution was devised by providing sub-forums and space, this was unsatisfactory. The proliferation of issues, posts and proposals quickly became unmanageable by myself and the volunteer administrators due to time constraints. With a deteriorating political and economic climate on a national level and citizens keen to explore subjects beyond the narrow confines of their local authority, such as constitutional reform or the establishment of new political parties, the site was in danger of turning into a blog essentially or as an avenue for expressing members frustration.

Although it always was part of the site’s mission statement to increase wider political engagement and awareness this was always to be coupled with meaningful participation andidentifiable action/change. The sudden influx of disparate issues of national nature, many of which theoretical in nature, were obscuring and diverting attention from targeted action that can produce results efficiently and in a timely manner.

In the summer of 2012, I sought to resolve the major problems with the site. Determined to change the site so as to be more user friendly and expand the functions and level of participation and engagement for my visitors and members. Most activities were frozen in order to re-design it. The redone site aired on September, 11^th 2013. It now offers completely separate sections for each municipality and can accommodate any number of them. It is in fact not even confined within Greece and is open to participation to those from the Greek diaspora who maintain ties and interest with the motherland. Further, it is also open to volunteers from any other country who may want to create their own ‘neighbourhood’ corner.

The redesigned site also addresses complaints from its sponsors by providing a business directory for local businesses to advertise their goods and services with improved visuals and marketing tools, such as offering online discount coupons, lotteries, etc.

It also seeks to increase participation through the awarding of ‘social points’ for the publishing of relevant local news and the volunteering of time by the members in administering and maintaining it. These social points correspond to actual funds that the members are free to award to local or even national causes. Members still have to vote in order for the funds to be distributed. The voting system acts both as a tool of engagement and also as a system of assurance to the corporate and local business sponsors who are able to directly affect and check the use of their contributions thus fulfilling their efforts in social responsibility and ensuring a tangible return on their social capital.

 

---

 

Note to the viewer: 

The following was first published in October, 2014 as an updated "About Us" in Geitoniamas.net.

In 2016, due to the bankrupsy of our template provider we had to reconstruct new template that would be able to take applications, extentions and plugin in's updates. We had not been able since then to overcome some tecnical difficulties one of which would have been a cell phone app that would have redefined functionality, marketing and organization of Geitonia Mas as an updated version of the core principals that Geitonia Mas stands for. Below content was orginally published in an app that would have been much more user friendly and is stripped of photo's etc.

The company has been "frozen" for now. 

Feel free to comment below.  

WELCOME TO "GEITONIA MAS"

Key words: non-profit, crowd funding tool, social entrepreneurship, social capital, social cohesion, social media network, interactive with real life, make a positive return to society your purpose and have fun.

 

 

Geitonia Mas is Greek Forf"Our Neighborhood"    

♦is a non-profit independent and non-aligned open- system social network company.  It is unique site.

♦provides the services to a community as a crowd-funding tool.

♦publishes on-line  income and expense accounts for transparency and to those  who wish to keep up with the economic developments of the company in an open system.

♦funds are exclusively from private/corporate sources such as on-line advertisement, corporate and private donations, etc. We wish no funding from government or European package funds.

 

In short

As a crowd-funding tool for a neighborhood,

profits from the sale of the site’s

on-line advertising are distributed

between active neighborhoods’

on-line coffers. In return, the coffers

serve to microfinance neighborhood's

winning ideas.  

 

Still fewer words:

We sell ads, make money. Money goes to good causes.

And you have fun!

Change the world!  Simplε!!

 

---

 

 

We are here to help you make a positive return to society by helping your purpose.

Our mission is to strive to make Social entrepreneurship more engaging, easy, quick and fun. Here is a nice excerpt on Social Entrepreneurship from Wikipedia:

"… is the process of pursuing innovative solutions to social problems. More specifically, social entrepreneurs adopt a mission to create and sustain social value. They draw upon appropriate thinking in both the business and nonprofit worlds and operate in a variety of organizations: large and small; new and old; religious and secular; nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid. Business entrepreneurs typically measure performance in profit and return, but social entrepreneurs also take into account a positive return to society. Social entrepreneurship typically furthers broad social, cultural, and environmental goals and is commonly associated with the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors.[2] Profit can at times also be a consideration for certain companies or other social enterprises." Source

 

Unlike all social entrepreneurs, Geitonia Mas is not seeking for investors or stakeholders. We do not seek funding from government or European packages. We do this in order to avoid any misunderstandings about what our purpose is. Such misunderstandings would only breed mistrust, and in turn, shake credibility, cohesion and free expression to all involved.     

      A. We wish to remain independent and non-aligned as a buffer zone and a safety net for society, policymakers, and the private sector.

      B. We sell ads and net profits (we do have expenses that should be accounted for) go to the neighborhoods.                                                                                                                       

      C. We do accept donations, however very little attention is given to generating a donation fund-raising strategy. We prefer services offered on behalf or "Geitonia Mas" such as article translations, computer program maintenance, posting and crowdsourcing for either advertisers or new members.

       D. Though our advertising services are for large and small companies, we target on supporting the efforts of small and localized businesses with an inexpensive advertising.....(for more info- Marketing Department- but, please continue with About us).

An example of active neighborhood-visit  Eastside Marousi.

 

---

 

JUST A FEW MORE WORDS- THE 2 WAY SYSTEM

Hey, you came to the right neighborhood. This is for everyone. And we need everyone!

You say you have no purpose?  Oh..my..one of those....But, no problem..You came to the right place!!! Read a bit further down.

 You say you have no time.  Oh...but no problem. This is internet and it is easy. Everything is quick here.  If you have 5-10 minutes a day, a week or even a month...Fine, we will start you off.. just read a bit further down.

You say you have no money?  No problem.  We have just the right activity for you. “Geitonia Mas” was designed to encompass the principals of empowerment, enhance awareness and engagement of one’s community to make problem solving more transparent, quick, efficient  and fun. Hint: it is not an issue of money;  it is an issue of good will. Now...Now...We will get to everthing...just a bit further down. 

But, you should first have this in mind:

           Geitonia Mas has a 2-way funding system that awards a winning idea either by

1. Polls for major neighborhood projects

 It is up to each community or neighborhood to decide what they consider to be "major". This is grassroots democracy in action. The Neighborhood Management panel is equipped with blogs and forums and a special tool for project presentations. Everyone has a voice. As an example of a major cause: the neighborhood high school idea competes with the elementary school.  40% of the coffer's revenues' goes towards a major cause.

 

2. Kenos social unit system

Kenos social unit system is for smaller projects in the neighborhood or national/global projects that lack the voting volume in a neighborhood. Kenos (comes from Greek word for social) social units are points won by user engagement by a variety of on-line activities. User/friend keeps track of amount of kenos by logging onto their profile. Points and awards icons are posted on profile accounts. At the end of an economic cycle, user distributes the kenos that they have managed to have accumulate for that period of time to an idea of their choice- PTA’s , charity funding or any idea that is posted in their neighborhood or to global and national causes listed on front page management panel.). For an example, it is hard for a kindergarten project to compete with an elementary school or a high school due to voter volume. 60% of the coffer's revenues' go towards Kenos.

 

Geitonia Mas: Interactive with real life

For both systems, we request that advertisers be present to hand out awards at award winning ceremonies on behalf of "Geitonia Mas"-the crowd-funding tool. It is a good public relations event for both small and large business and demonstrates accountability from a neighborhood towards their sponsers.

Continue reading to

 

"YOU Say.."

You say you did not read anything of the above and your eye caught this sentence. Okay, no problem.  Just stay in touch with us by clicking onto the site.  Better yet, sign up for the newsletter.  Take your time to figure things out, but try keep in touch with us on a daily basis.

You say you like the sound of things, but you still wish to figure things out . Okay. No problem. Open a profile account and bring some friends along. Show your face to "Our Neighborhood". Use your profile page here in "Geitonia Mas" to keep in touch with your friends on Facebook. We are a good hangout. In the mean time, you will be acquiring Kenos and once you figured out everything, you will be ready to participate in a more active manner. And more important, just your visits will bring our ratings up, which will help us increase our revenue to be put towards a good cause.

You say this is the most smartest and most positve thing you have heard in a long time! Ahhh, shucks... good for you. Thanks. We think so too!  Now dig in.

 Check out the Marketing (with sub-catagories) and Human Resource Departments in this section, open up a profile account and start rolling up your sleeves!

 Footnote: Please note! "Geitonia Mas" is a one of its kind site and still is a work in progress (and most likely, and like human nature, it probably always be a work in progress). We are counting on your input-output and feedback to help us grow into something that everyone will be proud to be a part of.

Welcome to "Our Neighborhood"  Hail Humanity-Hail Democracy!

 

 

 

SERVICE OFFERED

 

 Take a quick glance at the services we offer for each of our four catagories.

 

Visitors …can freely participate in 1800 forums, more than 500 informative neighborhood, personal interest and social issues blogs.

 

Friends and Users ..who open a profile page account at "Geitonia Mas" are ♦ free to open new forum threads ♦ open their own blog in their own neighborhood ♦ volunteer to become coordinators or volunteers for either social or personal interest catagories (for example-pets, handicrafts) ♦ announce neighborhood events.  Profile page users could keep in touch with their friends on Facebook through their "Geitonia Mas" profile page.  Chat, meeting boxes and games are schedluled to be introduced in the coming future.

 

Coordinators, Mentors and Volunteers
...have special access to either Front page Board of Directors Manegement Panel for "Geitonia Mas" as a non-profit company or Neighborhood Manegement Panels with ♦ blogs ♦ group e-mails ♦ forums ♦ expense income accounts program ♦polls. Each neighborhood is provided with its own manegement panel which include •classifieds •neighborhood business directory •neighborhood project management •income and expenses. Kindly note: we also provide project manegement panels for groups such as Parents School Associations. 

 

Advertisers
A wide variety of marketing and public relations tools and specila price package incentives are offered to our advertisers. ♦Vouchers, Coupons, Deals  ♦ Business Directories ♦ Classifieds ♦ Customised Ad Requests for specific articles or groups. Profile pages and business directories include trophy icons. Please note: Business are free to open up profile page, but only paying businesses have trophy icons posted on their wall.

---

Faqs

Company and Contact info, Geitonia Mas Milestones and other facts

 

Company                                                        

"GeitoniaMas"
Anastasia G. Christakos & Co.
Non-Profit Company and Social Network Site
VAT# 997788623                       

                                                                                                                 

Contact info                                                   

Dafnis 37
Maroussi, 151-26
Athens, Greece
Telephone and Fax#: +210-80-50-244
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Founder and Administrator of "Geitonia Mas"   

Anastasia Christakos Gritzalis
Greek-American and a dyslexic.
Neighborhood bookstore owner in Eastside Marousi since 1988.
BA in History and Philosophy.
Married to George Gritzalis in 1983 and mother of Maria Anais Gritzalis
Independent researcher

 

Founding of "Geitonia Mas"                              

The idea of "Geitonia Mas" was conceived in January of 2009. It was during that time that Anastasia began to learn how use the internet.
After one year, a handful of people met to discuss the content of the site.
In the summer of 2010 and after many false starts, the company’s charter was drafted and was registered. The site aired that September.
Much confusion was brought about the nature of the site because of the lack in design and functionality. See old site at http://geitoniamas.net/palio/ .
Site was done anew and restructured in summer of 2014 with the help of two volunteer web masters Zoe Spathi and Korina Vailia.
“Geitonia Mas” was up and running by mid-September,2013.

Oh..no! It's a start-up again
Because of the time lapse between being off-line and re-airing of Geitonia Mas” had to be managed as a startup from the start all over again.
It was to be expected from a new system that many tweaks and quirks would appear when more than 40 programs, many, many modules, 1880 forums, more than 350 blogs are running simultaneously.
But worse, "Geitonia Mas" had to reestablish past relationships and ties with viewers and users.

 

Presentations & Recognition of "Geitonia Mas" 

May,12,2012
University of Athens Presentation:
Presentation of "Geitonia Mas" at Dr. Dimitri Gouskos’s postgraduate class for the Kapadostriako School of Communications and New Technologies of the University of Athens.

October, 2013
Presentation for the EUTIC In Waterford,Ireland
"Geitonia Mas" presented as on-going study: The Changing Nature of Community and Social Engagement through ICT Case Study:Geitoniamas.net. Author: Christakos Anastasia Co-Author: Rentzeperis Dionysis to EUTIC 2013 IX International Symposium held at Waterford, Ireland.
The presentation was more of an introductory to our research. However, for it to be fully completed with substantial amount of data points to support our arguments and to complete our studies, it will take more time in the coming. We are still in alpha stage.

Sam Harris and “Lying”
In August of 2012, world-renowned philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris offered the rights to the "Our Neighborhood" for the Greek translation of the work of “Lying”
It was a very generous and touching gesture on his behalf and one which we will always think of dearly. Many thanks to our volunteer translator, Photini Alabala who did a great job translating Mr. Harris work from English to Greek

 

The System Works                                         

Eastside Marousi is the neighborhood used as a petri dish experiment. This means all efforts concentrate on one neighborhood to see the advantages and disadvantages in the system.
In May of2012, the first award winning ceremony was was a big success. One middle school and one elementary competed in polls for the award. However, it was observed that smaller groups were at a disadvantage to compete. Therefore, to insure increasing participation and a more equal opportunity system for smaller groups, the decision was taken for a soon as possible restructuring of the site.
Marketing and other activities were placed on the backburner till the new sites was up and running.
Currently, Geitonia Mas has been averaging 22,000 visitations per month “Geitonia Mas” runs on a joomla system with more than 450 licensed plugins, modules, etc. 1880 forums, and more than 350 blogs.
With most of the tweaks out of the way in the new system that constantly emerged, the time has come for a more aggressive marketing campaign.

 

And yet we are taxed                                    

The Greek crisis measures include taxing non-profits companies.  
We are charged the flat tax of 500 € per year regardless of profits.
We also pay 26% taxes from the profit and 23% VAT from the sale of ads

 

CLICK HERE-About Us: Articles, Minutes and Forum

 

"About Us" Blog:      Minutes and Articles	Forum
READ MORE	You have more questions? Post them in the About Us Forum!

 

 

 

Visitors

Visitors …can freely participate in 1800 forums, more than 500 informative neighborhood, personal interest and social issues blogs.

 

 

   Friends and Users  

Visitors …can freely participate in 1800 forums, more than 500 informative neighborhood, personal interest and social issues blogs.

Friends and Users ..who open a profile page account at "Geitonia Mas" are free to open new forum threads open their own blog in their own neighborhood volunteer to become coordinators or volunteers for either social or personal interest categories(for example-pets, handicrafts) announce neighborhood events participate in their neighborhood polling for the"major neighborhood cause" allocate their accumulated Kenos to the causes of their choice Profile page users could keep in touch with their friends on Facebook through their "Geitonia Mas" profile page.  Chat, meeting boxes and games are schedluled to be introduced in the coming future.

 

 

 

Coordinators, Mentors and Volunteers

 

 

Coordinators, Mentors & Volunteers                             ...have special access to either Front page Board of Directors Management Panel for "Geitonia Mas" as a non-profit company or Neighborhood Management Panels with: ♦ blogs ♦ group e-mails ♦ forums ♦ Project Manager program ♦polls.   Each neighborhood is provided with its own management panel which includes: •classifieds •neighborhood business directory •neighborhood project management •income and expenses. Kindly note: we also provide project management panels for groups such as Parents School Associations

 

 

 

Advertisers

 

Advertisers
A wide variety of marketing and public relations tools and special price package incentives are offered to our advertisers. To mention a few: ♦Vouchers, Coupons, Deals  ♦ Business Directories ♦ Business Gifts Plus  ♦ Customized Ad Requests for specific articles or groups.; Profile pages and business directories include trophy icons.                    Please note: Business are free to open up profile page, but only paying businesses have trophy icons posted on their wall.                                                                                     

 

 

 

Company

 

Company                                                        

"Geitonia Mas"
Anastasia G. Christakos & Co.
Non-Profit Company and Social Network Site
VAT# 997788623                       

          

 

 

 

Contact Info

                                                                                                   

Contact info                                                   

Dafnis 37
Maroussi, 151-26
Athens, Greece

Telephone and Fax#: +30-210-80-50-244

e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

Founder & Administrator of "Geitonia Mas"

 

 

 

 

Founder & Administrator of "Geitonia Mas"   

Anastasia Christakos Gritzalis
Greek-American and a dyslexic.
Neighborhood bookstore owner in Eastside Marousi since 1988 till present.
BA in History and Philosophy.
Married to George Gritzalis in 1983 and mother of Maria Anais Gritzalis
Independent researcher

 

 

Founding Story of "Geiontia Mas"

Founding of "Geitonia Mas"                              

The idea of "Geitonia Mas" was conceived in January of 2009. It was during that time that Anastasia began to learn how use the internet.
After one year, a handful of people met to discuss the content of the site.

In the summer of 2010 and after many false starts, the company’s charter was drafted and was registered. The site aired that September.

Much confusion was brought about the nature of the site because of the lack in design and functionality. See old site at http://geitoniamas.net/palio/ .

Site was done anew and restructured in summer of 2013 with the help of two volunteer web masters Zoe Spathi and Korina Vailia.
“Geitonia Mas” was up and running by mid-September,2013.

Oh..no! It's a start-up again
Because of the time lapse between being off-line and re-airing of Geitonia Mas” had to be managed as a startup from the start all over again. 

It was to be expected from a new system that many tweaks and quirks would appear when more than 40 programs, many, many modules, 1880 forums, more than 350 blogs are running simultaneously.

But worse, "Geitonia Mas" had to reestablish past relationships and ties with viewers and users.

 

 

 

Presentations & Recognition of "Geitonia Mas"

 

Presentations & Recognition of "Geitonia Mas" 

May,12,2012
University of Athens Presentation:
Presentation of "Geitonia Mas" at Dr. Dimitri Gouskos’s postgraduate class for the Kapadostriako School of Communications and New Technologies of the University of Athens.

October, 2013
Presentation for the EUTIC In Waterford,Ireland
"Geitonia Mas" presented as on-going study: The Changing Nature of Community and Social Engagement through ICT Case Study:Geitoniamas.net. Author: Christakos Anastasia Co-Author: Rentzeperis Dionysis to EUTIC 2013 IX International Symposium held at Waterford, Ireland.
The presentation was more of an introduction to our research. However, for it to be fully completed with substantial amount of data points to support our arguments, it will take more time in the coming. We are still in alpha stage.

Sam Harris and “Lying”
In August of 2012, world-renowned philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris offered the rights to the "Our Neighborhood" for the Greek translation of the work of “Lying”
It was a very generous and touching gesture on his behalf and one which we will always think of dearly. Many thanks to our volunteer translator, Photini Alabala who did a great job in translating Mr. Harris' work from English to Greek

 

 

 

The System Works!

 

The System Works                                         

Eastside Marousi is the neighborhood used as a petri dish experiment. This means all efforts were concentrated on one neighborhood to see the advantages and disadvantages of the system.

On May of 2012, the first award winning ceremony was was a big success. One middle school and one elementary competed in polls for the award. However, it was observed that smaller groups were at a disadvantage to compete. Therefore, to insure increasing participation and a more equal opportunity system for smaller groups, the decision was taken for a soon as possible restructuring of the site which would include the "2-way system" (refer to "About Us").  Marketing and other activities were placed on the back-burner till the new site was up and running.

Currently, Geitonia Mas has been averaging 22,000 visitations per month “Geitonia Mas” runs on a joomla system with more than 450 licensed plugins, modules,1880 forums, and more than 350 blogs.

With most of the tweaks of the new site's program out of the way, the time has come for a more aggressive marketing campaign.

 

 

 

And yet we are taxed

 

 

 

 

 

And yet we are taxed                                    

 

The Greek crisis measures include taxing non-profit companies.  

• We are charged the flat tax of 500 € per year regardless of profits.

• We also pay 26% taxes from the profit and 23% VAT from the sale of ads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings!

And Welcome to the

---

♦ If you just have happened to have clicked here first, kindly go to the "About Us" section and read the quick overview. 

♦If you wish to advertise, kindly click to Advertising Catagory Section.  

If none of the above, please continue.  Feel free to browse anything.

Board of Directors:

You are invited to chair a department of your liking at any time whenever you are able to. We work in an open system environment.  There are no timetables or limits.

This is no game simulation- this is for real.

Why spare the time?

Whether you are a highly skilled professional, just getting started in a business career or either your present career has no relevance at all with business, see this as an opportunity, a new experiance and challenge to engage your skills in an inovative, creative, open system environment.

You may have only 5 minutes in day, a week or a month or a whole day to spare, that is up to you.

To get started, just open a profile account and come back to this page.  Then, choose one or all areas of interest that you would like to get involved and participate. To make it more fun and engaging invite your friends or boss to get involved too.

And last, (needs inspirational and good cause sentence here, refer to forum, open a thread and post your idea...welcome on board).

 

Major Departments and management tools are:

1. Marketing, advertising and public relations have blogs.
2. Idea section for brain storming has polls and blog.
3. Development section for projects & strategies has Project Manager and blog.
4. Accounting-Revenue and Expenses section: Revenues and Expense Manager and blog.
5. Forums (Business, Marketing, Ideas, Developments, Accounting) for queries, remarks, suggestions and back room discussions.
6. Human resource and Staff section- Volunteers, Mentors, Coordinators and Staff (Is a department of its own- but is also part of the Board of Directors)
7. Group e-mailing available for each section.
   

For the record:

Request to become a volunteer, mentor or coordinator and we will post your profile in the associates section located in Human Resourses. You will have something to show when you mention your activities in  Geitonia Mas in your resume as work experience in an innovative environment.

 

 

 

Marketing & Sales Department-Ooups!

 

Greetings

 And Welcome to the Marketing Department

If you wish to advertise with us, kindly choose one of the following categories which suits you and follow instructions.

1. You just want to advertise because you found out we are really cheap. (Thank-you, we truly are.) Skip this page and go to Advertising Department. Please note you will miss out on a lot of new and innovative ideas in advetising that are needed in these competive and demanding times to keep ahead. Refer to article titled "We Fill the Market Gaps in Advertising".

2. You want of advertise with us because we provide targeted (groups, issues, hobbies) and localized advertisement.(Thank-you. In your case, you may wish read all the articles in the Marketing Department which is for our marketers (cough...cough... you.. perhaps.. like to come abroad on the Board of Directors). So, browse this section or just proceed to the Advertising Department.

3. You want to advertise with us because you also wish, in your own way, to contribute and participate in the process of making a social impact in your community, neighborhood or all around (oh..my...your one of us..grab a seat..hope it's comfortable....). Kindly continue reading everything, we have a lot to talk about and a lot to share.

 

Attention: Social Network Managers, Marketing staff in other fields of marketing, and anyone else who wishes to give it a try- take the challenge and you win with experience. Credit for task performances and results and medals will be given in Coordinator's, Mentors and Volunteers section.  Use as job experience and referral on your next resume! Reminder: this is no game simulation, this is for real.

 

 

 

 

Some notes on the Benefacting Public Relations Participation Tool

 

Some Notes on the "benefacting public relations participation tool"

1) Geitonia Mas sells ads to crowd fund neighborhoods; therefore, Geitonia Mas is the benefactor of the cause. Geitonia Mas acknowledges that no such act could have been done without the help of their associates or colleagues: advertisers, volunteers, mentors and coordinators.  "Geitonia Mas" asks from associates or colleagues to be present and represent "Geitonia Mas" at the real-life location ceremony awards.

2) Added value proposition: Provide an opportunity for advertiser with a "hands on management” facilitator of social values and principals and social capital by way of public relations in an active participation for social impact by providing solutions within their community as a member of society as a whole. This year we are offering an All-inclusive Advertising Campaign with Gift Plus Options to our advertisers as a tool  to engage their customers to "Geitonia Mas"

3) Extra Kenos: a 5% -10% increase to Kenos accumulated on Profile will be granted to advertisers to give towards a cause or an idea of their choice. Hint: it would be smart of advertisers to propose and post ideas for the neighborhood or community in neighborhood panel. National cause or charity which involves many neighborhoods- special exception will be given to be posted in all neighborhoods with insigna of advertisers proposal  and advertisers name and logo. 

4. “Geitonia Mas” profile and neighborhood page structures place a shift from individual to an emphasis on group mentality and teamwork. Advertisers do not advertise to consumers, but rather to humans who consume to continue life’s processes. Whether just hanging out in the crowd or participating as a neighborhood or community problem-solver, individuals are empowered to making the choice of doing so. In other words, "reach out" and "reach in" are redefined in a new systemic- a total neighborhood platform for each neighborhood.

 

 

 

We Fill the Market Gaps in Advertising

 We fill the market gaps in Advertising in the following areas:

1. Localization and target market groups: a neighborhood at a time.

2. A new platform in social (media) marketing that provides an all-inclusive one-stop internet-marketing plan for a business to advertise within a community or neighborhood. Unique Business Gift Plus advertising campaign and Sponsor a Whole Neighborhood Campaign (Mega Sponsor-Mega Deal)  offered- click to see details in Advertising Department.

3. High Product Brand and/or Services Visibility: we have integrated your marketing campaign into a social entrepreneurship scheme that would insure you a constant high product brand/services visibility and exposure, without the aggressive and tiring for the counsumer Google remarketing tactics.

Other than the "benefacting public relations participation tool" other services offered by Geitonia Mas are the traditional banners, coupons, vouchers, deals and Facebook, Tweeter, Google  and Pin Interest shout boxes are provided to convert advertisers' audience to Geitonia Mas.

Hint: the "analytics" for an advertiser is in the amount of profile conversions (either individuals or businesses) from other social media networks towards Geitonia Mas Profiles that the advertiser has accomplished. An advertiser draws attention to their business by drawing attention to profile conversions. This is a part of the "benefecting public relations tool" but other incentives such as bonuses and discounted advertisement packages are included. 

 

Attention to Social Media Marktets, Human Resources, and Public Relations and Marketers : Take Advantage of Your New Job Description

 

  Tip to all social media marketers, marketing and public relations:  You can't depend on Facebook, LinkedIn and etc. forever as your engagement sources.  To increase visibility and exposure to your clients product brands/services, add Geitonia Mas to your list of social media engagement networks ... 

Geitonia Mas provides a new job description for you. As an example, visualize when the time comes and you will have to representyour company at an award winning ceremony (real life location) event (one of the "benefacting public relations participation tools").  You will be needed. "It comes with the job" takes on a whole new meaning here in “Geitonia Mas”.

Why would you care to add more responsibilities to your work load?  

We live in a "shifting sands" age when it comes to the job market and opportunities.  What educational degrees and know-how you might now possess may not apply at all in the future. To survive in this work enviorment, one must be agile enough to aquire new skills that are in demand. However, by taking control of your own job description, you will also take control and secure your own career. This makes it harder for someone else to fill in the job requirements that you yourself have defined and worked for.

Thank-you and we look forward to your remarks, suggestions and proposals in the forum. 

  "Geitonia Mas Non-Profit Company"  has many aspirations for the future. We forsee that "Geitonia Mas" will have the potential to create and offer the following job opportunities posted in the Human Resources Department. Take a peek!

 

 

 

90 Jobs Will Be Needed Here at "Geitonia Mas"

 

 

90 Jobs Will Be Needed Here at "Geitonia Mas"

As the non-profit company grows, "Geitonia Mas" projects the following full time employment job positions/careers that will be needed here in "Geitonia Mas" for the secure, effective and successful management of the company.  With each expansion of "Geitonia Mas" (national or international), so does the demand grow in a number of job positions.

The following list does not include secretarial, translating, accounting and other daily chore positions that will also be needed.  Nor does this list include the journalistic careers, for we are in the developing stages of "something else in mind". 

This is a list of internet careers that are already globally available, but "Geitonia Mas"  will be redefining the job description and requirements (possibly renaming a few in the process) of these positions to suit the needs and purposes of the non-profit company.

Help "Geitonia Mas" reach its full potential and capacity as an employer.

Senior Management Positions

1. Chief Information Officers
2. Chief Technology Officer
3. MIS Directors/IT Directors
4. Marketing Managers
5. Advertising Sales Agents
6. Chief Marketing Officer
7. Web Strategist
8. Director, Internet Marketing & e-Retailing
9. VP, Director of Digital Strategy
10. Information Technology Strategy & Innovation, Assistant
Director
11. Digital Strategy Manager
12. Strategy Director
13. Creative Director
14. Director of Digital Media
15. Director, Global E-Business Systems
16. Media Planning Director

Sales Positions

1. Online Ad Sales
2. Account Manager, Digital Media Sales
3. Internet Advertising Sales Specialist
4. Interactive Advertising Sales/Outside Sales
5. Business Development – Interactive Sales Exec
6. Account Executive – Online Advertising
7. Strategic Online Sales Specialist
8. Internet Media Sales
9. Online Ad Sales Rep
10. Digital Ad Sales Manager

Marketing Positions

1. New Media Communications Manager
2. SEO Director, New Media
3. Marketing Communications Strategist
4. Associate Strategy Director
5. Web & Email Designer
6. Traffic Coordinator
7 Online/Digital Media Planning Supervisor
8. Email Production Associate
9. Online Services Assistant Marketing Manager
10. Marketing Designer

Support Positions

1.Technical Customer Service Specialist
2. Interactive Media Designer
3.Graphic Designer
4. Online Advertising Editorial Policy Analyst
5. Entry Level Software Engineer
6. Senior User Experience Designer
7. IT Help Desk/Basic
8. Search Engine Optimizer

Research Positions

1. Senior Statistician/Data Mining Analyst
2. Applied Researcher
3. Data Mining Analyst
4. Research Statistician
5. Data Mining Developer
6. Data Mining Lead
7. Internet Researcher
8. Corporate Internet Researcher
9. Internet Researcher
10. Project Coordinator/Internet Research

Community Management Positions

1. Community Manager
2. Community Forum Manager
3. Membership Coordinator/Web Metrics Analyst
4. Manager – Online Customer Support & Communities
5. Community Support Manager
6. Online Community Manager
7. Community Moderation Manager
8. Community Manager – Web and Mobile Apps
9. Senior Community Manager
10. Community Strategist
11. Social Network Community Manager
12. Director of Online Strategy
13. Director of User Experience
14. Manager of Social Media Marketing
15. Online Community Manager

Content Management

1. Content Architect
2. Online Store Publishing Traffic Manager
3. Digital Media Editor
4. Senior Content Developer/Writer
5. Professional Blogger Job Description
6. Senior Associate Web Content Management
7. Content Manager
8. Digital Channel Editor
9. Freelance Web Producer
10. Interactive Specialist
11. Events officer

Webmaster Positions

1. Webmaster
2. Senior Webmaster

Web Developer Positions

1. Web Developer
2. Web Software Designer
3. Web Technologist
4. Web Project Manager
5. Front-end Web Developer
6. Senior Web Developer

Community Volunteers/Evangelists

1. Technical Evangelist
2. Community Evangelist

 

 

 

Marketing Department Blog and Forum

 

Marketing       Department Blog	Marketing Department Forum
READ MORE	Remarks, ideas, questions? Post them in the Business & Economics Forum!

 

 

---

Welcome to the Project Development Department.

 

 Welcome to the Project Development Department.

This is the place where we make ideas happen!

The Project Development Section is the section where we mold an idea into a detailed project plan in order to ensure the outcome and success of that idea.

If you have a bright idea for "Geitonia Mas" open a thread in the Forum below. Feel free to open as many threads/ideas as you wish. Engage your friends or associates in the discussion.

Ideas are proposed and polled in Project Development Forum, and then are placed in motion with the help of the Project Manager. Buttons for the Project Manager, Forum and Blog are located at the end of this article

In Project Manager,  we define clear targets and goals . Our project manager has "it all" to help everyone to work out the process: check lists, milestones, time spans, costs and much more. All projects are open for public viewing.  Keep in mind though, you must open a profile account and sign in to have a visual of the dashboard and all its functions. To post and update your project, click on button to contact us and ask for a  Project Dashboard Functions' Access Code

♦There may be times that the person who came up with the winning idea in the forum, but actually has no clear cut idea on how to make their idea happen.  Perhaps you are the only one who knows how to organize it as a project and make it happen?  Do it, either by youself or invite friends over to help.

♦There may be times when two or three projects are posted and the need to prioritize and choose between which projects should continue and which is to be placed on the back burner.  Tip: should your project be put in the back burner, use the Marketing forum and open a "back-room" discussion to argue your point. 

♦There may be times... (sentence needs to be continued- open Development thread and post topic or idea in Forum  for discussion).

 

 

 

 

Project Manager, Forum and Blog

 

 

 

 

Project Manager	Ideas and Project Proposals Forum
READ MORE	Good Ideas? Post them in the Forum!

 

Project Development  Blog
READ MORE

 

 

---

Our Aims in Accounting

 

 

 

 

Geitonia Mas aims at transparency and accountability.

First:

This is done for practical reasons: everyone should have a bearing on matters that count for the non-profit, their neighborhood and their causes.  Also, so that the members of the Geitonia Mas Management board who contribute their time and efforts can discuss and plan feasible goals and targets in a variety of fields.  Do we spend on marketing or do we hand out the profits to the neighborhoods?

In this section, the numbers talk. That is why we have provided an Income and Expense Acounts Manager(button below).  The numbers define our limits and set our goals and targets. 

Second:

Every invoice or donation is posted for the record. This provides an opportunity for the advertiser or donator an extra confirmation that their good intentions are formally acknowledged and accounted for.

 

Taxes and Greek Crisis Measures

The Greek crisis measures include taxing non-profits companies.  
We are charged the flat tax of 500 € per year regardless of profits.
We also pay 26% taxes from the profit and 23% VAT from the sale of ads

 

One of the aspirations of Geitonia Mas is to have enough revenue to provide full time employment to a staff just to post invoices and donations all day! (oh.. yeah... and the expenses too).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue and Expense Manger and Accounting Forum

 

 

 

Revenue and Expense    Manager	Forum
READ MORE	Remarks, questions and discussion

 

 

 

 

 

---

 

Welcome to Human Resources
                                               Do you have 5 to 15 minutes a day or week or a month to spare?

The "Neighborhood" program is designed for «on-line action- 24 hours a day."

 This would be done in an open system with such attributes as transparency, enablement, empowerment, quick, easy and effectively.

Human resouce Department has two main priorities:

First: discuss the company's employment and staffing  when accounts are provided and,

Second is to provide a platform for neighborhood coordinators, volunteers, mentors and Board of Directors to discuss and exchange views, opinions, experiances with problems and successes. Engagement tools provided are blog and forum buttons below.

The focus here is the goal of the "Our Neighborhood"  to provide a platform and program facilities to everybody, especially to those who:

»have no time to go to the Parents Association meetings,

»have a cause for their neighborhood and have problems crowd-sourcing and crowd-funding the cause,

»to express their opinion and views in regards to his neighborhood or city, 

»or even be to be informed on the issues that concern them.

Griddy issues and misunderstandings could be resolved on-line quicker and better. But more importantly, "Geitonia  Mas" was designed to give everyone an added incentive to meet with one another for one reason or another in real time,

in a real environment,

at a neighborhood square,

the neighborhood corner store

or maybe around a kitchen table.

It is nice to meet people, once the griddy issues have been resolved on-line and  more substantial matters in a friendly manner could be addressed.

 ♦How many good ideas have been lost because we did not have the time to attend meetings?

 ♦That we were not aware of the community efforts in our neighborhood?

 ♦That we did not even know such clubs, unions, societies, associations, charities or efforts even existed in our own neighborhood or city?

 You cannot find, search or care for something, if you do not know that it exists.

Become a coordinator, mentor or volunteer for "Geitonia Mas" and get involved with your cause or purpose! See articles below.

 

 

 

Brief description of an active neighborhood

 

 

 

Brief description of an active neighborhood

The roles of the coordinators, mentors and volunteers could only be understood by first describing an active neighborhood.

A neighborhood is "activated", once a neighborhood coodinator is assigned to that neighborhood. Schools, clubs, etc. are added to the listings and provided with "mini blogs, forums, expenses and project mangers,etc. Neighborhoods that are activated have access to "Geitonia Mas" crowd-funding.

Just like the main front page, so does each neighborhoods' front pages have their own neighborhood management panel. These are the major categories that can be used by coodinator' as tools of assistance and engagement:

• About us –neighborhood description, forum and blog. In this section, ideas, proposals or suggestions for the management of Geitonia Mas are posted
• Economics and finances- expense manager and forum
• Ideas Section- it is here ideas are proposed to compete for neighborhood coffers. For an idea to get the next step towards a referendum, it must be accompanied by 10 comments from registered users in the Idea forum. At this stage, everyone can discuss the issues, put forward questions to ask for clarifications about the idea proposed. Idea may be need to be expanded and presented into a formal project to be campaigned. When all goes well, the idea passes into the next stage towards referendum or referred back to Development Section.
• Development Section- has project manager program with milestones, checklist, goals, etc. Must have profile account and be logged in to see dashboard. Only coordinator has password for use.
• Coordinators, Volunteers and Mentors Directory

 

Other sections included in panel:

• Business Directory
• Personals- Birth, Deaths, Achievements and everyday experiences
• Coupons, Deals and Vouchers
• A community or group into a platform that would provide the exchange of ideas, discussions, solutions… 

 

Coordinator

 

 

 

Coordinator

 A neighborhood must have a coordinator in order to be an active neighborhood.

Main responsibility is to keep track and oversee the “Major Idea” or the Kenos-social units ideas posted in the Idea and Development sections.

Whenever appropriate, Coordinator may need to meet with or verify in person, the person or parties involved with the posted “idea”.

Coordinator is free to take initiatives, organise and plan acitivities and on and off line engagement such as" organising neighborhood events or form and organize their own groups and meetings on behalf of "Geitonia Mas".

 Tip- One of the best tools that Geitonia Mas has is Project Manager in the Development Section.  for the convenience of the Coordinator is in Project manager in Development Section.  Initiatives such as developing and managing a volunteer group for group projects to promote Geitonia Mas through an event or choosing to be present in a neighborhood event or cause are encouraged.

 Yes, I want to be a coordinator! What do I do?    

1. Open the profile account in your neighborhood or region
   
2. Contact us by e-mail with your request at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Label e-mail: Coordinator

 

Mentor

 

 

 

Mentors

A mentor can also be a coordinator. The difference is that mentor’s consul on strategy, or train volunteers and coordinators for the proper management of  "Geitonia Mas". Keywords for mentors are coaching, counseling, analysis, implementation strategies, public relations, education, tutoring, encouragement, and enablement. In short, to inspire.

Business consultants, content site management, social network manager, SEO consultant, Marketing, Graphic design, Public Relations, Journalists are a few of examples of mentors’ fields of studies.

Yes! I want to become a mentor. What do I do?

A) Open the profile account in your neighborhood or region

B) Contact us by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and label your request-Mentor.

 

 

 

PRESS HERE FOR "GEITONIA MAS" ADVERTISING PACKAGES AND DEALS

 

 

 

 

Press here to be transferred to Product Catalogue: "Geitonia Mas" Advertising Packages and Deals