A New GeoNet is Coming: How to Prepare Your Content & What to Expect
New: Updated GeoNet Platform Launch November 12, 2020
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COMMUNITY OUTAGE NOTICE: Due to the GeoNet Community Platform Update, the community will be inaccessible from Tuesday, November 10, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. PST through Wednesday, November 11, 2020. The new platform will be accessible on Thursday, November 12, 2020.
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If you haven’t done so already, please continue to save your information provided in this blog.
- See our launch date announcement blog for more information.
In February, The GeoNet Team announced that the technology platform behind the GeoNet community will be changing later this year. This change will bring a new community user experience, features, and design to GeoNet, The Esri Community. If you missed our original announcement, check it out here or watch our video announcement below.
Key Takeaways in this message
- Review the list of features or content that will not migrate to the new platform, and save content associated with your account by November 9.
- Get insight on some features you can look forward to in the new community.
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Learn more about the new community structure, what to do if you are a Place or Group Owner, Content Creator, or Personal Blogger, and more in the GeoNet Platform Update - FAQs - August 2020.
- Follow the GeoNet Lounge to learn more upcoming announcements leading up to the launch.
What you need to know now:
Learn how the new platform update and archive rules will impact your content, member follows, notifications, and more.
This requires critical actions to manage your content (where applicable) before the final launch date expected by November 9, 2020.
Here is the content you will need to back up this month, as these content types and features will not be available or will not migrate to the new platform:
- Draft content and historical notifications – If you have any content (blogs, questions, discussions, etc.) in draft mode or any historical notifications that are of value to you, these notifications and drafts will not migrate to the new platform.
Why would historical notifications be valuable? Some users may want to document any bookmarks earned, views, or engagement information on their content for their professional brand or expertise on a subject matter.
- Profile image gallery and profile banner – Your profile image gallery and profile banner will not automatically migrate over to your new profile. This will provide an opportunity to refresh your profile with new images along with the new profile layout and account features you will be able to utilize. Your avatar will transfer to the new platform.
- Member Follows and Bookmarks – The list of current community members and places that you follow and your bookmarks will not migrate to the new platform. Watch these videos for guidance on how to quick-save this information to reference once you are in the new platform.
- Private Messages – Your private messages will not be migrated into the new platform.
- Personal Blogs – Personal blogs will not be available in the new platform. Your current personal blog will be archived or visible depending on the content’s views and engagement in the community. If your personal blog is unable to be moved into a product or topic container, it will be migrated into an archive for content that is still providing value to the community as a result of high views or engagement metrics. The GeoNet Team will reach out to you directly regarding your content. If you feel you need more assistance with this topic or have not been contacted about your personal blog to date, e-mail us at geonet@esri.com.
- Blog Header Images – Header images will not be available in the new platform.
- Your Content Views – The historical counts of views of your content (blogs, discussions, questions, documents, polls, videos, etc.) will not transfer to the new platform. All content views will restart in the new platform. If your historical views of your posts are important to you, please record that information as needed.
Why would historical views be valuable? Some users may want to record views of their content as a metric for their professional brand or expertise on a subject matter.
- Polls – Save any valuable content created through community polls, as this interaction style will not be available in the new platform.
- RSS Feeds – RSS Feeds for community content will need to be re-established in the new platform. Identify your current RSS feeds as a reference list to re-create them in the new platform.
What will be changing:
- GeoNet Community gamification will be reconstructed for the new platform. While your points and badges will not be migrated, your current status will be used to determine your new rank in the new system.
A few things to look forward to so far:
- Improved search and filter features at a place or board level to narrow down content and interaction styles of interest to you.
- Flatter navigation and community structure to find places of interest quickly.
- Subscription Options: You will be able to enjoy more subscription options to stay connected to topics that are relevant to you by subscribing to predefined labels and specific interaction style boards. With questions and answers, you can subscribe to activity at the Post and Reply level.
- Cleaner User Interface: The community will be more integrated with the Esri brand and website properties. Expect consistency across the pages that will allow you to focus more on the content.
- ArcGIS Ideas will live in product places with other interaction styles such as questions, blogs, and documents. You can stay in one place for all product-related content without going to another board or place in the community.
- Account Privacy: Users will able to enter a display name of their choosing. Your e-mail address will not be displayed.
- Private Message without restrictions: Users will not be required to follow each other in order to communicate through private messaging.
GeoNet Platform Update Launch Timeline
We’re taking a user-informed approach to our community design as a result of the numerous participants in our usability studies, community surveys, and general community feedback.
Since our announcement in February, we held user research sessions in March, conducted a community-wide usability survey in June with more than 1,000 responses, and held additional studies in July with community users at new, active, and experienced membership levels.
New: Updated GeoNet Platform Launch Window: November 12, 2020 - updated 11/4/2020
Read the latest launch announcement blog
Stay connected to the GeoNet Lounge for more announcements as we get closer to our platform update release! If you have questions, please comment below or e-mail us at geonet@esri.com.