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Tools list & links
The goal of this list is to give group leaders a general lay of the land of tools they might consider, based on what other groups are using.
(SURVEY RESULTS 2020 - Top Tools) We launched a group tools survey in October 2020, and you can find a summary of the results here. The results have been added to our list of tools and links as you consider your tech stack.
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*Note that the survey was designed to get a quick and rough sense of tool use by group leaders.
Toolsets specific for Community Groups
This is not meant to be an exhaustive list or detailed comparison. There are many tool comparison resources on YouTube, blogs, and sites like stackshare.io and Capterra.
- Group tools on social media platforms
- Groups within a Corporate Community
- If there's demand for this, perhaps Autodesk can provide in the future. We have not heard a demand for this from groups yet.
Inevitably one tool will not meet all of your use cases. You'll likely be using, connecting, and integrating with tools in the categories below.
Group Leader Work
- Shared documents
- File storage
- Scheduling
- Databases (for members, etc)
- Polling & Surveys
- Google forms
Website hosting platforms
If all you do is host events, this could just be an event page (e.g. Meetup, EventBrite)
- You could use a Meetup.com or other platform to host your group website.
Some of these include, or are optimized for, blog posts. See also Knowledge, Content, and Code Management.
Some examples from the Autodesk Group Network
Social Media
- etc...
Marketing
Community Conversation and News
Help people in the group connect and converse with each other throughout the day and throughout the year.
Email-based
- Email account for the group (incoming requests, outgoing announcements)
- Gmail, etc
- Email listserves
- Email newsletters
Group chat and collaboration
- Can give users access to on-demand help or mentorship
- Can be structured for different discussion topics
- For some groups, like company practice groups, the ability to ask and answer questions during the workday may be really important.
- For other groups that aren’t as focused on daily practice, this might be something members check-in on periodically: after work, when they have news or a job to post, or around the time of an event.
- Pros: easy & intuitive, multiple channels, widely adopted (corporate-friendly), private and public channels + messages
- Cons: unfriently threaded conversations
- Pros: multiple channels, private and public channels + messages, recognizes code and can automatically format it
- Cons: may not be corporate-friendly, does not support threaded conversations, gamer jargon knowledge required.
- Pros: Microsoft is investing in it and it's starting to be adopted in the workplace by Office 365 users, well integrated with Microsoft Product like Skype, Outlook, OneNote and others.
- Cons: heavier corporate feel
Forums and boards
Virtual reality rooms
Conversation tools and the Autodesk Group Network
You can see all of the online groups within the group finder on the Autodesk Group Network website. Groups from throughout the network are using a variety of tools.
Autodesk does not endorse or provide any particular tool. We support groups using whatever works for them.
In the "All Locations" drop-down, there are filter categories for the following online group conversation tools: Discord, Facebook, LinkedIn, Telegram, VK, WhatsApp
Event Planning & Hosting
- Ticketing, RSVPs, & event marketing
- On-site event scheduling + navigation
Not all tools are digital. For physical events you might want to create an event hosting toolkit with things like nametags, sharpies, flip charts, and signage.
Virtual events
Digital tools to host and broadcast may include:
- Virtual Events/ Conferences
- Airmeet.com - "Airmeet is an all-in-one platform to host immersive events and build real connections, online." Use it for more immersive and interactive formats (workshops, meetups, fairs, summits, conferences, hackathons)
- You have a lounge, for example, where people can virtually seat with other people and have a conversation. In the paid Conference, you can setup concurrent sessions, have the lounge and setup some booths for other people or sponsors.
- Virtual meeting are optimized for conversations with a smaller and known audience
- Webinar platforms are more optimized for presentations with a larger and more anonymous audience
- Livestream enables an online audience to tap into what’s happening
Knowledge, Content, and Code Management
- Code repo
Digital whiteboarding, shared notes, etc
- Shared files and drives
- Google Slides + Google Docs
Publishing Content/ Articles
The group may produce content that you'd like to distribute and make available to help others.
- Publish content on a platform or publication that puts your content in a larger body of knowledge ("platisher"). Consider...
Other resources on the web for choosing tools
- Websites
- Blog posts
Engage to improve
Connect with a peer mentor on hosting events - access codes listed here for Autodesk Group Network members.
Become a peer mentor
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Contents
Toolsets specific for Community Groups
Group Leader Work
Website hosting platforms
Social Media
Marketing
Community Conversation and News
Email-based
Group chat and collaboration
Forums and boards
Virtual reality rooms
Event Planning & Hosting
Virtual events
Knowledge, Content, and Code Management
Digital whiteboarding, shared notes, etc
Publishing Content/ Articles
Other resources on the web for choosing tools
Engage to improve