.Coop eNewsletter

September 1, 2009

Welcome Back . . .

Thank you for your comments and suggestions on our first eNewsletter. In this edition, we have some updates on the Directory.Coop as well as what's happening with the Global Awards and the global Internet community. We also have some basic hints on getting your web site on page 1 of Search Engines.

And there's a new feature - "In their own words . . ." which highlights .coop users from around the world. Are you listed? If not, let us know and we'll put you on the list for the next eNewsletter! Look for the dotCoop Global Awards winners in the next issue.

New Tools for Directory.Coop

Since www.directory.coop was launched in May, co-ops are seeing the value in having a map-based online directory where they can control the data in their listings.

One of the important features of the Directory.Coop site is that domain name holders can actually update the information on the directory so that it is different from what they used to register their domain name. For example, if you have someone managing your account, this allows you to provide the information for your co-op on the directory site without impacting the information that is needed to maintain your domain account. Domain holders can also "Lock" their directory information so that any changes made on the domain account will not be transferred to the directory.

But when you want to keep the two systems in sync, the dotCoop system ensures that changes made on your domain account show up on the directory the next day. No more double entries to keep your Directory.Coop info updated!

Updates have also been made to increase the flexibility of the search tool and to allow the domain holder to control the fields available for Search Engine "mining." The current default fields include only the Co-op Name, URL, City, Country and Postal Code but other fields can be displayed for particular sites by updating the SEM (Search Engine Marketing) fields on the directory account.

Make sure to update your www.directory.coop entry using these new features. If you have active .coop domains, look for a reminder in your e-mailbox soon to help you get started. Be sure to activate your .coop domain to take advantage of Directory.Coop! Contact the directory support team at support.directory@domains.coop with any questions.

Global Awards Judging Underway

As soon as the deadline for submission of entries for the first dotCoop Global Awards for Cooperative Excellence passed on 15 June, it was clear that the international panel of judges would have a difficult task. More than 40 entries from all over the world were received from all types of co-ops.

Now the hard work has begun for the judges as they review the submissions from each entry which include not only the specific responses to the entry criteria but also the additional materials enclosed with the entries such as brochures, videos, financial reports and links to web sites. dotCoop is very thankful that our international panel of judges has found the time to assist in the selection process.

All entrants, including the category winners, will be notified by the end of September so that the three category winners will be able to make arrangements to be able to participate in the ICA meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

Current plans call for the presentation to the winners to be made at the Welcome Reception on the evening of 18 November. DotCoop looks forward to sharing the submissions with the co-op world so that everyone can gain insight into the activities that winning co-ops undertake for their members.

The next edition of the dotCoop eNewsletter will be announcing the winner so sign up now to get the news right away.

For more information about the dotCoop Global Awards, please visit http://www.globalawards.coop

Finding Yourself on the Internet

There's a lot of time, energy and money that all businesses now spend so that customers (and in the case of co-ops, members) can easily locate their web sites on the Internet.

If you have a .coop domain, you've already solved one issue by picking a domain name that easy for people that are looking for you to remember, type in on their browser and that they connect to your cooperative identity. A memorable domain name is much easier to secure in .coop because only co-op businesses and organizations are eligible for a domain and so the competition for names is less.

But building your ranking on important search engines such as Google or Yahoo! is another critical piece of your Internet identity.

Basically, search engines are looking for current content and links to and from your web site.

If your web site contains the same information month-after-month, this won't provide the information your members and customers need and search-engines will also note this. Some businesses will naturally have weekly or more frequent changes but if you are scratching your head to think about what to add to your site, look at other ways to generate this content.

Blogs are a common way to generate fresh content because it's easy enough to add a brief posting to comment on information in someone else's site or newsletter or blog. But it should be relevant to your members or your customer base so that they will keep coming back. For example, if you're an agricultural co-op, provide recipes using your product for consumers and current market news briefs for your members.

Another critical aspect of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) that you can do a lot with even if you aren't an expert is adding links to (and from) other web sites. The number of "valid" or "natural" external links is one of the primary features that search engines use.

Of course, there are many other ways to increase your ranking. But the basic information is available directly from the search engine companies themselves on their sites because they want you to be able to take advantage of their tools- it's only good business for themselves! So go to your favorite search engine and check out their Help features for the latest guidelines.

And make the Internet and your .coop domain work for you!

More TLDs-Good or Bad?

In 2002, when .coop was launched there wasn't much information to draw on concerning new Top Level Domains. Would they even work? Would people use them? Almost eight years later, it's clear that the major technical issues have been addressed. And now ICANN is poised for a dramatic explosion on the number of domains available for use on the Internet. Is this good or bad?

Just as it was nine years ago when ICANN pushed beyond the original .com, .org, .net, etc. items, the answer is not clear.

Through an exhaustive series of reviews, revisions and comment periods, ICANN is moving closer to a final version of contract and the application guidelines for the new application process. Current plans indicate that initial proposals for the new domains may be accepted in February 2010. And because there is a definitive application process with a known contract at the end, the lengthy contract negotiations that created obstacles in the past, including ones that .coop had to overcome, should not require the long ramp-up times that earlier domains encountered.

This new approach should allow many more names to be used and a number of very well-funded efforts are being staged for domains such as .FOOD or .MUSIC. In addition, some companies may secure their brand names as unique TLDs. But other businesses are concerned about the large number of domains they might need to purchase in order to protect their Intellectual Property and about the confusion from Internet users with all the new domains.

DotCoop is encouraged that this expansion may finally address any residual issues with vendors that are still living in the past by only accepting emails that end in .com and .org (and a few more.) It will be much easier for them to use the ICANN materials that have information on all valid domains than a piecemeal approach.

In addition, dotCoop anticipates that people will become more used to looking for different TLDs so they won't automatically assume that an Internet address is .com.

Finally, since being a cooperative is what really sets a co-op apart for other businesses in their sectors, .coop will continue to be the way that consumers will be able to find the ethical businesses that they want to do business with.

To find out more about where this process stands, check out the www.icann.org site.

In Their Own Words. . .

ABCOF.COOP

ABCOF is an independent, non-governmental association [in Nigeria] which unites, represents and serves co-operative societies throughout the Federal Capital Territory. Since inception, we have over 60 member organisations from all area councils of the FCT active in all sectors of the economy. Together these co-operatives represent millions of individuals in FCT.

CCCS.COOP

Customs Credit Co-operative Society (S) Ltd is one of the oldest co-operative societies to be registered in Singapore. Most of its members are staff of the Customs Excise Department. The Customs Co-operative founded on 12 April 1932 had grown from strength to strength. Besides encouraging thrift amongst its members, it also provides a number of services and benefits to its members, such as, loan facilities tailored to members needs and provides grant for scholarship, travel awards, hospitalisation, funeral and retirement.

PRODECOOP.COOP

PRODECOOP, R.L.  es una organización cooperativa de segundo grado que agrupa a 39 cooperativas de base integradas por 2,300 pequeños productores, el 25% son mujeres. Los productores están ubicadas en diferentes comunidades y zonas cafetaleras de los departamentos de Esteli, Madriz y Nueva Segovia, al norte de Nicaragua.

RNF.COOP

The Rappahannock Natural Foods Cooperative (RNF Coop) is a small farmers' co-op which was formedwith the idea of allowing customers in the Washington DC area to shop at one location for all their local and natural farm products from a reliable source. Our members are mostly small farmers from Rappahannock County and surrounding counties. Their families have been farming the land for generations, sometimes going back as early as the 1700s. All of them are local and raise their livestock in a humane and natural way without the use of hormones or unnecessary antibiotics.