When we build tools at the Center for Civic Media, we often take a co-design approach by including users in the design process. While we’re developing Vojo (a hosted version of the Vozmob mobile blogging platform) we’ve put up an open beta, and support organizations like Sandy Storyline, CCTV, and Engage the Power, who in turn support us with real-world feedback and user stories. But co-design brings new challenges as well, like keeping our open beta working for community partners while we develop and test new features. To help achieve this balance for Vojo, we’ve added SMS capability to existing tools for testing web applications.

In the Vojo community call on Tuesday, December 18, we invited organizations using Vojo to to share their experiences and materials for training and mobilizing new users. A few themes emerged from the discussion.

• Actively collecting stories in workshops and in the community is more effective than a simple call for submissions.
• Face-to-face instruction is helpful for new users.
• Printed, take-home guides are a good supplement to face-to-face instruction.
• Good user experience is key for retaining users.

The full video and notes from the call are available online.