The Link Project
Over time, our tribe's methods of getting and keeping in touch with its members
have fallen a bit behind the curve of opportunities that modern technology offers. The
Link Project is an ambitious 1 year program that aims to remedy this situation.
The Link Project is leveraging the now-ubiquitous presence of the Internet and mobile technology to achieve three goals:
Enabling Instant and Inexpensive Contact
To this day, the Piscataway rely on telephone and physical mail campaigns to reach out to members of the tribe. These methods are and have always been expensive, exhausting, and extremely time-consuming. The Link Project's primary goal is to take advantage of the fact that most people today have a cell phone, an email address, or both - to allow us to communicate information to large numbers of people not only cheaply, but almost instantaneously.
This goal will require a significant door-to-door campaign of volunteers to gather a critical mass of email and mobile contact information (most of which is not available in tribal rolls), but we're willing to bet that at least 50% of the tribe can be contacted via these methods, and that our volunteers will be able to find them.
Cataloging Tribal Contact Data
Our tribal enrollment data is currently housed in box after box after box of paper documents stored in the tribe's offices in Waldorf, MD. A group of dedicated volunteers has been poring over these documents for years to ensure that they stay accurate and up to date. The Link Project takes this effort to the next logical step by entering this data - as well as newer types of data like email and cell phone numbers - into a database that is far less prone to threats such as theft, loss, or Act of God.
The database will give us countless benefits when it comes to maintaining tribal information. Records can be located and updated in seconds rather than hours. Entire new categories of data about tribal members can be added and tracked in minutes rather than weeks. Analysis of the tribe's membership can be done at the click of a button rather than at the conclusion of a series of committee meetings that lasts several months. The conclusion of the Link Project will give us enrollment data that is safe, reliable, maintainable, and infinitely useful.
Linking the Tribe Together
This goal involves merging the achievements of the first two goals with a few other tools and programs to ensure that our members can be 'plugged into' the tribe whenever they choose. In addition to the cell phone and email databases that allow tribal leaders to send information, members of the tribe will also have a wealth of information about and connections to the tribe at their fingertips via:
The success of the Link Project is critical to the viability of the programs we have planned for the future. Our agenda (described under this website's "Mission" section) assumes and requires a high-participation environment fueled by a modern, efficient, and speedy communications network.
Would you like to help? We need volunteers for all sorts of things from neighborhood canvassing, to data entry, to software analysis. There are some good learning opportunities available for students interested in software development. Send us an email at piscatawayconoy@gmail.com if you're interested. We'd love to have you!
The Link Project is leveraging the now-ubiquitous presence of the Internet and mobile technology to achieve three goals:
- Enable instant, inexpensive contact with at least half of all enrolled tribal members
- Catalog tribal enrollment and contact info in a secure, searchable, easily updated database
- Connect and link the tribe via the Internet, email, and mobile devices
Enabling Instant and Inexpensive Contact
To this day, the Piscataway rely on telephone and physical mail campaigns to reach out to members of the tribe. These methods are and have always been expensive, exhausting, and extremely time-consuming. The Link Project's primary goal is to take advantage of the fact that most people today have a cell phone, an email address, or both - to allow us to communicate information to large numbers of people not only cheaply, but almost instantaneously.
This goal will require a significant door-to-door campaign of volunteers to gather a critical mass of email and mobile contact information (most of which is not available in tribal rolls), but we're willing to bet that at least 50% of the tribe can be contacted via these methods, and that our volunteers will be able to find them.
Cataloging Tribal Contact Data
Our tribal enrollment data is currently housed in box after box after box of paper documents stored in the tribe's offices in Waldorf, MD. A group of dedicated volunteers has been poring over these documents for years to ensure that they stay accurate and up to date. The Link Project takes this effort to the next logical step by entering this data - as well as newer types of data like email and cell phone numbers - into a database that is far less prone to threats such as theft, loss, or Act of God.
The database will give us countless benefits when it comes to maintaining tribal information. Records can be located and updated in seconds rather than hours. Entire new categories of data about tribal members can be added and tracked in minutes rather than weeks. Analysis of the tribe's membership can be done at the click of a button rather than at the conclusion of a series of committee meetings that lasts several months. The conclusion of the Link Project will give us enrollment data that is safe, reliable, maintainable, and infinitely useful.
Linking the Tribe Together
This goal involves merging the achievements of the first two goals with a few other tools and programs to ensure that our members can be 'plugged into' the tribe whenever they choose. In addition to the cell phone and email databases that allow tribal leaders to send information, members of the tribe will also have a wealth of information about and connections to the tribe at their fingertips via:
- Piscataway website - a repository of program information and learning links
- Piscataway blog - news, events, and commentary from Piscataway country
- Facebook group - online social networking
- Online calendar - access to the complete listing of tribal events, 24/7
- Business directory - listing of Piscataway owned and operated businesses
The success of the Link Project is critical to the viability of the programs we have planned for the future. Our agenda (described under this website's "Mission" section) assumes and requires a high-participation environment fueled by a modern, efficient, and speedy communications network.
Would you like to help? We need volunteers for all sorts of things from neighborhood canvassing, to data entry, to software analysis. There are some good learning opportunities available for students interested in software development. Send us an email at piscatawayconoy@gmail.com if you're interested. We'd love to have you!
