New Home Page and News Feed Launch

We’ve improved PlaceSpeak to better reflect how our users engage with their communities online.  Check out your new PlaceSpeak home page!

The new home page brings together various components of the PlaceSpeak platform into a single personalized interface that integrates your  profile, newsfeed, topics, neighbourhood and the ability to explore other topics and control personal settings. The central feature is the newsfeed, which provides a stream of current updates on engagement topics you’re following including discussion comments, events and timeline updates, as well as comments and events from your neighbourhood.

From the new page people can access their profile and  settings, and level up their credentials.  You can now toggle between engagement topics you follow, your neighbourhood community, and browse your local map for other topics of interest to you. 

The newsfeed provides updates on topics, events, and neighbourhood activities, which will benefit both public and administrative users. This new interface is a one-stop shop for a full range of PlaceSpeak features, and anticipates further elaboration in new civic network functionality. 

PlaceSpeak has been developing a civic network to tackle the issues of declining public trust and lack of civic participation. In contrast to social networks, where people are empowered to connect with like-minded individuals all across the world, civic networks are online social networks that are tied to place-based communities.

The civic network will facilitate a wide range of citizen engagement functions. Just as a social network provides a single stop to interact, follow, share, and communicate with family, friends, and others in a variety of social contexts, the civic network will provide a hub for people to engage with all types of civic-related activities in their community – from providing public input,to interacting with neighbours, to grassroots organizing on important community issues.