Site Changes: Letter from CEN President

Sean Mitton, Canadian Expat Network

Dear CEN Readers,

As fall approaches, I wanted to let you know about some changes made over the summer to the Canadian Expat Network, to make the website more interactive, educational, entertaining and resourceful.

Social Networking

First off, the community will be transitioning away from our existing social network based on community feedback. While having a tag based social network was very unique, there was not a strong habitual need to find others with similar commonalities. Going forward we will utilize current applications such as facebook and twitter.

Moving away from the current social network application, the calendar and discussion forum (Coming Soon) features will be moved to the homepage.

Resource Directory

Community feedback also showed more of a need for expat resources,the direction which the community is heading. With that in mind, a resource section is currently available with a focus on growing listings. There really is no limit to the number of vertical categories, but we'll start with key areas that include immigration, cross border taxes, etc. Posting in the resource directory is Free!

Community Interaction

In terms of growing community interaction, there will be a number of opportunities to contribute to the community. That includes:

• Discussion forum (Coming Soon)
  
• Surveys
  
• Posting comments to articles
  
• Button that allows you to 'like' to facebook
  
• Listing your organization in the resource section
  
• Rating resource listings

Sports Related Content

Canadians certainly have an affinity toward ice based sports. Keep an eye on upcoming news regarding an e-Resource Book in partnership with USA Curling, a community Hockey Pool and US Figure Skating championships.

Community Features & Content

There will also be featured sections regarding Canadian Expat Groups, events and listings from within the resource directory.

Additionally, more information will be focused on expat challenges and we're looking at building a department for those that 'make a difference' in the charitable or non-profit areas. These days, we can all benefit for hearing more positive stories.

The Newsletter will continue to be sent on a bi-weekly basis until further notice.

It's the objective of the Canadian Expat Network to be a great site for Canadian expats with regards to informative articles, promotion of groups and events within our community. Therefore, your feedback is important and we'll continue to make changes to better the website.

Warm regards,

Sean Mitton