What are Groups? #
Anyone who has used social media for a little while will be aware of the concept of groups, but for those of you who are new to a social network, groups are for people with a particular common interest, whether that is family, an activity, a political perspective, a geographical connection, an artist fan club – basically any common interest that might bring people together, in a mini community within a community.
There are three types of Group – Public, Private, and Hidden, and the type is set when the group is created. Only members with paid plans can create groups, but everyone can join as many groups as they want; if a group is hidden you must be invited by the group admin (normally the creator of the group). Joining a Private Group is done by requesting to join, and then being approved by the group admin. Anyone can join a Public Group.
How To Join Groups #
Go to the Groups page and view the available public and private groups; you can tell the difference between them as public groups have a button to click saying ‘Join Group’, whereas with private groups the button says ‘Request Membership’. Click the button of the group you want to join; with public groups that joins you instantly, while with private groups you have to wait to be approved. You will get a bell notification once the group admin has decided whether to approve you joining or not.
Creating Groups #
You can create a group from two different places; either on the Groups page by clicking the tab that says ‘Create Group’, or on your Dashboard > Groups and clicking the tab that says ‘Create Group’. This will open the Create A New Group page, which has five steps;
- Details – Group Name and Description;
- Settings – choose Public, Private or Hidden, and who is allowed to invite members;
- Photo – select an avatar image for the group (optional);
- Cover Image – select an image for the header of the group (optional);
- Invite – invite other members to the group
- Hierarchy – choose whether this is a parent group or the child of another parent group
All of these settings can be edited after the group has been created. This can be done from the Group’s home page under the ‘Manage’ tab.
Deleting Groups #
If you are the Group Admin, you can delete a group if you wish (if you created the group you are automatically the Group Admin, although you can add others as Group Admins). This is done by going to the Manage section of the group, and then the Delete tab, where you will be shown a warning that this will delete everything in the group, and a checkbox to confirm your understanding of this; once you have ticked the box, you are able to click Delete Group, and your group will disappear.
Invitations #
If you have been invited to join a group you will be notified via the notifications (and email if you have the option turned on). Click on the notification which will take you to Dashboard > Groups > Invitations where you have the option to Accept or Reject the invite.
Leaving A Group #
You can leave a group any time; just go to Dashboard > Groups and click on the ‘Leave Group’ button of the group you want to leave. There is no confirmation step so once you click the button you have left the group.
Hidden Groups #
These are not visible on the Groups page unless you belong to one, and they have two unique features not available in the Public or Private Groups – they have their own button to send Safety Alerts to the other group members, and the ability to request an instant check on any other group member. This instant check is available to everybody who is a member of that group, regardless of the plan they are on. However free plan members are still limited as to how many Safe or Not Safe Alerts they can send.
This allows members on a paid plan to separate, for example, their family and friends who they alert through the Safe Haven page button, from their work colleagues, or perhaps an expat would separate the people back home from their friends in their location. However we also envisage that these may also be used by community groups, such as neighbourhood watch or expat groups, to help them keep an eye on each other with regard to safety or perhaps crime, where they have a larger public or private parent group and a number of smaller hidden child groups.
