PlaceSpeak in the Natural Resource and Telecommunications Sector

Aime Brisebois
June 3, 2013
Introduction
To obtain the necessary permits and get approval, most resource developments
such as a mines, oil and gas installations, and hydro-electric power projects require
community / public consultations. Governments at all levels require consultation on a
range of environmental issues including oil and gas development and many consultations
are spatially defined and localized in nature, that is, proposed developments may have an
impact on a specific geographic radius surrounding the projectOver the years, the
methodology for public consultation has evolved to include public information meetings
and hearings, telephone polls and surveys, and most recently online
engagement.Telephone surveys are less relevant with declining land line use. The digital
divide argument is no longer germane as the majority of residents are online via email or
social media. The increase is online users has again been shown by the 2012 Ipsos
Canadian Interactive Reid Report. Internet communication technology has made it
possible to reach a broader spectrum of the public. Until recently, that interaction has
been anonymous and anecdotal at best.
Increasingly, government is also emphasizing evidence-based decisionmaking. Governments at the municipal, provincial, and federal are legislating public
engagement. Governments at various levels recognize that existing community
consultation methods lack in reaching a broad demographic. Public meetings attract the
ideological minority. The Internet offers fresh potential to reinvigorate the dialogue as

public engagement practices are changing over time, well beyond traditional bounds of
public hearings
PlaceSpeak, a new applied online tool to support stakeholder and public
engagement, is revolutionizing and innovating sustainable approaches to online
community consultation.PlaceSpeak authenticates citizen users to their addresses and
provides the ability to both consult directly with proponents and be counted in terms of
providing verifiable data for decision-making. The advent of PlaceSpeak represents a sea
change in public engagement best practices, and has been developed in Vancouver with
the support of the NRC-IRAP and MITACS Accelerate.PlaceSpeak provides a controlled,
secure, privacy-protected, transparent platform for both industry and citizen users to
gather public opinions on various proposed developments in a community or nation-wide.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of this research was to explore the use of online public consultation
and the use of social media in online public consultation to advance best practices within
the resource development industry. The MITACS project aims to research the ways in
which online consultation generally, and the PlaceSpeak platform in particular, can
enrich public consultation processes by engaging populations normally not connected to
or involved with natural resource development consultation through current and
traditional outreach methods.
Given the rise of social media in everyday life of citizens, exploring the ways in
which social media has, does, and can influence public consultation remains to be
illuminated. Because social medias potential of using online consultation initiatives has
not yet seen its mass popularity as a participatory tool for planners, further research is

needed to gain insight into past challenges of adopting online consultation methods,
current initiatives being explored as well as future directions online consultation may
explore with respect to the resource development industry
This project seeks to explore the potential for online consultation in the resource
development industry with subgroups including 1) Environmental & Engineering
Consultants; 2) Public Engagement, PR & Communications companies; 3) First Nation
Communities; 4) Provincial & Federal Departments; and 5) Industry Associations.
Geographically, the research was conducted in Vancouver Lower Mainland, and then
expand through British Columbia.
Methodology
Literature Review and Database Building
I researched the current landscape of the resource development industry in the
Lower Mainland in order to create a research database for the five subgroups listed in the
Objectives above.
The initial literature research provided key framework in creating the consultation
guide to conduct meetings with key informants in the resource development industry
according to each subgroup. The consultations with individuals in the industry were
transcribed and analyzed for key themes including, but not limited to: challenges of
public consultation generally, past experiences (if any) with online consultation and
social media, current initiatives and plans, current visions (if any) for online consultation.
Using PlaceSpeak as a model, the research aimed to illuminate opportunities for growth
in online consultation, and what needs to be done in order to support online consultation
initiatives.

Results
The following section summarizes the interviews and responses with key personnel in the
natural resource sector spanning many specialties and the other outreach initiatives
completed.
Interviews and Responses
Table 1. Summary of interview with an environmental consulting group in BC who
works primarily in the mining sector
Previous Experience
with Online Public
Engagement

No

Confused about PlaceSpeaks use and applications until the

one-on- one meeting
Nervous about public responses to some of their project
Natural resources evoke strong emotions in people
Time of transition at the office, so may not be the best time
to implement at new tool
Questions about security

Efficient way to organize consultations

Appreciated the geographical application
Interested in using PlaceSpeak if the right project came along

Challenges with online

public engagement and
PlaceSpeak

Opportunities of online
public engagement and
PlaceSpeak
Key Themes

Safety, Security, would need to show to higher up managers

Table 2 Summary of interview with a social scientist at a large consulting company

(international)
Previous Experience with
Online Public
Engagement
Challenges with online
public engagement and
PlaceSpeak

No

Suggested to focus on application to industry as opposed to regulators.

Questions about applicability with various internet connections, i.e. low
bandwith users in remote places
If used in a regulatory context, the security and firewall is key
Sees value in strategic planning for oil and gas reserves in northern BC
Concerned with PlaceSpeaks GIS verification

Specific examples of where SNC Lavalin views PlaceSpeak as useful tool:

Public and First Nation engagement
Share project alternatives

Opportunities of online
public engagement

Selecting appropriate mitigation

Identifying sensitive areas in Traditional Ecological Knowledge or high
resource users
Help connect business community to develop strategies for northern
infrastructure development (big clients and government) i.e./ Remote
north has little infrastructure, and investors need to share costs of
transportation & access - marine docks/ airports/ roads/electricity)

Resource/Land Use Planning/ Community Planning

Provincial Water Strategies (Alberta/ Sask/ Ont)
Protected Areas Planning/Work across Canada
Community development projects
Resource value or resource use assessments (i.e. help to determine values
of parks versus open land for development)
Beaufort Sea Regional Strategic Planning (First Nation boards/ Federal/
Territorial Regulators/ Advisors, and public stakeholders)
Strategic Planning in Northern eastern BC hear oil & gas reserves

Opportunities of online
public engagement

Transboundary Working Groups Cumulative Effects

Cumulative Effects Management in Alberta oil sands (Cumulative effects
working groups/bodies).
Caribou management and other transboundary volatile compounds
(air/water/ birds.)

Key Themes

Security, Safety, will it help me get the results I want?

Table 3 Summary of interview with a small air quality consulting company

Previous Experience
with Online Public
Engagement

No, he has no significant involvement of public process

However for expansions, one way Al Lanfranco Consultants
help is they will go in and provide the information to the
consultants who need to reach out to stakeholders with updated
information

Challenges with
online public
engagement

n/a

Suggested to look into Energy Systems i.e. UBC- Biomass

Energy System, Nextera (Dextera) Project, renewable energy.
EnviroChem

Opportunities of
online public
engagement

Table 4 Summary of interview with an environmental non profit in Ontario

Previous Experience
with Online Public
Engagement

No

Challenges with
online public
engagement and
PlaceSpeak
specifically

unclear about, What is PlaceSpeak? before I went through

the process with her step by step even after checking out the
website
Suggested redesigning of home-page to present a clear
message to users who have never visited the site
o Specific suggestion was putting About and How it
Works at the top of the homepage instead of the
bottom

Opportunities of
online public
engagement

Key Themes

Education, outreach

Can see the tool being useful for a potential developer that is
coming into her small town
Helpful to reach out to many rural residents

Table 5 Summary of interview with consultants in the telecommunications field

Previous Experience
with Online Public
Engagement

No

Challenges with
online public
engagement

Opportunities of
online public
engagement

Key Themes

Main concern is privacy and security

Specifically concerned with how PlaceSpeak undergoes geoverification
Do not want to mislead clients into thinking they can change
the outcome
Control is key, asked to modify many aspects of PlaceSpeak
o Wording of buttons
o Did not use keywords
o Changed imaging of maps on the home page
Specific issues with online public consultation and natural
resources:
o only embrace change if they are required by law
o privacy and security
Sees a need for online public engagement in natural resources
due to the sensitivity of the issues
New realm for Rogers, very cautious and excited about the
idea
Privacy, security, geoverification

Table 6 Summary of interview with a public relations consultant

Previous Experience
with Online Public
Engagement

No

Challenges with
online public
engagement

Seemed skeptical about the uptake of PlaceSpeak for big

controversial projects because online engagement is not
required by law

Opportunities of
online public
engagement

Optimistic about the use of PlaceSpeak to engage with First

Nations as they are the number 1 users of online sources for
news and information
Asked questions about whether or not consultations can occur
behind closed doors
o less interested in the use of PlaceSpeak for her own
business needs once PlaceSpeak informed her that all
consultations are viewable to everyone, but only
verified users can participate in the surveys,

discussions, etc.

Articles
Two articles were written to summarize the use and need of a tool like PlaceSpeak
in contaminated sites redevelopment and summarizing the use of online tools in general
to be printed in the British Columbia Environmental Industry Association (BCEIA)
weekly newsletter sent out to over 3000 members and in the ECO Canada newsletter.

Article 1: BCEIA, June 2013

Authenticating online consultation: A new model for community and stakeholder
engagement in contaminated sites redevelopment
By Aime Brisebois - Special to the BCEIA
Environmental resource practitioners, particularly in the contaminated sites field
and in brownfield redevelopment, must manage varying perspectives on projects from
different stakeholders and the public. A robust and genuine public information or
consultation program is an important mechanism to determine the most publicly
acceptable strategies and implementation. The way public consultation processes are
conducted can have a significant influence on the response from regulators.

Governments at all levels require consultation on a range of environmental issues

including oil and gas development and many consultations are spatially defined and
localized in nature, that is, proposed developments may have an impact on a specific
geographic radius surrounding the project. The Internet offers fresh potential to

reinvigorate the dialogue as public engagement practices are changing over time, well
beyond traditional bounds of public hearings.

PlaceSpeak is revolutionizing and innovating sustainable approaches to online

community consultation by authenticating the online dialogue between citizens and
decision-makers. In the simplest terms, PlaceSpeak allows proponents to gather public
input according to its geographic source and thus distinguish location-specific issues
from broad-based issues. PlaceSpeak allows citizens to 'claim their place' in the
conversation according to their actual address by providing a controlled, secure, privacyprotected, transparent platform. Both industry and citizen users can gather public
opinions on various proposed developments in a community or nation-wide.

PlaceSpeak adds value to public consultation through generating enriched and

verifiable data to support one of the most critical phases in natural resource development
initiatives. Successful resource developers frequently use evidence-based decision
making obtained from the verifiable data to support policy development and decisionmaking. PlaceSpeak makes it possible for organizations to identify stakeholders in a more
refined manner and have genuine conversations based on the nature of their interest.

Overall, natural resource managers and developers can use PlaceSpeak as a tool to
manage single or multiple public consultations and projects in one place. PlaceSpeak
applications range from gathering public opinion on the implementation of hydro-electric
dams to the renewal of specific transportation plans and route options. Looking forward,
PlaceSpeak intends to broaden its application into the contaminated sites field and other
natural resource sectors by providing a value-added service to current public engagement

strategies. PlaceSpeak can help consultants and developers gather defensible,

geographically coded feedback to satisfy the regulated need for meaningful and interestbased public engagement by their clients.

If you have any questions or comments about the use of an online tool for public
engagement in the natural resource sector, please contact:

Aime Brisebois aimee@placespeak.com

Aime Brisebois, a master's student in natural resource management at Simon Fraser

University is a MITACS intern with PlaceSpeak, a new online tool used to support public
consultation initiatives. She is exploring public engagement strategies in the natural
resource management field specifically to determine if there is an interest or a need for
an open and transparent online tool, such as PlaceSpeak. Aime's background in
environmental toxicology and planning further supports her interest in contaminated
sites and the use of an online public consultation tool to support the redevelopment
process.

You can find out more about PlaceSpeak online:

www.placespeak.com
Twitter:@PlaceSpeak
Facebook:www.facebook.com/PlaceSpeak
Article 2: ECO Canada
https://www.eco.ca/community/blog/how-can-environmental-professionals-make-themost-of-new-online-engagement-tools/87981/

Recommendations
PlaceSpeak has an opportunity to provide valuable information to the stakeholder
engagement specialists in the natural resource and environmental management field.
Industry professionals appeared both optimistic and cautious when discussing PlaceSpeak
as an option. Potential proponents were optimistic about the need to engage the public
early on in natural resource management projects because of the strong emotions evoked
from development of green space. Potential proponents were cautious about the aspects
of the discussion surrounded the nature of the security and privacy of PlaceSpeak.
Placespeak can play an important role in public engagement but may need to take the
following suggestions into consideration to be successful in the new field.
(A) Privacy
A primary theme of all the discussions with potential clients surrounded privacy
and security of the publics personal information and of the topic page itself. PlaceSpeak
is currently working on improving the legal and privacy aspects of the platform.
Employees at PlaceSpeak who are making presentations could be informed on the precise
nature of PlaceSpeaks privacy in order to clearly communicate the privacy
considerations to potential clients. Employees at PlaceSpeak may benefit from an hour
long workshop on the privacy aspects of the platform.PlaceSpeak may wish to consider
moving away from the green dot imaging on the maps, in order to improve the privacy
of individuals in remote locations who may feel exposed by the green dot, despite it being
within the polygon. PlaceSpeak may want to consider creating a private discussion board
only viewable to connected or invited users.

In the natural resource industry, PlaceSpeak has already considered, specially for
the Standard Land and Rogers Topic Page, additional verification levels into the
platform to satisfy the security needs of potential clients. Standard Land and Rogers were
the first to suggest the additional level of verification and as a result, PlaceSpeak added in
a new level of verification including a home phone and/or cell phone number. As more
and more large corporations begin to look at PlaceSpeak as an option, the importance of
user verification will become increasingly important. Industry will want to control their
outgoing message and control the incoming comments by ensuring users are verified to
place.

(B) Modifications/Control
Primarily from our discussions with Standard Land and Rogers, industry appears
to want control over the messaging of the website. The control stems from wanting to be
honest and upfront with users i.e.Rogers was concerned with leading on users to thinking
they can change the location of their proposed cell phone towers. I created a document
highlighting the editable and non-editable aspects of PlaceSpeak to help Rogers
understand how much flexibility PlaceSpeak allowed in particular changes such as
wording on buttons (Appendix I). Moving forward, PlaceSpeak may want to consider a
plan of action to use when approached by these questions by clients. A plan of action
could include using the document in Appendix I as a guide for all industry, it could mean
changing the flexibility of modifications based on the subscription selection, or the plan
of action could include a combination of the two.
(C) Clarity of Message

First time visitors to the PlaceSpeak website did not immediately grasp the full
meaning and usefulness of PlaceSpeak. Each organization, to whom I sent the
PlaceSpeak link prior to our meetings, required further explanation about why and how
PlaceSpeak is a useful tool to their organization. Additional basic messaging appropriate
for participants outside of the academic world on the home-page could improve the
retention of first time users to the site. Specifically, Lola Jean Gentles from Transition
Towns suggested a change as simple as moving the About and How it Works section
to the top of the home-page. Another suggestion from Tim Robillard at Standard Land
was to improve the communication on the web page about the results-by-geography
aspect of PlaceSpeak.
Interviewees were concerned about their users feeling spammed if they receive
emails about other consultations after participating in a specific consultation. Users may
also feel like the privacy of PlaceSpeak is reduced after receiving information about a
different topic, while having signed up for another. Including information when a user
signs-up for PlaceSpeak describing the email notification feature (as opposed to a check
box) may mitigate the issue.
Conclusion
In general, most interviewees agreed that PlaceSpeak adds value to public
consultation through generating verifiable data to support natural resource development
and local decision-making by communicating with citizens online according to their
actual address. Resource managers and developers can use PlaceSpeak as a tool to
manage single or multiple public consultations and projects in one place. PlaceSpeak
applications range from gathering public opinion on the implementation of hydro-electric

dams to the renewal of specific transportation plans and route options. Continued
conversation with industry leaders about the use of an online public engagement tool like
PlaceSpeak in the industry will support PlaceSpeaks goal to successfully enter the
natural resource and environmental management field.
Looking forward, PlaceSpeak looks to broaden its use in the natural resource and
environmental management field by providing a value-added service to current public
engagement strategies. PlaceSpeak can help consultants and developers gather defensible,
geographically coded, information for their clients to satisfy the regulated need for public
engagement in various developments.To be successful in a new field, PlaceSpeak may be
interested in modifications highlighted in this report to be more appealing to new
potential clients without changing the main message of, claim your place, speak your
mind, influence the outcome.

APPENDIX I
EDITABLE FEATURES
Last updated: May 7, 2013, AB
The following two tables summarize the editable and non-editable features of the
Topic Page of PlaceSpeak (Table 1) and the Topic Edit Page of PlaceSpeak (Table 2).
Keep in mind that PlaceSpeak strives to make the platform as participant/proponent
friendly as is feasible and we are always adding suggestions from participants and
proponents to our update list. Note: Currently, if there is no option for editing on the
PlaceSpeak topic edit page then the component is currently not editable.
Appendix I. List and description of editable and not-editable features on the Topic Page.

Feature

Editable? (YES/NO)

Buttons

NO: Size, colour, and text style cannot be changed

Order of Features

NO: The order of the features listed on topic pages is static

(i.e. tab order along the top of the topic page)

Location of Features

NO: The location of features on the topic page are static.

General Appearance

NO: Components such as colour and format are static to

ensure consistency of the PlaceSpeak brand for our users.

Which features (i.e. tabs)

appear

YES: You can select which features you would like your
users to see.

Editing or hiding Facebook NO: Currently these features cannot be removed

likes and shares, Invite
button, tweets
Topic statistics

NO: Topic statistics cannot be hidden.

Map

NO: Although the map can be modified on the back end by

the proponent, the map must be shown on the front end.

How can you help

NO: The section included in the overview tab is not optional.

section

Appendix I.i . List and description of editable and not editable features on the Topic Edit
Page.

Section

Sub-Section

Topic Title

Team

Contact
Information

Editable? (YES/NO)
YES: Name your consultation topic in 50
characters or less.

Category

YES: Select your organizations label from a premade drop down menu.

New Team
Member

YES: Invite the names of your team Help: Team

members will receive an email notification of their
role, but they must first be a PlaceSpeak member
to access your page in that capacity.
Administrators can add, edit, add delete all data on
your page. A moderator can only post, edit, and
delete comments in discussion forums.

Administrators

YES: Administrators are added from the New

Team Member section and can edit content and
assign roles in specific topics.

Moderators

YES: Moderators are added from the New Team

Member section and can only post, edit, and
delete comments in notice boards and discussion
forums.

Organization
Information

YES: To upload a logo, click Change beneath

the image placeholder. In the dialogue box that
appears, either drag a file from your desktop
directly into the blue bar, or click the blue bar and

then navigate to the correct folder on your

computer. When the upload is complete, select the
image and then click OK. A cropping box will
now appear. Drag the corners of the box to crop. It
will automatically scale your logo to the
dimensions that are required. Click OK again,
and youre done.
Contact
Information

YES: Enter the publicly-viewable contact

information of someone that can answer questions
from participants.

Features

YES: Choose which features participants will see.

Features will appear as navigation tabs at the top
your topic page.

Who can
participate?

YES: By selecting various check boxes, choose

who can connect to your topic and participate in
the consultation. Residents are defined as those
who live or work within your consultation area.

Overview

Overview cont

Featured Image

Featured Image
cont

Set up your main landing page.

YES: Upload an image that best represents your
topic.
Help: To upload an image, click Change beneath
the image placeholder. In the dialogue box that
appears, either drag a file from your desktop
directly into the blue bar, or click the blue bar and
then navigate to the correct folder on your
computer. When the upload is complete, select the
image and then click OK. A cropping box will
now appear. Drag the corners of the box to crop.

Abstract

YES: Add a short topic description of 140

characters. The abstract will appear in
PlaceSpeaks topic menu, as well as in search
engines and Facebook links.

Description

YES: Educate the public. Enter all the relevant

information about your topic. Be concise, but be
thorough. The people reading this want to be
informed.
Help: PlaceSpeak uses the common WYSIWYG

text editor (it literally means What You See Is

What You Get). If youre copying text from
another document or word processor, ensure it is a
straight text file (.txt), meaning there is nothing
like italicized words, indents or different fonts and
sizes. The WYSIWYG editor only recognizes
basic formatting created with its own tools. Use
the editor to also embed video, add photos, create
links and insert tables.
Map

Upload Existing
Map

YES: Draw the boundaries of your consultation

area. The key feature of PlaceSpeak is the ability
to connect with people only from a specific
geographic area.
Advanced users can upload an existing KML or
KMZ file.

Create Own

YES: Use the buttons in upper-left corner to zoom

in and out, or move pan around the map.
To set the boundaries of your consultation area,
select the polygon tool [insert image of button].
On the point where you want to begin outlining
the boundary, click once and release. Move your
mouse to the next position. The line trailing
behind your cursor is the edge of your boundary.
Now click the mouse again to set your second
anchor point. Keep doing this until you arrive back
at your starting point. When the cursor changes to
a hand, click one last time to complete the circuit.
The shape will automatically convert into your
defined consultation area, or polygon. Give it
name in the field below.
You can add multiple polygons to the map. They
can vary in size from a single property to an entire
country, but most proponents chose to use the
boundaries of existing neighbourhoods or
municipalities.

Keywords

Current Keywords
Current Keywords
cont

YES: Choose up to five keywords.

Help: The Recommended Keywords are based
on the contents of your topic description. Type up
to five keywords below or use our Recommended
Keywords to the right.

Recommended
Keywords
Surveys

YES: Activate these recommendations by

dragging one or all into the Current Keywords
box to the left.
YES: Integrate a survey into your topic page.

LimeSurvey

YES: PlaceSpeak uses the open source

LimeSurvey interface to administer our surveys.
If you would like to use LimeSurvey, click on
LimeSurvey link and then the green New
LimeSurvey button. Enter the name of your
survey in the survey title box.
To add questions or edit your survey, click on the
edit link. You will be taken to the LimeSurvey
page
For more information on how to develop a survey
and enter questions with LimeSurvey, please visit
the LimeSurvey user manual:
http://docs.limesurvey.org/English+Instructions+f
or+LimeSurvey
When you are ready to publish your survey, click
on Publish.

FluidSurveys

YES: To use FluidSurveys, you will need to set up

a separate account on FluidSurveys.com. This is
where you will create your surveys as well.
http://fluidsurveys.com/
When you have set up a FluidSurveys account and
created your survey(s), click on the FluidSurveys
link and enter your API User key and password
from FluidSurveys.com. A list of the surveys
associated with your FluidSurveys account will
appear.
To publish a survey, click on publish beside the
title of the survey you wish to launch. Only one
survey may be active at the same time.

Discussions

YES: Start an open discussion with participants to

get a better sense of public opinion.
Help: This feature will appear under the

Discussions tab at the top of your topic page.

You can add as many discussions threads as you
wish.
Events

YES: Post notices of important, upcoming events,

such as public meetings, municipal votes, or the
closing of discussions and polls on your topic
page.
Help: Your events will appear under the Events
tab at the top of your topic pages. You can add as
many events as you like. They will automatically
appear in chronological order.

Resources

Images

YES: Upload images, videos, documents or any

other media that participants can pursue at their
own pace to better understand your topic. They
will appear under the Resources tab at the top of
your topic page.
YES: After clicking Add Image choose an
image from your gallery or upload a new one. In
the dialogue box that appears, either drag a file
from your desktop directly into the blue bar, or
click the blue bar and then navigate to the correct
folder on your computer. When the upload is
complete, select the image and then click OK.

Video

YES: To add a video, simply copy the videos

URL from YouTube or Vimeo and paste it into the
text field. We recommend you enter a title and full
description of your video to entice participants.

Documents

YES: To add a document, drag a file into the blue

upload bar, or click directly on it to open your
computers files. The document will appear as a
link on your resources page, so we recommend
you write a brief sentence or two to let participants
know whats waiting for them.

Links

YES: To link to external websites, such as your

organization's home page, paste the URL from
the website into the text box and click Add. We
recommend you enter a title, as participants are
more likely to click on a link if they understand
why you're taking them there.

Social Media

Facebook

YES: Embed social media feeds directly into your

topic pages sidebar.
Enter enter the URL of the Facebook page you
would like to embed.

Twitter

Enter one or more Twitter accounts or hashtags.

Polls

YES: Add a poll directly to your topic pages

sidebar.
Help: Write a short yet complete poll question
followed by the response options (ie: yes or no) in
the boxes provided, then click Publish. Once a
poll is published it can not be edited. It will be
deleted and replaced with any new poll you post.

Participants

NO: View the names and geographic location of

people connected to your topic.

Widgets

Buttons

Use these widgets to let participants link to the

topic directly from your website.
NO: To include a link button on your site, click on
"Get Widget Code" button and copy the code to
your website.

Reports

iFrame

YES: PlaceSpeak also helps you to embed a

dynamic topic widget on your site. You can
customize this by adjusting the width of the topic
widget and select the information you wish to
appear on your site.

Downloading
reports

You can edit reports after they are downloaded.

See the results! Download automated reports
about your public discussions, surveys and polls.
After you download the material you can then
modify the information or incorporate it into other
reports, but you cannot modify the
Help: In the left-hand column, locate the forum
from which you want a report. In the same row to
the right, select the file format in which you would
like to receive the report.

Google Analytics

Track your pages statistics with your Google

Analytics code http://www.google.com/analytics/

Notify

YES: You can select whether or not to

automatically notify participants about updates to
your page.

Publish

NO: When you publish your topic page

PlaceSpeak will send out a notification to the
PlaceSpeak members who are either following
your selected keywords or fall within your topics
geographical area. Clicking Publish will also add
your topic to our topic listing page.

Notice Board

YES: The Notice Board allows topic participants

to post their own material (text, photos and video)
onto your topic page.