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Qatar Frequently Asked Questions - The Cagora Network |
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- What is Cagora?
- Cagora is a new, family friendly, global network of online Local and Special Interest niche Communities that you can join for Free. It’s a one-stop-spot for you to meet and network with other like minded people and to easily find the best products, services and information that are relevant to your Local area and Interests.
We are a Social Enterprise where ‘People are Paramount’, so everything we offer aims to provide tangible personal, financial and social benefits to all of our members, and that includes you.
- What do you mean by ‘Communities’?
- Our Communities are online venues that have vast range of things you can do. You can get together with other like minded people and form friendships or business relationships with them. You can interact and network, create and share content like videos, blogs, photos, articles, reviews, polls, etc, learn new things and even earn real money as you pursue your interests and hobbies, or find out what’s going on around the local areas where you live or work.
We offer these Community venues and their facilities in an easy to use family friendly environment so you can enjoy a ‘Sense of Community’ – a well known life enriching experience, especially when members interact with each other in a spirit of co-operation and mutual gain.
- What sort of things can I do in the Cagora Communities?
There are a massive number of fun and unexpected things you can currently do in Cagora Communities, with many more innovative activities and opportunities to come in the future.
At the moment you can: - Join as many of our Communities as you like
- meet and interact with other people in those communities to form personal and business relationships
- create and share information such as videos, blogs, photos, articles, reviews, polls, etc
- learn new things; teach others
- find out what’s going on
- get access to information, products and services that have been recommended by people ‘in the know’
- earn real money
- help raise funds for Charities and Community Groups
- enjoy the atmosphere of a large Community of people who want to help ‘Make a Difference’ to our own lives and those of others.
In the future you’ll be able to attend live 3-D online Expos and Events, join other members in networking sessions in our Voice and Text Chat Conference Rooms, take part in eLearning courses, languages other than English will be available... and much, much more.
- Why are the Communities also called ‘Worlds’?
- We wanted to create a term that was unique yet conjured up a picture in your mind about how vast your opportunities at Cagora are.
We also consider each one of our Communities to be a destination in itself – a place you can go to find quality information about your Local area or a topic of Interest that you love or just want to learn about. And all from people who know what they’re talking about.
As a result, all of our Communities are also generally known as ‘Worlds’, although we do make a distinction between the types: Our Local Communities are called ‘LocalWorlds’ and our Special Interest Communities are called ‘Worlds of Interest’.
- What are LocalWorlds?
- LocalWorlds are Cagora’s Local Community sites. They range from countries, to states, to regions to towns. We’ve tried to offer them in the most logical, or common, way that your country breaks up its regions.
You can zoom between different countries or around your own country. For instance, you can move from the USA LocalWorld down to our Texas LocalWorld and then down to the Rio Grande Valley LocalWorld. As you zoom to smaller and smaller regions, you’ll get less information but that information will be much more targeted to that specific local area.
- What are Worlds of Interest?
- Worlds of Interest are Cagora’s Special Interest Community sites. They cover major topics of interest such as Arts and Crafts, Gardening and Music and are then further divided into ‘subworlds’ such as Quilting, Organic Gardening and Jazz.
Each of the major topics of interest (called ‘major worlds’) generally has many smaller ‘subworlds’ under them. For instance, the major world of ‘Arts and Crafts’ has many subworlds underneath it, such as quilting, scrapbooking, knitting and painting, to name a few.
Worlds of Interest not only cover hobbies, but also business topics and other areas of general interest such as world issues, famous people, health, etc etc etc.
Like our LocalWorlds, you can zoom around quickly and easily between all of the different Worlds of Interest or around a particular major world and its sub worlds.
- What qualifies as a ‘LocalWorld’?
A LocalWorld will typically represent a region that has a population of 90,000 people in a Western English speaking country. In countries where English is the primary language the population threshold may be as low as 25,000.
Any LocalWorld that represents a region whose population is bigger than 450,000 is considered a ‘major world’ and will have smaller LocalWorlds (or sub worlds) that fall underneath it. For instance, Melbourne, Australia whose population is over 3.7mm, is considered a ‘major world’ and therefore has the smaller sub worlds of Banyule, Boroondara and Whitehorse underneath it.
In less affluent countries with less Internet connectivity or where English is not widely spoken, the population necessary to support an online Community is usually much larger.
Where possible, we try to give the Worlds names that are consistent with how they are referred to by the locals of those regions, however they are listed in English so Florence Italy is not listed as Firenze, but obviously will be listed as such when the sites are translated into Italian. - What qualifies as a ‘World of Interest’?
- A World of Interest represents any topic that people may be interested in. This can range from hobbies, sport, home, family, famous people, health, issues, environment, etc. This list goes on and on.
However to help ensure our Communities are viable, a World of Interest needs to fit the following criteria.
The topic must:
- Be Family Friendly (refer another FAQ)
- Have passionate people who want to interact with each other online
- Have sufficient demand. This means there must be people searching for that topic on the major search engines. Currently we use Overture to track monthly demand of World of Interest. At the present time we typically require a minimum Overture count of 1500 before a World of Interest will be formed. We would however love to have your suggestions of communities that you think will be viable.
- How many Communities does Cagora have?
- At launch we already have thousands of LocalWorlds and Worlds of Interest and by the end of 2007, we expect to have well over 20,000 available to you.
- What do you mean by ‘Family Friendly’?
To help ensure a safe online environment for you and all our members including children, Cagora’s strict Family Friendly policy prohibits the following: - Adult content (such as pornography & nudity)
- Hatred
- Racism
- Sexism
- War Mongering
- Bigotry
- Alcohol (excluding wines)
- Smoking
- Terrorism
- Crude Language
- Violence
- Graphical content (such as horror & gore)
- Religious Fundamentalism
- Firearms and Weapons (excluding hunting & sports)
All content has a link to report inappropriate content, allowing our members to report content they may find offensive.- How can I request a new Community?
- If a Community you’re interested in is not listed, we’d love to hear from you. Please send a request to worlds@cagora.com and we’ll review your suggestion.
- How much does it cost to join?
- You do not have to pay any joining or membership fees at Cagora, AND you can use the vast majority of our facilities for Free.
You also have the opportunity to buy products and services which we offer at best value prices with money back guarantees. This includes our ‘Community Partner Advertising Packages’.
- What can I do as a free member?
A lot!
You can: - Meet, make friends and have fun with like-minded people
- Network with others using our detailed member Profile Pages
- Find out what’s going on in your local area and surrounds
- Pursue your interests and hobbies
- Voice your thoughts and opinions
- Create and share your own contributions
- View, comment and vote on other members’ contributions
- Learn new things or teach others
- Earn real money
- Browse the Internet
- Participate in online Special Events
- Get high quality information, products and services handpicked by experts who understand what’s relevant to someone like you
- Help Make a Difference
As a free member of Cagora, you also automatically join our Free Affiliate Program. That means you can earn commissions when acquaintances, friends, family or businesses you introduce buy any of our best value Products and Services. - What Products and Services can I buy?
- Initially Cagora is focussing on expanding our Community Network, the content available on it, and our membership base through the various free offers described in the FAQ ‘What can I do as a free member?’
As a result, the main product we are currently offering is the ‘Community Partner Advertising Package’ (refer a separate FAQ), which offers a vast range of benefits if you currently have a business that you want to promote, or you just want to Make a Difference and help start a Community you have an interest in.
- How is Cagora different to other online Communities?
- To our knowledge, Cagora is the first comprehensive network of defined Local and Special Interest Communities on the Internet. The sheer size and structure of our network allows us to offer you a massive range of ordered content and networking opportunities that is currently not available anywhere else.
But that’s not all. There’s also a variety of ways you as an individual or as part of an organization can earn an income. Because our underlying philosophy is to ‘Make a Difference’, you get to share in 80% of the money that other companies normally keep as profits, with other members, Charities and Community Groups.
Plus, you get to enjoy a place on the Internet whose management team really believe that ‘People are Paramount’, so every product, service and facility we offer aims to provide you with a tangible personal, financial or social benefit.
- What are the benefits of joining?
- One of the major benefits of joining is that you can be part of Communities that suit your passions and interests or your local area and surrounds, all in the one spot on the Internet. You can learn, earn, network, and Make a Difference to your own life and those of others. You can also save time and money by being able to easily find the information, products and services you’re looking for, knowing that people who are ‘in the know’ have recommended them.
In addition, just by being a member you get to enjoy many other great benefits like being able to earn real money. Members who contribute content, volunteer, buy certain products, etc also get additional benefits above what other members do.
For more detailed information about Benefits, please see Member Benefits.
- How many Communities does Cagora have?
- At launch we already have thousands of LocalWorlds and Worlds of Interest and by the end of 2007, we expect to have well over 20,000 available to you.
- How do I join Cagora?
- Click on the JOIN NOW image or the ‘Create New Account’ link at the top of this and other web pages in the Cagora network.
Then simply fill out the Registration page and you will immediately have a Free account, including membership in our Free Affiliate Program.
- When will Cagora be in languages other than English?
- Cagora’s software platform has been built using the Open Source Content Management System called Drupal which has the capability to support over 80 of the world’s main languages.
Cagora will initially be launched in English, with the intent to offer multiple languages at a later time. We will review any suggestions offered by our members to assist us with correctly and efficiently translating our content to other languages.
If you’d like to help fast-track this process, we’d love to hear from you. Most of the work required to translate the web pages will be done by Volunteers, so if you’d like to help, please Contact Us.
- Is Cagora an international business?
- Yes, very much so. Our headquarters are currently in Melbourne, Australia but we plan to incorporate in the USA and UK in late 2007 so we can better serve the main markets of North America and Europe, before expanding into other parts of the world.
- Who is the company behind Cagora?
- Cagora is the trading name of the parent company Community Enabler Pty Ltd that was incorporated in January 2000 with the mission to help foster stronger Local and Special Interest Communities using the Internet and other emerging technologies.
- Where did the name come from?
- We only recently settled on the name Cagora which was derived from Community Agora.
The Agora was the hub of life for people in Ancient Greece as it functioned as their Meeting, Learning and Marketplace. Because we are a ‘Community’, we also wanted to make sure that this was somehow included. Hence the ‘C’ in front of Agora.
We also like how the ‘C’ can stand for Co-operation, Connecting, Collaboration and Communication which are some of the values we encourage.
- Who is Cagora’s management team?
- Cagora is supported by a large number of volunteers, investors, advisors and developers from North America, Europe, Asia and Australasia.
Its founder, Rob Anderson, has had over 15 years experience as the Operations Manager of start-up Food Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies before founding Community Enabler Pty Ltd.
As Cagora expands in 2008, we’ll be recruiting a senior and middle management team to take the business to the next level. Offering staff an opportunity to not only work for a progressive company where ‘People are Paramount’ but to also have a significant positive social impact will enable us to add to our already very strong and dedicated management team.
- Is Cagora still being developed?
- Cagora will always be a ‘work in progress’. That’s the nature of the ‘beast’ and what makes it so exciting to be a part of!
We pride ourselves on having created the beginning of a ‘Learning and Ideas Network’ that will be constantly changing, innovating and moving towards our goal of creating a ‘Better World’.
There is one aspect of Cagora that won’t change though – that’s our commitment to ‘Make a Difference’ in your life and to help you do the same for those around you.
- Why was Cagora created?
- Answer
- What is Cagora’s underlying philosophy?
Cagora’s underlying philosophy is to ‘Make a Difference’.
One of our favourite sayings is ‘Actions speak louder than words’ so not only do we constantly talk about it, but we demonstrate this philosophy by: - Extending generosity and good will to others – and that includes you.
This means we’ll always do our best to offer you facilities, products, services and benefits that in some way ‘give back’ to you personally, financially and/or socially. For instance, we share 80% of the money that most companies retain as profits with you, other members, Charities and Community Groups around the world. And 20% of the Community Supporter Ad Revenue from all Cagora Communities is donated to registered Charities around the world. - Practice our ‘People are Paramount’ rule by always striving to ensure that everything we offer has you and other people as its central focus, assuming that people are inherently good, that members’ thoughts and opinions are heard and respected, that the spirit of co-operation and mutual gain are guiding principles in all of the Cagora Communities, and showing respect for all people no matter how different they might be from us.
- Providing you with a free to join, family friendly environment where it is safe and fun for you to interact and enjoy your interests with other people.
- Giving you the opportunity to feel the wonderful ‘Giving Glow’, knowing you’ve been able to join in and Make a Difference too. You can donate the money you earn at Cagora to registered Charities and Community Groups, share your skills and knowledge with others by using our ‘Create & Share’ facilities in each of the Communities, Volunteer, etc.
- What kind of business is Cagora?
- Cagora operates as a Commercial Business but we are also a Social Enterprise. We have a definite positive social impact agenda, and one way we ‘Give Back’ is by sharing 80% of the money that other companies normally keep as profits with our members, Charities and Community Groups.
We believe that a Commercial Business model is the most effective way to remain viable as an enterprise so we can continue towards our goal to Make a Difference and make a big impact on helping change our world for the better. We know ‘Giving Back’ is just good business sense – any global citizen with a conscience knows that. We also believe it helps give us a competitive advantage, but even more importantly, Giving Back acts as a self-perpetuating engine that encourages loyalty, good will and motivation. And those in turn, power the success of Cagora and therefore every one of us that is involved with it.
To enable us to fund the operation of each Community without being reliant on donations, we offer highly targeted advertising to Advertisers (such as Small Businesses) on each of our 20,000+ LocalWorld and World of Interest Communities. Advertising also allows us to create income for people who participate in our Affiliate Program or as Community Partners.
We have a ‘blueprint’ plan for even more exciting and innovative offerings for our members not too far in the future. They will be funded by products that are offered at best value prices with money back guarantees. That way we’ll be able to fuel our ‘Giving Back engine’ even more, and as a result more benefits will be available to help Make a Difference in all of our members’ lives and the communities they live in.
- What was Co-Opworld?
- In November 2003 Community Enabler launched a much smaller version of Cagora under the name Co-Opworld (a World of Co-operation) on a different software platform.
As our vision changed, matured and grew more ambitious (Refer ‘Is Cagora still being developed?’), we decided that we needed to reinvent ourselves not only with a completely new Community Software Platform but with a professional look and a new name too.
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