The Natural Resource Defense Council has teamed up with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to create a social networking site devoted solely to bird-lovers. The result is WeLoveBirds.org, a place where birders all over the world can connect together and post information, photos, videos, and more. There are already over 2,300 members and that number is growing steadily.
The site uses Ning which is “the social platform for the world’s interests and passions online.” Members can post in a blog format, friend other members, add photos directly from Flickr (a really cool and easy way to import photos), comment, etc. Each member has their own page where their content is posted to. We created a Birdfreak page but have yet to customize at much. You can add your own styling (complete with CSS) or use the default WeLoveBirds.org theme.
The concept behind WeLoveBirds.org is great and it is already seeing success in connecting birders (outside of other social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr). The way the information is presented is a bit overwhelming and the look is crowded. Many of the links are hard to differentiate from each other and to find specific photos or other members is a bit more complex than it need be.
We’d love to see some styling changes and organization changes, but overall the site functions well. If you don’t have your own birding blog this is a great place to add content and interact with other birders. Or if you have your own blog, this is a great place to share your info to a solid, bird-focused audience.
Of course, a community-based site is only as good as its members put in as a whole. But we feel WeLoveBirds.org has the potential to be a great place for birders and conservationists to gather and become a powerful force for conservation.
Join WeLoveBirds.org now and add what you think of it in the comments below!
