The Big Idea makeover is well underway. We have a working prototype and the visual design has begun. New and improved connectivity, tools and functionality will help our creative community find what we need to grow big ideas into sustainable careers and enterprises.

We are due to begin testing and transferring content and membership details from our current site to the new site. We want to make the data migration as simple as possible for everyone in our community and here is where you can help yourself to ensure you have the best profile possible in the new website.The Big Idea makeover is well underway. We have a working prototype and the visual design has begun. New and improved connectivity, tools and functionality will help our creative community find what we need to grow big ideas into sustainable careers and enterprises.

We are due to begin testing and transferring content and membership details from our current site to the new site. We want to make the data migration as simple as possible for everyone in our community and here is where you can help yourself to ensure you have the best profile possible in the new website.

With a membership of 17,000 and receiving [on average] 54,000 views a month together we have built one of the most significant communities in the creative sector and can support and help each other to grow our businesses to be more sustainable.

People from all over the world visit our site and as an organisation or practitioner it is the place to find and be found - our design company, Citizen-Click, have a great profile on The Big Idea and that's how we found them. There may be people looking for you - so treat your profile as a home page and build a good one so you can connect with the community.

News, jobs, opportunities and showcase items submitted to The Big Idea will also display in your profile.

To find your username:
1. Choose 'Community' from the top menu bar and search for your name.
2. When your name appears, click on the link.
3. Your username will appear in your browser's address bar, right at the end. e.g. http://www.thebigidea.co.nz/user.php?op=userinfo&uname=YOU

To get a new password:
1. Go to the Toolbox on the left-hand side of the site.
2. Click 'Lost your password?'
3. Enter your username - your new password will be sent to the email address listed in your account.
If your new password doesn't turn up immediately, check your Junk Mail folder. If you suspect it may have been sent to an old email address, contact editor@thebigidea.co.nz with 'Need new password' in the subject line.

To build a good profile:
1. Log in with your username and password.
2. Go to the Toolbox on the left-hand side of the site.
3. Click 'Change: Personal Details'.
4. Update your information.
· Put a real email address in the 'fake e-mail' field so that people can contact you
· Include extra information about yourself - this will appear as a brief synopsis in your profile and means that you can be profiled on The Big Idea.
5. Click 'Save Changes' at the bottom of the form.

To join, submit content or sign up for the e-bulletin see our FAQs.

TBI Homepage: A community space, e.g. a marae, zocalo, piazza, town square. It houses links to recent editorial content (news, interviews and articles), multimedia (tv, audio) forums, employment listings and practitioner profiles as well as login, search, help, filter and display information and user preferences.

News: Industry news, reviews, interviews, columns, blogs, audio, TV and multimedia.

Work: Enterprise news, jobs and opportunities, directories, tools and resources to help the creative community make the most of work and income opportunities.

Grow: Personal and professional development information, news and resources including educational facility providers, tertiary courses, conferences and workshops, graduate profiles, resources and research.

Connect: Profile yourself and interact with other members with the practitioner or organisation profiles, industry directory, industry links, media releases, events calendar and opportunity listings such as auditions, awards, calls for cast and crew etc

Show: Create, upload and view creative content, e.g. photos and images, documents, sound, moving images, online spaces, podcasts; participate in work in progress blogs or link to digital exhibition spaces.

Chat: Forums including accommodation, advocacy, buy and sell, creative disciplines, business, employment and learning.

My Toolbox: The member self administration area allowing the community to register, add and maintain personal details, select creative discipline(s) and region(s), register for the e-bulletin and upload personal profiles and creative content

Usability Functionality: This is functionality that allows the community to find, interact and disseminate information and content, e.g. search, filter, tag, print, email, bookmark, comment, promote, rank, receive RSS feed

Having said all that you'll want to get going - but first a word from our sponsor.

Building and running a site like The Big Idea is such a rewarding experience and almost all of what we offer is at no charge to the community. We hope you value what we do and can show that with your wallet. "I say pay what you think The Big Idea is worth to you. I think it is worth it." Briar Monro - Wellington, NZ

We have two options for you to pay your donation to The Big Idea Charitable Trust:

By credit card: We have used PayPal to establish a secure process to handle credit card payments. PayPal is a world-wide internet payment system that provides a safe and easy way to pay with a credit card without exposing the credit card number.

By internet banking: This page has all the details including our bank account number

Click here to invest.

Image: A cropped google map of The Big Idea community.