YahooGroups Workshop

Sandeep Krishnamurthy

Q1: Why are we doing this using Yahoo?

A: It will be available to you after you graduate [Blackboard will not]. I am not endorsing Yahoo. MSN has a similar service, for example. [There is no good free survey tool I know of- that is why we used the UW one.]

Q2: What do you expect from us after today?

A: I expect this to become part of your skill set. Use it everywhere. Invite profs to use it. Use it with your family. Use it with your co-workers. Use it. Sign up your workgroups. Use this to network, plan vacations, chit-chat etc.

Let us begin.

Stage 1- Register with Yahoo [Even if you already have a Yahoo a/c, I recommend doing this and creating a new account.] [Time- 10 Minutes]

• Go to www.yahoo.com.
• Sign in.
• Fill out the first form that asks you for personal info.
• You are not expected to provide any sensitive personal info. The alternative e-mail you provide here should be one that you do not check regularly. But, it should be a valid account. Yahoo will ask you to verify your alternative e-mail ID at some point. They will send you an e-mail that you will have to click on.
• Uncheck any checked boxes.
• Do not install the Yahoo! companion toolbar.
• You will be taken to yahoo.com at this stage.
• Click on mail.
• You will be taken to a screen where you will have to fill out your First Name and Last Name again.
• Once you click on "create a free account", you are in business.
• Uncheck all checked boxes on the next screen and click on "Continue to YahooMail".
• You are now ready to start a group.

Stage 2- Start a Group [Time- 20 Minutes]

• Go to groups.yahoo.com and click on "Start a group".
• For the purpose of this exercise, place all groups in Business&Finance>Business Schools>Classes
• Create a new group that includes your group members for this class and me. One of you should become the group leader at this point. C'mon now- don't be shy…
• Use this e-mail ID for me- sandeep_krishnamurthy@yahoo.com. [I created this one recently and don't plan on checking it regularly.]
• For the group leader

• You will have to give your group a name and choose an e-mail address for it [E.g. themaskedmarauders]. Note that you cannot include blank spaces in your e-mail ID.
• IMPORTANT: Note down the URL for your group. E.g. http://groups.yahoo.com/themaskedmarauders.
• First, invite the people you want to be in this group [one person can become the leader for this].
• Next, customize your group.
• On screen 1- I would recommend making the group private, allowing people to join only with approval and allowing only group members to post to the group.

• On screen 2- don't change anything. Click on Next.
• On screen 3- don't change anything. Click on Finish.
• Then, click on "Go to Group".
For everybody else

• Go to your e-mail account where you expect to receive an invite.
• When you get the e-mail invitation, click on "join the group". [For some of you there may be a delay before you get the invitation. That is OK. We have the time.]

• Screen 1- Check "Join the Group" rather than "Join the Mailing List". [This is the default.]
• Screen 2- For now, check "No E-mail" and "Convert to HTML". Click on Join.
• Wait till you receive a confirmation e-mail.
• Now, close your e-mail.
• Go to groups.yahoo.com. You may have to sign in again.
• Click on my groups. You should see the group you just joined.

Stage 3- USE the Group [Time- 30 Minutes]

• Before you proceed, make sure everybody you care about is in the group- i.e., your group members and me.
• I want you to start by posting messages. The first message should be introductory. Finish this sentence- "The most important thing I have learned about life is that…".
• Respond to at least 2 of the introductory messages by others.
• Next, create a poll question and post it to the group.
• Now, go to Word and create a test document. Name is test[yourname].doc [E.g. testsandeep.doc]. Post this file on to the Yahoogroup.
• Next, go to the Links section and add 3-5 links that you recommend.
• Next, go to the Calendar section and add an event and a task.
• Finally, go to the chat area and activate it. Chat.

Back to the eSkills page.