FAQ / Groups Questions

1. What are Biznik groups?
2. Can anyone join a group?
3. Can anyone publish events and articles to a group?
4. Can a group NOT have events and/or articles?
5. Can anyone create a group?
6. Why should I create a group?
7. Can I share the responsibility of administration?
8. How do I send a message to everyone in my group?
9. How do I invite people to join my group?
10. What happens to my group if I downgrade or close my Biznik account?
11. Can I delete my group?

What are Biznik groups?

Biznik groups are "mini" versions of the Biznik site. In the same way that Biznik has an events calendar, an articles section, and the Biz Talk discussion forum, Groups can have group events, group articles and group discussions, all living inside of a group.

Public & Protected Groups. Groups can be public -- anyone can join; or protected -- open by invitation only. Private/hidden group functionality is not available to the masses. This means that all groups and all group activity is publicly visible, even to viewers outside Biznik including search engines.

Choose carefully. Once a group has been made public or protected, it cannot be changed without contacting us. The reason for this is so that those who join what they thought was a public or protected group do not suddenly learn that the opposite is the case.

Interested in a private group? Let's talk about your needs. We have on a few occasions worked out a special arrangement with those who wanted to use Biznik's functionality for a hidden group for their "mastermind" or accountability groups. If you'd like to explore using Biznik for a group that is invisible except to the members of the group, we can discuss a custom pricing model for that.

Can anyone join a group?

Group participation is limited to Bizink Members only. If you downgrade your membership and begin using Biznik Lite, you will remain a member of all the groups you joined as a member until you remove yourself from the group roster. To regain the ability to comment in the group, simply restore your membership to the Basic level. Restore membership..

Protected groups require an invitation to join. Group invitations may come from the group Admin or another member of the group. Anyone with a Biznik account can request an invitation to a group. Group Admin are notified of these requests.

Can anyone publish events and articles to a group?

Only members of a group may participate in a group. After that, it depends on the settings set by the group Admin. These settings are referred to "auto-approval", meaning the group Admin may permit members to publish events and/or articles automatically, or the group Admin may choose for events and/or articles to go into a que and wait for approval for publication by the Admin and/or group moderators.

To change "auto approve" settings for YOUR group click on the group's Admin tab. Half-way down the page are Group Approval Settings. Use the grey 'EDIT' link to customize these settings.

Setting these options to 'yes' means that any article or event submitted by a group member will automatically appear to others in the group.

Setting these options to 'no' gives you, the group Admin, the ability to review new content before it appears in your group. You will be notified of the addition of new Articles or Events, and they will remain unpublished until you approve them.

Can a group NOT have events and/or articles?

Yes. The group Admin has control over what kind content is published to their group. He/she can elect for events and/or articles NOT be published to their group.

To change hide events and/or articles for YOUR group click on the group's Admin tab. Half-way down the page are Group Tab Settings. Use the grey 'EDIT' link to customize these settings.

Setting these options to 'yes' enables group members to submit events and articles to your group for publication. Submitted events and articles are published to your group based on the Content Approval settings below.

Setting these options to 'no' prevents members from publishing articles and events to your group. It also hides the Events or Articles tab in your group.

Can anyone create a group?

Yes! The ability to create a new group is a privilege of Biznik Pro. Go Pro and form your own group now!

Why should I create a group?

Create a group to attract and connect with like-minded business people who share your interests, such as:

• a great business book
• organizations you belong to
• your profession or skill

Creating a group puts YOU in charge of which events, articles and discussions are published, and YOU decide whether your group is public (anyone can join instantly) or protected (you approve all members).

Can I share the responsibility of administration?

Yes! You can assign moderators from within the group membership, and select which responsibilities moderators can have. To assign moderator privilege, the person you want to moderate must be a member of the group. If the person is not, and you are admin of a protected group, you will need to invite them first.

To promote a group member to Moderator of YOUR group, click on the Members tab inside your group.

Look for a 'Promote' link, under the photo of each member of your group.

Once you click 'Promote' the member's photo will appear under a Moderators subheading. Note, the name of link changes to 'Demote' and clicking it removes moderator privileges for that member.

To select which functionality Moderators can administrate in YOUR group, click on the group's Admin tab. Half-way down the page are Delegated Moderator permissions. Use the grey 'EDIT' link to customize these permissions.

How do I send a message to everyone in my group?

Make sure you are logged in, then visit any page of your group. Under the group icon are five controls, including 'Message all members.'

How do I invite people to join my group?

You must belong to a group before you can invite members to join it. Then, click the big green “Invite” button located at the top of the right column on any Group home page. Also, you can select the “Invite Others” link, located below the group icon.

This opens the invite page. There, you’ll see a list of everyone in your network on the right. Click the checkbox next to the name of the person you’d like to invite.

They will be added to the invite list. Keep adding additional names until everyone you wish to invite has been added to the list. You can also log into your Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail account, and add names from your address book. When all the names you wish to invite appear in the main invite area, press the green “invite” button below, to send the invitations.

What happens to my group if I downgrade or close my Biznik account?

Pro membership is required to create a group. Pro membership is also required to send messages through Biznik, to create events and articles, and to comment inside a group forum. If you are the Admin of a group and you downgrade from the Pro membership level, you will not lose your position as the group admin, however, you will be unable to engage with your group or the members of your group. To reverse this, you can return to the Pro level or contact us about transferring the admin privilege to another Pro member.

Can I delete my group?

Yes. Inactive groups can be deleted by sending a delete request to info@biznik.com, and we’ll take care of deleting it for you. If members of the group are active, we may explore transferring administration privileges to a member of the group as opposed to deleting it entirely.

We are here for you!

Biznik Customers Service is part of your membership. Drop us a line and let us know how we can help you get the most from your participation here: info@biznik.com