About NACA

1
About NACA

• Intergovernmental organization
• Promotes rural development through sustainable
  aquaculture
• Technical exchange between developing countries
  avoid duplication of effort
• 16 member countries in Asia
• Secretariat in Bangkok

2
The need for better networking

• Training, study tours, workshops, conferences,
  publications
• Expensive!
• Resources are limited!
• Lets try the internetas an additional measure

3
Evolution of www.enaca.org

• 1998 First email newsletter (marine fish)
• 2000 First static brochure website
• 2001 Digital publishing starts
• PDF downloads
• 2002 Downloads more popular than paper
• 2004 First dynamic website
• Forums / interactive site

4
Website utilisation

• 10,000 unique visitors per month
• 22,000 visits per month
• 91,000 page views per month
• 140,000 full-text publications downloaded in 2004
  (from 700 titles)
• Free software and support

5
Main elements of eNACA

• Multimedia publishing
• Different media for different people
• Active notification of new resources
• Free access to information policy
• Community driven approach
• Visitor interest drives development of site
• Visitors can contribute content

6
Multimedia publishing

• All publications are released in
• Print
• Web / html / downloads
• CD-ROM - cheap
• Exploit cross-media linkages
• Email newsletters drive traffic to site
• Magazine announces downloads

7
Free access to information

• Free access is key to our success
• Charging kills casual browsing
• Charging excludes the developing world
• Free access has intangible benefits
• Alternative business models are available!

8
Performance monitoring

• Analyse your website logfiles!
• Targeting content
• Track visitor interests and trends over time
• Our visitors want technical information!
• Asian Diagnostic Guide is No. 1
• Use this information to develop more useful
  content

9
Structure and presentation

• Observe reaction to changes
• Improve site usability
• Use of images to direct attention
• Evolution to portal format driven by visitor
  preference behavior

10
Constraints to web use

• Why isnt web publishing more common?
• Common problems (APAARI 2003)
• Web development funded on a project basis (no
  ongoing support)
• Shortage of IT staff Joe Average must do it
• Trends
• Move towards Content Management Systems
• Decentralisation of website management

11
Content management systems

• Programs to build maintain websites
• Automate the hard parts
• Page layout formatting
• Non-IT staff can use
• Website management can be decentralised
• Staff in India, Vietnam run parts of enaca.org
• Brings its own issues editorial control!

12
Establish an online community

• Decentralisation can be extended to public
• Visitors can submit content to site
• Visitors can interact directly
• Discussion forums / Self-help groups
• Individuals can tap combined knowledge of a
  large, scattered group of people
• Requires a critical mass of participants

13
Next steps

• Train partners to get online
• Guidelines on digital publishing
• Digital repository
• Jointly with othersIAMSLIC?

14
Key points on digital publishing

• Low publishing costs (shoe string)
• Excellent free tools are available
• Renting disk space is really cheap
• Massively increases circulation accessibility
  of publications
• But maybe not for your target audience?
• Gives back control over publishing process
• An outlet for gray literature?

15
Advances in CMS

• Can build sophisticated sites easily
• Minimal IT skills necessary to use
• Decentralisation and community web publishing
  are possible
• Not a pancea, but a very good tool
• Many constraints
• Backups security are serious problems

16
Useful software

• XOOPS www.xoops.org
• Wordpress www.wordpress.org

17
Thank you

• FAO / FISHCODE
• Jean Collins
• Eric Reynolds