New Diplomat Onboarding Workflow
The following tasks are steps that will get you up to speed with the operations of the Cascadian Diplomat Corps, and will connect you to the resources that you need to participate fully with it. There are associated instructions and tutorials. We understand that everyone is busy, so complete these tasks in your own time, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or get stuck.
Upon completion, you’ll be fully recognized as an Attaché of the Cascadian Diplomatic Corps, ready to contribute to our online media, propose a project, or join a department in our combined work towards a vibrant and thriving Cascadia.
#1 – Read & sign the Diplomat Pledge
Takes about 10 minutes
This document codifies the commitments of being a Cascadian Diplomat. In the spirit of diplomacy, we seek to represent the Cascadia movement as a whole, and to ever pursue points of collaboration and positivity above those of exclusion or contempt.
#2 – Complete the Diplomat Contact Details Form
Less than 5 minutes time
This simple step adds your contact details to our Cascadian Diplomat Roster, allowing us and other Diplomats to communicate with you. Please be sure to use an email address that you plan on using for both your Squarespace log-in (our web portal), and for receiving communication from Department of Bioregion administrators and other Diplomats.
Note – Diplomat Contact Details are visible to other diplomats for ease of collaboration and communication. They are not to be used for any other purpose.
#3 – Fill out your Diplomat Bio Page.
Takes between 30 & 45 minutes.
Completing a New Diplomat Bio gives you a chance to introduce yourself to the Diplomatic Corps and the Cascadian community as a whole. This dedicated page on our site is also where your blog posts will live as an anthology of your work with the Department of Bioregion. The layout requests an image that you can upload from your files. We’re looking for an image to act as a head shot, but we’re not too stuffy about it. It can be an artistic rendering of you, an avatar of you, or a simple photo. It’s your choice. So long as it doesn’t include text, and uses neutral or Cascadian themes, it’s good by us
Bio Page Instructions
1.Log into SquareSpace – You should have an invitation sent to your personal email. If you don’t have an invitation or would like assistance, please contact your Diplomat Mentor.
2. Click on ‘Websites” instead of “Domains.”
3. Click on the “Department of Bioregion” website block.
4. Click on “Pages” on the left column.
5. Scroll down the menu on the left until you see “Diplomat Bio’s”. If you see your name, click on that otherwise, click on “Diplomat Profile Template”
6. If you hover over where it says “Diplomat Name”, you’ll see a charcoal colored box that says “Edit”. Click that and follow the fields. This bio page is yours! Please be as creative as you like. The photo is a sample – so feel free to replace with a photo of yourself (it can even be an illustration! Check out Jay T. Conrad for their cool rendition). If there is a field you are unsure about, or you’d like assistance, please contact your Diplomat Mentor.
#4 – Familiarize yourself with the Squarespace blogging feature.
Depending on your prior experience, can take from 15 to 50 minutes.
Squarespace is the platform that we use to manage the Department of Bioregion website. You should have received an email inviting you to be a contributor to our Squarespace site. Once logged in, you will be able to participate as a contributor and blogger.
Note – Squarespace doesn’t have a trust inducing auto-save function, so we recommend you compose documents in a reliable text editor and then copy and paste your work into Squarespace.
Here’s a tutorial of how to create a blog post using Squarespace on a desktop computer.
If it’s more convenient, or you’re more comfortable using an iPhone for blog writing, CLICK HERE to download the Squarespace app from the App Store.
Unfortunately, Squarespace App is not currently compatible with Android devices.
#5 – Set about writing your first blog post.
Could take between 30 minutes to an hour.
Your first published piece as a Cascadian Diplomat will be to introduce yourself in a blog post written in the third person. Here are a couple of examples of successful introduction posts.
Note – Be particularly attentive to the Title, Category and Tags fields of your blog post. The Title field should read “Introducing New Diplomat (Insert your name here).” The Category field for your Diplomat Intro post should be New Diplomat and the tag for this post should be your name, so my only tag would be Trevor V. Owen as a for instance. Once you’re done writing and adding any relevant photos and quotes, save the post as Needs Review, and a Senior Diplomat will review it and schedule the post for publishing.