Accelerate User Guide

Accelerate is the exclusive networking community portal for NGCOA members. If you are not a member of NGCOA and would like more information, please click here to join our Association.

Contents:

 

How to Log in to Accelerate

To login, click the “sign in” button on the top right of the browser window.

Please Note: Anywhere you click on the site to view more detailed information will also prompt you to login to grant access. Once logged in you will not be prompted again.

You will then be taken to a login screen where you will supply the following NGCOA login criteria. (see image below)

Username: The email we have on file that you use for communications with NGCOA
Password: The password you use for the NGCOA website.

* If you do not remember your password, please use the “forgot your password” link to reset it, or call a membership representative at 1-800-933-4262 to assist you.
Select the “remember me” check box so that you will not have to login for future visits.

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Updating Your Profile in Accelerate

As a member of NGCOA, you already have a profile created for you. To update your profile and add additional information, click on the “My Profile” section on the top right menu bar. You will be prompted to login using your email address and the password NGCOA has on file. Once verified, the system takes you to your Accelerate profile page.

From here, you can update your biography, education background, job history and add a picture (sizing and cropping tools are available once your image is uploaded). You can even update your profile using your LinkedIn account which will publish your LinkedIn information to the Accelerate site with a click of the button. As you save updates to your profile, they will automatically appear in Accelerate. We encourage you to fill out as much as possible as this is how the system will help you make connections with other owners with similar interest and businesses.

Participation Tabs

You will see four tabs directly above your bio that will show you your connections, your contributions, and your Accelerate account information. This where you manage your contacts, networks, communities, email preferences, privacy settings, etc. (see image below)

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Managing Your Privacy & Email Participation Settings in Accelerate

There are several settings within your profile account where you can adjust your privacy (what others can see about you) and email participation (how you want to receive messages from the system).

Privacy Settings
In Accelerate, you can control the amount of information other members see on your profile. Once you log in to Accelerate, go to your profile page. You will then navigate to the tabs above your Bio and click My Account => then Privacy Settings from the drop-down button. (see image below)

From there, you can choose what information others can see or not see. Be sure to click the ‘Save’ button at the top or bottom when finished.

Email Participation Settings
To make sure that you always receive emails from Accelerate, please be sure that the emails are not going into your junk folder. To do this, you need to whitelist or allow the email NAMEOFCOMMUNITY@ConnectedCommunity.org or the domain “ConnectedCommunity.org” to bypass your spam filter. If you are not sure how whitelist an email address or domain, contact your administrator or email provider and they can assist you.

You will be asked when joining a community how you would like to receive messages. There are 3 options to choose from:

  1. Real Time – you will receive the messages as they are submitted.
  2. Digest Mode – you will receive one communication per day from each community you have joined with a summary of the messages posted that day.
  3. No Mail – this option will not send you email. You will have to visit the site to view messages.

These options are also available under My Account => Email Preferences => Configure Email Settings if you wish to change the way you receive messages in the future.

There are several other options in this “Email Preference” section that can be changed and are currently defaulted to the recommended setting.

Be sure to click the ‘Save’ button at the top or bottom when finished.

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Joining a Community

In the top menu bar, hover over the “Communities” tab and click on “All Communities”. Click on the community that you wish to join and simply click “Join.” (see image below)

You will be asked when joining a community how you would like to receive messages. There are 3 options to choose from:

  1. Real Time – you will receive the messages as they are submitted.
  2. Digest Mode – you will receive one communication per day from each community you have joined with a summary of the messages posted that day.
  3. No Mail – this option will not send you email. You will have to visit the site to view messages.

These options are also available under My Account => Email Preferences => Configure Email Settings if you wish to change the way you receive messages in the future.

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Starting a New Discussion Post

There are two ways to post a new discussion.

  1. Click on the “Community” menu item and click on “Participate” - then "Start a Discussion"
  2. You can also post a message directly from your email account without having to log in. In one of the emails you receive from Member Circle, you will see a link in the column at the right that says, “Post Message via Email”. Click on that link, type in your discussion post and click send. Or if you know the name of the community you can simply send an email to NAMEOFCOMMUNITY@ConnectedCommunity.org
    (example: ngcoa_generalcommunity@ConnectedCommunity.org)

Responding to Discussion Posts

There are two simple ways to respond to discussion posts.

  1. If you are replying while logged in to the Member Circle website, click “Reply to Discussion” to send your message to the entire community or “Reply to Sender” to reply privately to the original sender. We recommend replying to the sender for simple comments that add little value to the overall discussion; and replying to the entire community when you are sharing knowledge, experience or resources that others could benefit from.
  2. You can also reply directly from your email account. Simply click on the “Reply to Discussion” link in the column at the right and type in your message

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Sharing a File or Making a Community Library Post

To upload/share a file, click on the “Participate” tab in the top menu bar and click on “Share a File.”

Please Note: Uploading a document is done in a few steps, and each step must be completed before you can move on to the next.

Choose a title for your document, include a description, select the library to which you’d like to upload it and choose an Entry Type (most will be Standard Files, but be cognizant of any copyright licensed material). Then click “Next.” Browse and upload your file. Click “Next” if you want to add tags to your file or click “Finish.”

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How to Search the NGCOA Resource Library

Resource Library
The NGCOA Resource Library is where you can find information about any topic that may affect your business. It is full of Golf Business magazine articles, white papers, reports, survey results, videos, and many other items that will help you make informed decisions.

Once you have logged into the site, click on “NGCOA Resources” on the main menu. You will be taken to the resource library where you will see numerous categories. Click on the folder of interest and the content will load directly to the right of the screen. Double click a link and you will be taken to the article.

There is also a Library within each community where the files uploaded by community members reside. This is a great source of information shared by peers. To locate a particular community library, navigate to “Communities” on the menu and select “My Communities” (you must join the community if you haven’t already to browse that particular community’s library). Then choose the community you wish to visit. Finally, you will see a tabs at the top of the community – select the one named “Library” to view shared documents.

Keyword Search
Another way to search the site is to use the keyword search tool on the right of the navigation menu. Type your keyword in and click the magnifying glass icon search icon. By default, your search will include results from every part of the site (forum messages, library documents, videos, announcements, etc).

Advanced Search
To filter your search results for more specific results, simply enter your keyword and click search. Then begin filtering your search with selections on the left.

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Member/Company Directory Search

Finding Members or Companies
To search for members, click on “Network” from the top navigation menu and choose either of the dropdown options to search for an individual or a company. Once on the Directory Search page, you can search by first or last name, company name or email address. You can also do an advanced search if you have specific criteria you are looking for.

Adding Members as Contacts
To add a member to your contact list, click on the button at the right where it says “Add as Contact”. That member is now saved in your Accelerate contact list (once they accept). Adding contacts creates an organized list in your profile where you can easily access people you have connected with.

Benefits of Adding Contacts

  • From your profile, you have quick access to your contacts’ profile information and the ability to send private messages faster.
  • Other members can see who your contacts are and which contacts you have in common, which helps you connect with more members.

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How to Unsubscribe or Leave a Community

Go to My Profile > Settings > Subscriptions. Here, you will see a list of available communities and those to which you’ve subscribed. Select “Unsubscribe” for the communities you wish to leave and click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. You will get a message confirming that your subscription options have been successfully updated.

You can also unsubscribe or leave a community by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any email communication.

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Contact Us

Please contact us for further assistance with Accelerate at 1-800-933-4262.

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