When we made the decision to drop the old social network platform, known as Network Now!, there were a few vocal dissidents who felt we were losing a critical asset. The focus of the harsh outcry was the loss of the "wall" that each group offered. It provided the ability for members to post a comment and allow other group members to reply.

The decision to forego the attractive features of Network Now! was made with the view towards a broader interconnectivity among our community components and our individual members.

Since that time we have been building that seamless connectivity by adding customized software scripts that allow members to view an activity portal, to view calendar features all over the website, and to push updates from blogs and forums to our twitter feed and facebook page.

We can now announce that the 'group wall' has returned for every All Oars Groups. Over the next few days, we will be populating each group with this new feature, and group members will be able to add an informal social media interaction within their groups.

Each wall allows for every member to make a text comment of 140 characters (configurable by group), and optionally add an image from the Gotcha! Gallery. All group members can make a text reply, very similar to a mobile text message layout. Although the wall is not intended to be a discussion (that's why each group has a forum), it allows group members to share links and thoughts.

The icing on the cake is that by default, all group members will receive a notification in their Dashboard and Updates box, anywhere on the GLRF website, when someone has posted a comment or a reply in their group's wall.