CNN iReport

Join us in our blog today at 3 p.m. ET for our weekly roundtable discussion. We are looking forward to talking to you.

We'll open comments on this blog post at 3 p.m. so you can leave your questions and comments and then members of Team iReport will respond.

We'll talk to you at 3 p.m. ET.

Join us in our blog today at 3 p.m. ET for our weekly roundtable discussion. We're looking forward to hearing what you think of the new CNN iReport section now that you've had a few days to play with it.

A lot of people have joined the CNN iReport community this week, so we would like to say hello to newcomers and invite them to join us in the discussion.

We'll open comments on this blog post at 3 p.m. so you can leave your questions and comments and then members of Team iReport will respond.

We'll talk to you at 3 p.m. ET.

We've gotten a lot of new members to the CNN iReport community this week, so we wanted to take a moment to welcome you all and let you know what you're getting into.

Things work a little differently here than on the rest of CNN.com, because all of the stories in this section were either created or inspired by users like you. We can't wait for you to add your perspective to CNN's coverage.

Here's how you can get started:

• Register with CNN iReport: If you already have a CNN member services account, you'll still have to create a screen name. Be sure to give us your phone number so we can contact you about your iReports (Don't worry, it will only be visible to CNN editors).
• Upload an avatar photo and fill out your profile: This is your chance to share your personality with the rest of the CNN iReport community, so have fun with it. Tell us where you're from, what you like to do and any other details about your life that you want to share.
• Start telling your story: You can go to our assignment desk (http://www.ireport.com/community/assignment) to see what stories CNN is focusing on each day. Or you can go straight to our upload page to send your videos, photos or audio iReports.
• Check out other stories: We get amazing stories every day from iReporters all over the world. CNN iReport producers will be featuring the most newsworthy and compelling stories on the front page of our section.
• Meet other iReporters: You can get to another iReporter's profile page by clicking on their avatar image. Then you can read their bios and send private messages. Another good way to meet people here is to comment on interesting iReports.
• Meet Team iReport: We hold a weekly roundtable discussion in our blog where you can ask questions, discuss story ideas or talk about any concerns you may have. You also can email us at contact@ireport.com.
  

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get the latest news from CNN iReport.

Please join us here in the blog at 12:30 p.m. ET to talk about all the big changes we've made at CNN iReport and ask any questions you have about the section.

Our developers have been working tirelessly to stamp out some nagging bugs, and we'd like you to let us know if you're having any trouble.

If you're new to the roundtable, here's how it works – we'll open the comments on this post at 12:30 p.m. ET and you can jump in and ask your questions. Members of Team iReport will answer as many of your questions as we can.

Before we get started, I'd like to encourage you to watch this video from iReporter MelissaF. She checked out the CNN iReport section over the weekend and did a great job explaining all of the new features.

We're looking forward to talking to you at 12:30 p.m. ET.

We've gotten a lot of questions about all of the changes here at CNN iReport, so we're hosting a special iReport roundtable discussion at 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, October 26th. Please join us to talk about all of our new features and bring up any concerns you may have. iReporters have given us a lot of great feedback since we flipped the switch on Saturday and our developers are working hard on bug fixes.

Here are some of the known issues:

     -- “Report Violation” is link too close to “read more” on long comments

     -- Some iReporters are having trouble replying to private messages

     -- The "Superstar" bug overlaps the screen name for some users

     -- The "I get it" box is too faint on the welcome screen

     -- The "I get it" box isn't accessible in Safari on an iPhone.

If you have any other questions, comments or concerns, feel free to leave a comment below. We'll leave comments open here until 12 p.m. ET tomorrow.

Big and exciting changes are on the way for iReport.com, and a few iReporters -- professirx, JoyfulGypsy, sjunat55, mcintron, maggiedo and spooly -- got a sneak peek last night in New York. Take a look:

We hope you'll join us today for our weekly roundtable discussion. We're looking forward to talking to you about any questions, comments or concerns your may have.

This is an open forum for us to get to know each other better, so you're welcome to bring up any topic you like.

We'll open comments at 3 p.m. ET and you can follow and join in the discussion there.

We'll be holding our weekly iReport roundtable at a new time starting today, so we hope you'll join us here at 3 p.m. ET.

One of the things I'd like to talk about today is what can we do to help new users feel welcomed in the community. We'll also be happy to discuss any questions or concerns you have.

We will open comments at 3 p.m. ET.

DesireG, whose unique editing and outspoken nature has a way of sparking conversation on iReport.com, has done it again in a big way. In her most recent iReport, she made her opinion known that she felt that Americans were “afraid” to do what was needed to fix the economy due to greed.

For the first time, adriana71 felt compelled to respond to a fellow iReporter with her own video, saying that we have a global economy and that Americans are not the only ones responsible.

PunjabiPower felt inspired to quote Michael Douglas in “Wall Street,” when he said, “Greed is good.” He asked why greed is something that should be punished when it “created the economic engine” of both the U.S. and the rest of the world.

The debate continued, prompting responses from EWillies1961 and ky42, among others.

Take a look at DesireG and PunjabiPower’s videos above, and sound off here if you would like to weigh in as well.

If you're making plans for this weekend, we hope you'll set aside an hour or two on Saturday to join in a volunteer activity. As part of our big What If? special, we're asking iReporters around the world to donate their time or money to a cause of their choice.

You can pick up trash, mentor a child, or help out at a soup kitchen – whatever you'd like! All you have to do is share photos and videos of your volunteer efforts.

Let us know what you plan to do on October 10 in the comments below, and if you’re on Facebook, feel free to RSVP to the volunteer event!

Pixel has been a member of the iReport.com community since the beginning, so we were really excited to see over the weekend that her work has gotten more than a million page views on the site.

Pixel's first iReport was a photo of the Malibu wildfires in February, 2008. Since then she's covered a a tattoo expo, yoga competitions and dragon boat races, as well as Iranian election protests in Los Angeles, a fire truck caught in a sinkhole and the release of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. She's also interviewed firefighters battling to save Southern California homes, a veteran coping with life at home and a worried mother searching for her missing daughter.

One of the reasons Pixel has been so successful is that she finds interesting angles in the stories she covers – she asks questions that prompt compelling answers; gets a variety of footage; and covers stories that are interesting on both a local and international level.

Thanks again for all the great work Pixel. We can't wait to celebrate milestones with other iReporters, so please be sure to share your accomplishments with us.

Please join us for our weekly roundtable discussion Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET. We'll look forward to talking to you.

Before we get started, I want to let everyone know that we have a scheduling conflict next week so we are canceling the October 8th roundtable meeting.

We'll open comments at 2:30 p.m. ET.

Chris Morrow was all over the news this weekend. Her film "Wyland Earth Day" debuted at the San Diego Film festival and won the Best San Diego Film Award. The film follows environmental artist Wyland as he paints a huge mural of the Earth on the roof of the Long Beach Arena.

Wyland was at the screening with his mom and Chris says several celebrities, most notably Richard Dreyfus and William Shatner, got to see the film.

A bunch of iReporters were there to share the experience, including TommyYune, MelissaF, promisenews, TheVideoMan, mvalgal, madmurph, dpkronmiller, Thetalesend and cookiecutter. It was exciting for us to see so many iReporters together and we wish we could have been there.

Chris has tons of photos and videos of the festival on her profile page and you can also check out reviews from MelissaF, TheVideoMan and TommyYune.

Congratulations Chris!

Some iReporters' photographs are going on display alongside work from some prominent artists at the Spruill Gallery here in Atlanta.

The photos, including the ones up above, will be part of an exhibit called 'on the flip side', which looks at the way cell phones are influencing art, music and photography. The exhibit opens tomorrow and runs through November 7th, so if you're in the Atlanta area, we hope you'll check it out. You can get the details at the Spruill Gallery's Web site.

All of the iReports photos in the exhibits were shot on mobile phones and submitted to iReport.com. It's a reminder that even the simplest tools can be used to create powerful images.

So, if you see something newsworthy, or just interesting, don't forget to snap a photo with you cell phone and send it to ireport@cnn.com .

Please join us for our weekly iReport roundtable today at 2:30 p.m. ET. We're looking forward to talking to everyone. We've had an exciting week with a lot of interesting stories from around the world – and from our soggy backyards.

I want to let everyone know about a couple of community events before we get started:

• nealmoore is inviting iReporters in the St. Louis, Missouri, area to cover the "Habitat for Humanity St. Louis 2009 Build" on Saturday. They've got 500 volunteers, who will be building brand new homes for low-income families. If you're interested, you can check out Neal's iReport for more information! for more details. It sounds like a good opportunity to meet other iReporters in the area.
• ChrisMorrow is organizing an iReport meet-up in San Diego on Sunday and is inviting iReporters to cover the San Diego Film Festival. Her film "Wyland: Earth Day" will be premiering at the event and we're looking forward to hearing all about it. You can contact her for more information.

Please let us know if you're planning an iReport meet-up in your community or have an event you think iReporters would be interested in, so we can help spread the word. You can email me at david.williams@turner.com or send it to contact@ireport.com.

We'll be opening comments at 2:30 p.m. ET and look forward to talking to you.