The following is a breakdown of the web site and what you can do here. Use this section to teach you about what Contractors-United.com has to offer. Then, if you have specific questions, refer to the FORUM section for FAQs & Tech Help.

HOME:
This is where you’ll see any news or announcements from C-U.com staff.

Once you’ve joined Contractors-United.com (C-U.com), when you enter your username and password, your personal home page will appear. You will also see the site stats, members that have logged on most recently, and recent blogs.

MY ACCOUNT:
This is where you’ll manage your personal site.

View My Page: View your page, your gallery, your blogs, your guesbook, your contractor friends, your favorites, and your videos.

Settings: Change your account and profile settings.

Messages: Manage your email messages.

Submit Items: Upload pictures, e.g. project samples & equipment photos. Also create links to streaming video(with Gold & VIP membership) from YouTube.com, MySpace.com and the like and write blogs here.

Manage Items: Manage your pictures, video linkss (with Gold & VIP membership) and blogs here.

Contractor Friends: Manage your contractor friends here.

Favorites: Manage your favorite contractors here.

Bulletin: View and create bulletins for your contractor friends.

Invite: Invite new contractors to the C-U.com site.

If you are a Gold Or VIP Member, you will be given access to the Project Listings. This is the area where any business, contractor, or general contractor can post jobs for bid by C-U.com contractors. It is here that Gold or VIP members will be able to search projects by project type.

BROWSE:
This is where you’ll look for other contractors to connect and work with.

You’re able to search by All Members, New members, Featured Members, members with Updated Profiles, and find out Who’s Online. You can search each of these category of members by Reason for Joining, Type of Contractor, Country, State, City, Zip, and even by Keywords.

GROUP:
This is where you can find groups to network with or create your own!

Group Categories include: Art & Humanities, Automotive, Beauty & Anti-Aging, Business & Economy, Computer & Internet, Construction, Education & Training, Entertainment, Film & Television, Health & Medical, Home & House, Legal & Finance, Media & Publishing, Music, Other/Miscellaneous, Politics, Sports & Recreation, as well as Science & Technology.

FORUM:
This is where you can post topics and create a discussion with other contractors!

This area is also the place to ask “how to” questions or for posting problems you’re having with the web site. We will answer all questions as quickly as we can.

BLOGS:
This is where you can search blogs, manage blogs, and write/edit your own blogs!

When you write a new blog, the system will take you back to your own space to do this.

EVENTS:
This is where you can create your own calendar of events, invite others, etc!

If you are a Gold Or VIP Member, you will be given access to the Event area. This is your own calendar of events. You can create events ranging from phone calls and meetings, to social networking events and concerts. Then you can invite others to any of your events. This is a great way to keep track of what’s happening!

GALLERY:
This is where you can browse photos, add photos, and rate photos.

Use this area to make sure your fellow contractors know who you are and what you can do. Add photos of work samples and label them with your name. Create interest by showing your best work. Let others rate your work, rate other’s work. Or just upload some fun pictures. Just keep ‘em clean!

VIDEO:
This is where you stream video from sources like YouTube or MySpace or even somewhere hosting on your own server.

If you are a Gold Or VIP Member, you will be given access to the Video area. Why not create a quick video introducing yourself and your services/products to other contractors. Or show some footage of projects you’ve done. This is an excellent way to showcase your work!