I spent yesterday and will spend today at WordCamp Boston, a conference for WordPress users. I have wanted to add WordPress to my web design toolbelt but just haven't had time to sit down and really play with it. Conferences like this are a great way to shorten the learning curve.
I typically use Joomla! for web design, but WordPress has come a long way in the several years since my initial research led me to adopt Joomla! as my preferred platform. I'd like to be able to offer clients a choice or, if necessary, make a choice for them with whichever tool seems right for them.
From the minute I walked into the registration area, I was impressed with the organization and planning of this conference. The Registration "badge" was a complete portfolio for the conference -- including the information to log in to the network, a complete schedule on the inside (still readable even though it was comparatively small), whether or not you'd ordered a T-shirt, etc. With hundreds of attendees, it was relatively quiet and very organized.
Speakers have been top notch too. One speaker had only one year's experience using WordPress, but he gave a great presentation of Top 10 tips he'd learned in that year. As an experienced web designer, I came away with some "Ah Ha's" from it. That's quite good in my book. What I appreciated was that many sessions focused on web design and not just how to use WordPress. That creates a good mix for people who may know one or two tools but need to create better content, enrich their site, or grow into a more sophisticated use of thie websites (marketing outreach, SEO tools, etc.).
I go back today with a better idea in my mind beforehand of which sessions I'll attend. There is a stream of "how to" sessions specific to WordPress that I plan to attend, as well as some focusing on the freelancer (that's me -- or, as I prefer to say Solopreneur).
This has been a great way to spend the weekend; I'm glad I made it this year. The BU location has also been quite nice.
By the way, if you're a Joomla! user in the Boston area, our monthly user group meeting is this Wednesday (7/27/11) from 7-9 PM at the Cyber Cafe @ Malden Square. Preregistration is preferred although not required; since it's summer, I'd check the website to make sure the meeting is still on before showing up!
Showing posts with label social networking technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social networking technology. Show all posts
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, July 10, 2010
The Networked Nonprofit - book review
I eagerly awaited the virtual launch of The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with Social Media to Drive Change, by Allison Fine and Beth Kanter and bought my copy during their virtual launch party two weeks ago. I read it this week, when I could read it in one sitting. It took patience to wait that long, but I am tired of starting something I really want to read and having to put it aside for days.
Fine and Kanter are leaders in the social media (SM) movement for nonprofits. They are the people that people like me go to for advice; we follow their blogs, tweets, FB pages...they are our virtual guides in this world of getting our non profit organizations connected to clients in a meaningful way beyond the borders of our organizations' walls.
Beth Kanter introduced me and the Cyber Cafe @ Malden Square, back in 2005, to how easily SM tools can be used for various purposes. A tool designed for blogging quickly became our Community Resource Guide, giving us a powerful way to share many resources among staff, volunteers, clients, and...the world. She doesn't just think outside the box; she thinks beyond the box. The box does not exist -- there is no barrier.
Straightforward, Practical, and Proven
Both Fine and Kanter are energetic, knowledgeable, and engaging. The Networked Nonprofit is what you'd expect from them. Straightforward advice, tested and with proven examples, on how nonprofits need to change their view of the world to survive and flourish in the digital world.
I won't say compete in the digital world because one of the points they make is that nonprofits have to stop seeing other nonprofits as competitors. Networking is not about competition; it is about collaboration. I think this is one reason I have never liked the chamber of commerce meeting model, where businesses in the same industry are not supposed to sit together because they are competitors. Even when I was consulting a lot in the for profit world, my "competitors" were my colleagues. We often worked collaboratively because it made more sense; my skill set would complement a colleague's from another organization and vice versa.
I have one foot in the networked nonprofit world at the Cyber Cafe. I have another foot in the not-so-networked world with my major organization. They do network with other organizations, but they are not so ready for the digital foray. (Young padouan must practice patience daily while straddling this dichotomy.)
What's in the Book?
The Networked Nonprofit introduces and defines this concept of the networked nonprofit, describes the social media revolution, and examines the myths surrounding it. These myths, along with lack of a comfort level (shall we say skill?) with SM, is what prevents many non profits from embracing a set of digital tools that could help them with their mission. Fine and Kanter then examine the challenges and trends that non profits face, which creates an urgent need to confront their own lack of understanding in this area and make the transition into becoming a networked nonprofit. The remaining book is divided into how organizations can become a networked nonprofit and how they would operate as one.
Resources
Kanter has set up a wiki for The Networked Nonprofit where people can share ideas on how put this book into action. You can help them develop curriculum and instructional materials to help nonprofits learn at a pace that makes sense for them. Several years ago, I developed a simple model and then a presentation based on the premise that community building in the nonprofit world is like creating a jigsaw puzzle. Collaborations are enabled and enhanced when you view each organization like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. To find the right fit, turn it around and over - examining all the angles - until you see how there might be a fit between your organization and others. Naturally, I call this the JigSaw Puzzlin' Approach (c). I'll work on adding that to the wiki later.
Beth Kanter introduced me and the Cyber Cafe @ Malden Square, back in 2005, to how easily SM tools can be used for various purposes. A tool designed for blogging quickly became our Community Resource Guide, giving us a powerful way to share many resources among staff, volunteers, clients, and...the world. She doesn't just think outside the box; she thinks beyond the box. The box does not exist -- there is no barrier.
Straightforward, Practical, and Proven
Both Fine and Kanter are energetic, knowledgeable, and engaging. The Networked Nonprofit is what you'd expect from them. Straightforward advice, tested and with proven examples, on how nonprofits need to change their view of the world to survive and flourish in the digital world.
I won't say compete in the digital world because one of the points they make is that nonprofits have to stop seeing other nonprofits as competitors. Networking is not about competition; it is about collaboration. I think this is one reason I have never liked the chamber of commerce meeting model, where businesses in the same industry are not supposed to sit together because they are competitors. Even when I was consulting a lot in the for profit world, my "competitors" were my colleagues. We often worked collaboratively because it made more sense; my skill set would complement a colleague's from another organization and vice versa.
I have one foot in the networked nonprofit world at the Cyber Cafe. I have another foot in the not-so-networked world with my major organization. They do network with other organizations, but they are not so ready for the digital foray. (Young padouan must practice patience daily while straddling this dichotomy.)
What's in the Book?
The Networked Nonprofit introduces and defines this concept of the networked nonprofit, describes the social media revolution, and examines the myths surrounding it. These myths, along with lack of a comfort level (shall we say skill?) with SM, is what prevents many non profits from embracing a set of digital tools that could help them with their mission. Fine and Kanter then examine the challenges and trends that non profits face, which creates an urgent need to confront their own lack of understanding in this area and make the transition into becoming a networked nonprofit. The remaining book is divided into how organizations can become a networked nonprofit and how they would operate as one.
Why is this so important?
...because doing so will help them achieve their mission.
Resources
Kanter has set up a wiki for The Networked Nonprofit where people can share ideas on how put this book into action. You can help them develop curriculum and instructional materials to help nonprofits learn at a pace that makes sense for them. Several years ago, I developed a simple model and then a presentation based on the premise that community building in the nonprofit world is like creating a jigsaw puzzle. Collaborations are enabled and enhanced when you view each organization like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. To find the right fit, turn it around and over - examining all the angles - until you see how there might be a fit between your organization and others. Naturally, I call this the JigSaw Puzzlin' Approach (c). I'll work on adding that to the wiki later.
Monday, October 19, 2009
10th Annual GUT Conference
Friday night and Saturday I spent some quality time with other community organizers, writers, and activists who gathered for a combined Digital Media Conference organized by the Organizers' Collaborative (10th annual conference), National Writers Union, and Open Media Boston. I often go to conferences on my own dime, so to speak, but always end up bringing back valuable information to use in my work. This was no exception.
Overall, I was able to gain something important for my work from the conference and that's always a plus. I consider conferencing successful if it brings me into touch with people who have knowledge or skills I can learn from -- the oh so important networking aspect of conferencing -- and it's a bonus if the sessions provide even more knowledge on topics. I've gone to so many conferences over the years that many workshop sessions are not all that valuable to me. But I have to say that the GUT Conference each year has provided important session content as well and this year was no exception. (Another conference that has done that is PodCamp, but that's another post entirely.)
Combining workshops by writers and media activists brought broader content and additional depth to the workshops, with common threads of organizing/activism and technology. It seems like a smart thing to do when people have scarce resources and technology is so pervasive in our lives.
Technology is a real concern to writers as they struggle to earn a living while technology is getting so good at making so much free. Newspapers, for example, are struggling to redefine themselves in the technology economy and determine what should be free and what should be paid for. Organizations and individuals who want to use the Internet for fundraising or to earn a living need to understand what technology is available to do what, how it works, and how to make it work for them.
The question of how consumers would pay for information was part of a session I attended on microfunding, where consumers can pay for content on a subscription, per article, or tip basis. Many web-based content providers want to earn money using the Internet. Setting up a payment scheme that works for that type of content and gets people to pay can be tricky and may require trying more than method before finding one that works for a person or organization. Try Delicious' website and type microfunding in the search bar to get an idea of the many options you have for setting up a payment scheme for your website's content.
I have been learning Joomla web development software to convert my websites from a proprietary platform to open source. But also of concern to me is a good database structure that lets me manage course registrations and payments, memberships and payments, volunteers, and fundraising. Having a database that works with Joomla, so this is available online and I can manage it from almost anywhere, is important to me. So I attended the CIVICRM workshop and learned more about it in one hour than I'd learned from research on the Internet I'd done. That was very valuable to me and can help me make a decision about whether to move in this direction or not after my Joomla sites are running.
Of course, having such a database online raises security issues, so the session on Data Safety, while focused on the Massachusetts law that goes into effect March 1st, seemed a logical session to attend. I realized during this session that I still have some work to do to comply with the law and now need to absorb more info about it so I can pass this along to others at work. Thankfully, some tools provided during the session will make compliance much easier.
Too many conferences focus on workshops and not enough on networking. Quality sessions are important, but networking can make or break a conference. There isn't enough networking time built into the GUT Conference in general and this is something I'll bring to the organizers' attention. I hate having to choose between a session I want to attend and spending some time with people from whom I can learn. While it seems counterintuitive, I've found that the PodCamp model of 90-minute sessions with 30-minutes in between provide a great balance between the two. It really works and this is something I'll try to encourage GUT organizers to adopt. Session facilitators might find it a bit intimidating at first, and some topics can benefit from a Part 1 and Part 2 or a long session, but if you want people to gain as much as possible from their time, you've got to give them time to talk about what they're seeing/hearing and learn from each other.
Overall, I'd give it a good grade and feel it was worth my time.
Overall, I was able to gain something important for my work from the conference and that's always a plus. I consider conferencing successful if it brings me into touch with people who have knowledge or skills I can learn from -- the oh so important networking aspect of conferencing -- and it's a bonus if the sessions provide even more knowledge on topics. I've gone to so many conferences over the years that many workshop sessions are not all that valuable to me. But I have to say that the GUT Conference each year has provided important session content as well and this year was no exception. (Another conference that has done that is PodCamp, but that's another post entirely.)
Combining workshops by writers and media activists brought broader content and additional depth to the workshops, with common threads of organizing/activism and technology. It seems like a smart thing to do when people have scarce resources and technology is so pervasive in our lives.
Technology is a real concern to writers as they struggle to earn a living while technology is getting so good at making so much free. Newspapers, for example, are struggling to redefine themselves in the technology economy and determine what should be free and what should be paid for. Organizations and individuals who want to use the Internet for fundraising or to earn a living need to understand what technology is available to do what, how it works, and how to make it work for them.
The question of how consumers would pay for information was part of a session I attended on microfunding, where consumers can pay for content on a subscription, per article, or tip basis. Many web-based content providers want to earn money using the Internet. Setting up a payment scheme that works for that type of content and gets people to pay can be tricky and may require trying more than method before finding one that works for a person or organization. Try Delicious' website and type microfunding in the search bar to get an idea of the many options you have for setting up a payment scheme for your website's content.
I have been learning Joomla web development software to convert my websites from a proprietary platform to open source. But also of concern to me is a good database structure that lets me manage course registrations and payments, memberships and payments, volunteers, and fundraising. Having a database that works with Joomla, so this is available online and I can manage it from almost anywhere, is important to me. So I attended the CIVICRM workshop and learned more about it in one hour than I'd learned from research on the Internet I'd done. That was very valuable to me and can help me make a decision about whether to move in this direction or not after my Joomla sites are running.
Of course, having such a database online raises security issues, so the session on Data Safety, while focused on the Massachusetts law that goes into effect March 1st, seemed a logical session to attend. I realized during this session that I still have some work to do to comply with the law and now need to absorb more info about it so I can pass this along to others at work. Thankfully, some tools provided during the session will make compliance much easier.
Too many conferences focus on workshops and not enough on networking. Quality sessions are important, but networking can make or break a conference. There isn't enough networking time built into the GUT Conference in general and this is something I'll bring to the organizers' attention. I hate having to choose between a session I want to attend and spending some time with people from whom I can learn. While it seems counterintuitive, I've found that the PodCamp model of 90-minute sessions with 30-minutes in between provide a great balance between the two. It really works and this is something I'll try to encourage GUT organizers to adopt. Session facilitators might find it a bit intimidating at first, and some topics can benefit from a Part 1 and Part 2 or a long session, but if you want people to gain as much as possible from their time, you've got to give them time to talk about what they're seeing/hearing and learn from each other.
Overall, I'd give it a good grade and feel it was worth my time.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Web 3.0, the Philanthropic Edge
Peter Deitz, founder of Social Actions, spoke last evening at the Ethos Roundtable about Web 3.0, the Philanthropic Web. Peter founded Social Actions, whose slogan is, "you make a difference, we make it easy," to help people take action on social issues.
Social Actions is an action aggregator. An aggregator is a website that pulls in feeds from other websites. Many people are familiar with news aggregators that pull in news articles from other websites. Aggregators can work by pulling information from pre-approved or pre-selected sites, which is how Social Actions works, or by searching the web for relevant text based on a search algorithm. Social Actions targets the hubs of civic engagement opportunities on the web and aggregates the action feeds. Action feeds are the social actions people can take, such as donate something, volunteer, give to a cause, attend a rally, etc.
Here's how this works. I want to volunteer or donate or work on a social issue, etc. I could go to a search website that I already about and see if they have any opportunities that fit my interest. If they do, then I can take action on that interest and connect with the organization that listed the opportunity. But what if that search website doesn't have the opportunity I'm looking for? What if the organization with the need didn't list opportunity on the search website I know about?
Social Actions subscribes to the feed from more than 50 such websites and is actively working to add more to the list of participating organizations. If I go to Social Actions to search for my opportunity, I will get relevant information from multiple partners who have opportunities that fit my criteria. Social Actions does not list opportunities; it lets other organizations manage that while it subscribes to their feeds to provide the opportunities to the widest possible audience.
Organizations with social actions available benefit from wider posting of their opportunities. Individuals benefit from having a wider range of opportunities from which to choose. Once you find the opportunity, you click on it and go directly to the website listing that opportunity. Social Actions tracks its click-throughs so it knows how well it serves partnering organizations.
The opportunities that Social Actions lists run the gamut from youth to health to petitions to climate and many, many more. If you have a cause you care about, you'll probably find it there. And if you have a favorite search website you use to find or post opportunities, you'll probably find them on Social Actions.
Peter believes that the non-profit community should define Web 3.0 and not wait for the for-profit community to do so. That means they should create the tools they need to spread their mission, organize, get volunteers and/or donors, and -- most important --they need to define the standards for these web-based tools or others will define them.
Defining standards for Linked Data is a huge project; one that Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web (the www in those Internet addresses) and Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), is actively pursuing. Linked Data, simply put, is data embedded on a website that becomes searchable and usable; it links the data to other data sets (locations, news, actions, etc.) and helps create the Symantic Web*.
Currently, search engines provide lots of raw data; do a topical search and you may have thousands of possible links. Using Linked Data, the same search could narrow the results to much more relevant data, eliminating sites that may mention the keywords but are not relevant in actual context.
Once again, the Ethos Roundtable provided a timely, informative topic to the non-profit community. Deborah Finn always seems to be on the cutting edge of technology for non-profits. She knows who is "in the know" and uses Ethos Roundtable to bring them to us. Ethos Roundtable is an informal group of people who are interested in 1) measuring and extending ethos, and 2) using technology for positive social change. They meet once a month in Harvard Square (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) for discussions and presentations.
*Symantic Web: According to wikipedia, the Symantic Web is "an evolving development of the World Wide Web in which the semantics of information and services on the web is defined, making it possible for the web to understand and satisfy the requests of people and machines to use the web content."
Social Actions is an action aggregator. An aggregator is a website that pulls in feeds from other websites. Many people are familiar with news aggregators that pull in news articles from other websites. Aggregators can work by pulling information from pre-approved or pre-selected sites, which is how Social Actions works, or by searching the web for relevant text based on a search algorithm. Social Actions targets the hubs of civic engagement opportunities on the web and aggregates the action feeds. Action feeds are the social actions people can take, such as donate something, volunteer, give to a cause, attend a rally, etc.
Here's how this works. I want to volunteer or donate or work on a social issue, etc. I could go to a search website that I already about and see if they have any opportunities that fit my interest. If they do, then I can take action on that interest and connect with the organization that listed the opportunity. But what if that search website doesn't have the opportunity I'm looking for? What if the organization with the need didn't list opportunity on the search website I know about?
Social Actions subscribes to the feed from more than 50 such websites and is actively working to add more to the list of participating organizations. If I go to Social Actions to search for my opportunity, I will get relevant information from multiple partners who have opportunities that fit my criteria. Social Actions does not list opportunities; it lets other organizations manage that while it subscribes to their feeds to provide the opportunities to the widest possible audience.
Organizations with social actions available benefit from wider posting of their opportunities. Individuals benefit from having a wider range of opportunities from which to choose. Once you find the opportunity, you click on it and go directly to the website listing that opportunity. Social Actions tracks its click-throughs so it knows how well it serves partnering organizations.
The opportunities that Social Actions lists run the gamut from youth to health to petitions to climate and many, many more. If you have a cause you care about, you'll probably find it there. And if you have a favorite search website you use to find or post opportunities, you'll probably find them on Social Actions.
Peter believes that the non-profit community should define Web 3.0 and not wait for the for-profit community to do so. That means they should create the tools they need to spread their mission, organize, get volunteers and/or donors, and -- most important --they need to define the standards for these web-based tools or others will define them.
Defining standards for Linked Data is a huge project; one that Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web (the www in those Internet addresses) and Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), is actively pursuing. Linked Data, simply put, is data embedded on a website that becomes searchable and usable; it links the data to other data sets (locations, news, actions, etc.) and helps create the Symantic Web*.
Currently, search engines provide lots of raw data; do a topical search and you may have thousands of possible links. Using Linked Data, the same search could narrow the results to much more relevant data, eliminating sites that may mention the keywords but are not relevant in actual context.
Once again, the Ethos Roundtable provided a timely, informative topic to the non-profit community. Deborah Finn always seems to be on the cutting edge of technology for non-profits. She knows who is "in the know" and uses Ethos Roundtable to bring them to us. Ethos Roundtable is an informal group of people who are interested in 1) measuring and extending ethos, and 2) using technology for positive social change. They meet once a month in Harvard Square (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) for discussions and presentations.
*Symantic Web: According to wikipedia, the Symantic Web is "an evolving development of the World Wide Web in which the semantics of information and services on the web is defined, making it possible for the web to understand and satisfy the requests of people and machines to use the web content."
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Online Capacity Mapping and Resource Matching for Nonprofits
"I was first inspired to think about one giant web-based tool for capacity mapping and resource matching for nonprofits..."
That was Deb Finn's opening line to tell us the topic of last night's Ethos Roundtable. Of course, this is huge and there is no one tool out there right now. It's more like a garden of available tools that, partly through conversations with Deb on this topic, are converging. As Deb herself states, "It's also clear that this could be many separate projects with clever mash-ups and data interchanges. In the age of XML, it does not have to be a monolith with one owner, one web host, and one platform."
The neat thing is, much of this is out there now. The difficult part is, it's not yet organized into anything recognizable. Yet. Getting it into a recognizable shape is why I used the garden analogy. One size does not fit all well. But pulling together a number or tools and placing them in an area where people can pick and choose what fits for them is a rather organic process. What grows, grows. As people use a tool, share it with others, blog about it, find it useful, etc., that process will stimulate growth.
Pulling together existing and new products/services from many organizations to provide another level of service fits another analogy I use when talking about collaboration and developing communities and their organizations. I call it JigSaw Puzzlin' because each organization is like a puzzle piece with form (shape) and function that exists independently. Sometimes several pieces (organizations) get together and form a different shape with form and function. Yet each organization retains its independence and original form and function.
How is this like JigSaw Puzzlin'? When you work a jizsaw puzzle, you pick up pieces, turn them around, look around for other pieces that may fit with the first piece, and so on. If these two pieces don't fit, you don't throw them away. You look for other pieces that fit together in a different way with these two pieces. You might even temporarily abandon the first two pieces and come back to them later, separately. This is what Deb is doing in her "conspiracy" (her word) to find a solution to the question, "What if we had web-based tools to help mission-based organizations use every possible resource and meet every possible need?"
As usual, Ethos Roundtable was a stimulating and informative session/discussion followed by the monthly 501 Tech Club - Boston and hosted by the TechFoundation.
You can get a closer look at some of the services Deb discussed last night by visiting her blog and looking for the May 8th post, "Online capacity mapping and resource matching for nonprofits."
That was Deb Finn's opening line to tell us the topic of last night's Ethos Roundtable. Of course, this is huge and there is no one tool out there right now. It's more like a garden of available tools that, partly through conversations with Deb on this topic, are converging. As Deb herself states, "It's also clear that this could be many separate projects with clever mash-ups and data interchanges. In the age of XML, it does not have to be a monolith with one owner, one web host, and one platform."
The neat thing is, much of this is out there now. The difficult part is, it's not yet organized into anything recognizable. Yet. Getting it into a recognizable shape is why I used the garden analogy. One size does not fit all well. But pulling together a number or tools and placing them in an area where people can pick and choose what fits for them is a rather organic process. What grows, grows. As people use a tool, share it with others, blog about it, find it useful, etc., that process will stimulate growth.
Pulling together existing and new products/services from many organizations to provide another level of service fits another analogy I use when talking about collaboration and developing communities and their organizations. I call it JigSaw Puzzlin' because each organization is like a puzzle piece with form (shape) and function that exists independently. Sometimes several pieces (organizations) get together and form a different shape with form and function. Yet each organization retains its independence and original form and function.
How is this like JigSaw Puzzlin'? When you work a jizsaw puzzle, you pick up pieces, turn them around, look around for other pieces that may fit with the first piece, and so on. If these two pieces don't fit, you don't throw them away. You look for other pieces that fit together in a different way with these two pieces. You might even temporarily abandon the first two pieces and come back to them later, separately. This is what Deb is doing in her "conspiracy" (her word) to find a solution to the question, "What if we had web-based tools to help mission-based organizations use every possible resource and meet every possible need?"
As usual, Ethos Roundtable was a stimulating and informative session/discussion followed by the monthly 501 Tech Club - Boston and hosted by the TechFoundation.
You can get a closer look at some of the services Deb discussed last night by visiting her blog and looking for the May 8th post, "Online capacity mapping and resource matching for nonprofits."
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