Archive for the 'webtools' Category

How To: Create a Listening Dashboard for your Organization

Published in resources, rss and webtools. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

This month’s Net2 Think Tank question asks, “How do you stay up-to-date online?”  There are so many blogs, news sources, and conversations happening at the same time, every day, and the chances that you’ll be able to find them all without trying is pretty unlikely.  There are hundreds of millions of blogs according to Technorati, and that’s just blogs! Think of all the places your organization’s name, staff, projects, programs or focus area could come up in the news, in campaigns, or in online conversations.

To stay on top of it all, I suggest you create a listening dashboard for your organization – and here’s how to do it!

Getting Started

To create a listening dashboad, I suggest using Netvibes.  This is a free web-based tool that is totally customizeable and can be used both privately or publicly.To get started, just visit http://netvibes.com and create an account.

Finding Feeds

Netvibes will let you track all kinds of things online, all by using RSS feeds or ready-built widgets.  Here are some of the best ways to start listening online:
Google Alerts
This free service from Google let’s you identify key words, phrases, or URLs that you want to track.  Simply visit http://google.com/alerts to get started.  Here are some example searches using NetSquared as the organization.

  • “netsquared” or “net squared” – putting this in the search term area of the alert would mean that any time “NetSquared” is mentioned or “Net Squared” is mentioned, I will get alerted.
  • NetSquared.org – putting this URL in the search term area of the alert means that if someone wrote out our URL on their blog, for example, I would get alerted.
  • “Amy Sample Ward” or “Billy Bicket” – putting this in the search term area of the alert means that any time Billy’s name (the NetSquared Director) or my own (the NetSquared Global Community Development Manager) is mentioned online, I will get alerted.

Try changing out the organization name and key staff names to match your organization’s information and give it a try!

You have a few other options when setting up the Google Alert.  You could choose to monitor only news sources, only blogs, and so on.  I would recommend choosing the “comprehensive” option as you never know where your name might pop up!

As far as the email vs feed option – we are using Netvibes so you can cut down on email!  Choose the “feed” option and then hit save on that alert.  You can then click on the linked “Feed” word that has the RSS icon next to it (the icon looks like a signal).  The URL you are given will look pretty weird (see the screen shot example below). Skip to the bottom to “Add Feeds to Netvibes” for next steps.

google alert rss example

Twitter Search
If you want to stay on top of all the conversations on Twitter about your organization or the topic of your work, using a feed from Twitter Search is really useful. To get a feed of the Twitter conversations, visit: http://search.twitter.com.  Similar to a Google Alert, type in some key words or phrases using the quotations, like, “netsquared” or “net squared” – it’s just like the examples above!

After you hit “search,” you will see there’s a “Feed for this query” link on the right side of the screen.  Click on that and copy the URL, then jump down to the bottom to “Add Feeds to Netvibes” for next steps.

Blogs
Using the two tools above, you should get notified whenever a blogger uses your organization’s name or projects, etc.  But another great way to listen and tap into online conversations is to follow blogs about your sector or location and find opportunities where you can contribute to the conversation.  It is great to comment and be visible in the community of thinkers and doers in your sector.  There will even be instances where you can provide information or resources from your organization that may be relevant to the conversation.

Find blogs about your sector and subscribe in the same way, via RSS. A great way to find blogs relevant to your organization is to use Google Blog Search.  You can also follow one of the sector-specific blogs from Change.org.

When you find a blog you want to follow, find the “subscribe to RSS” link or icon in the sidebar, or use the RSS icon in your browser’s URL bar (the icon is a square signal).  Copy the feed URL and then jump down to “Add Feeds to Netvibes” for next steps.

Add Feeds to Netvibes

Now that you have found all kids of RSS feeds you want to track, you need to add them to your Netvibes page.  With Netvibes you can create tabs to help organize all these feeds, too!

  1. Copy the full URL of the feed you’d like to add
  2. Go to your Netvibes page, and hit the green “add content” button in the upper left of the screen
  3. Select “add feed” and paste in the URL
  4. When it shows you the preview, click “add” and it will appear in a box below

To move the boxes, simply click on the top of the box (a hand icon should appear instead of your mouse arrow) and drag the box where you’d like it to sit on the page.

To add tabs, click on “add tab” and name it something useful for categorizing the feeds in that section.

Start Listening

There you go!  With your listening dashboard in place you can start monitoring what’s being said about you, your work, and your sector instantly.  You can add to it any time you find another blog or item to follow, just follow the same steps as above!

About Net2 Think Tank

Net2 Think Tank is a monthly blogging event open to anyone and is a great way to participate in an exchange of ideas.  We post a question or topic to the NetSquared community and participants submit responses either on their own blogs or on the NetSquared Community Blog.  Tag your post with “net2thinktank” and email a link to us to be included. At the end of the month, the entries get pulled together in the Net2 Think Tank Round-Up.

Published on October 27, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

LOUDER, a collaborative campaigning platform

Published in resources, socialchange and webtools. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

“Together we are…LOUDER!” It’s true! And that’s the leading tag for a new campaigning platform called Louder.  The platform just hit open beta today, so create an account and start playing (hey, it’s Friday, right?).  You can create your own campaigns with unique URLs, add all kinds of media, and then start campaigning for change!

What’s LOUDER?

LOUDER will be the new online home for campaigners. The free and accessible site draws together a range of social media tools for people who want to change the world.

Through Louder you will be able to create a microsite for your campaign with the most used ‘change-tools’ the web has to offer. You will be able to connect to and manage profiles on other social media sites helping you coordinate supporter action.

To help make your campaign louder you will be able to connect up with other campaigns and those running them. Providing a much needed online space for campaigners, from international NGOs to grass roots activists, to link up collaborate and share experiences.

Why I like Louder:

I’ve been playing around with the new platform a bit and am quite excited about it.  I think it has a lot of potential to join with campaigning tools like Fairsay’s tool for Plone and collaborative tools like Zanby.

I like that Louder…

  1. lets you create and distribute content all over the web
  2. bring in content you create elsewhere
  3. lets you work on a campaign without everything being “live”
  4. uses a straightforward process to set up modules and then drag/drop to design your page
  5. is being developed by folks IN the nonprofit and campaigning for change sector, so they “get it” already

Dive in!

LOUDER is in a “progressive beta” phase now and is working fast and furiously to built out more and more functionality for campaigners.  You can visit their roadmap to see what’s in the pipeline of development and share your ideas about what you’d like the platform to do for you.

Some things currently in the works include:

  • Newslist and newsletter management
  • Email MPs/MEPs/Councillors and other influential people
  • Contact management tools
  • Collaborative tools for planning campaigns
  • The ability to connect to Facebook accounts

What do you think?

What are you waiting for? Go check out LOUDER now!

And let me know what you think, too :)

Published on October 16, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Managing Twitter, One Account at a Time

Published in resources, strategy and webtools. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

There are so may stats, reports, assumptions and speculations every day about who is using Twitter, let alone how and why.  I recently read a reflection on Twitter called How To Use Twitter When You Follow Several Thousand People.  And it got me thinking, not necessarily about how I filter through the stream and so forth, but how others who are filtering through their streams, find me!

I’m not the only one that is follow lots of interesting, valuable, fun people on Twitter – so are many of you!  So, how do I create ways for people to pick up on my content or shared learning in ways that is visible (and not just sucked into the stream)?  How do I ensure that the stream I’m creating, isn’t overwhelming as well?

With these questions in mind, I decided to start a second Twitter account – and I want to share with you my strategy and implementation steps – so you can see if something similar is right for you, too!

Why Create Two Accounts

My Twitter account is @AmyRSWard and I have, currently, over 3,000 followers.  I’m not one for popularity and don’t view follower counts as a reflection of such.  I think that at one time or another, those 3,000+ people found an interesting link I shared, read a blog post I wrote and wanted to get more, or connected with me in one way or another online, at a conference, or through email.  The way I see it, those 3,000 people are “following” the content or value I can add to their work, not necessarily my coolness.

But, I’m human! Not everything I say is smart, valuable, insightful or useful.  Sometimes I just want to say, “hi” to my mom on Twitter, and that’s okay.  But for people who don’t want to follow everything I say, and really just want real-time access to my shared brain, well, why not them have it!

Purpose of @AmySampleWard

As I explained above, the purpose of the second account, @AmySampleWard, is to provide a pipeline to valuable content.  I intend to use this second account for three main things:

  1. Sharing links to posts as they go up: Whenever a new post goes up on this blog, a tweet with the title and link will go out!
  2. Sharing links to interesting things I read: Whenever I tag something using Delicious that I think is of interest to you all, a tweet with the title and link will go out!
  3. Livetweeting and Twitter-chats: If I go to a conference or an event or am participating in a Twitter-based chat, I always think about the tweet-overload I create for people who follow me as my messages go from # of tweets per day, to # of tweets per hour or minute.  This way I will have a separate account to use for following a conference session or speaker, etc.

Set Up of @AmySampleWard

I have to give tons of credit to Joe Solomon, my friend and colleague and rockstar, for his help getting me set up.  I asked for his advise (he’s the man behind @nptechblogs among other Twitter mutations) as there are TONS of tools out there to choose from when setting up an account.  So, the steps below are generated from Joe’s smarts as well as my applications.

Sharing links from your blog:

I used TwitterFeed to set this up.  It’s really simple.  Just put in the RSS feed of your blog, and then use the Advanced Options to add a preface or suffix to your posts (this is where you could say, as I do, “New post:” or something).  As Joe advised, and I TOTALLY agree, be sure to select the option to show only the Title & Link – as including any more means a really jumbled tweet.

Sharing links you tag onling:

I use Delicious to tag content online instead of saving bookmarks locally to my computer – this way I can access things I’ve saved from any computer and can share content easily.  Using Twitter to share is just one more option!  If you do not already use Delicious, it’s easy to get started – visit the site for more. I used TwitterFeed again to coordinate auto-tweets of items I tag.  I used the RSS feed of a specific tag, because I didn’t necessarily want every single item I bookmark to be tweeted out.  This let’s me choose which items to share.

We’re in Business!

So, the new account is all set up! It’s already tweeting out blog posts, interesting links, and more. Follow it here!

What do you think? I’d love your feedback on my strategy and process – if you would have done things differently or if you have questions about how I’m making it work!

Published on September 15, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

Taking Action on YouTube

Published in webtools. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

YouTube is set to publicly launch the “Call-To-Action Overlay” feature.  This will allow users to place calls to action (messages and links) on top of videos.  This is huge news as it means a revolutionary shift in the video platform with the largest global audience.  The Call-To-Action Overlay means users will be prompting viewers to click away from YouTube (not exactly the action a platform like YouTube is after).

It won’t be everything nonprofits are looking for though.  There are two major qualifications for use:

  • You can only place customized overlays on a video that you’ve entered into YouTube’s CPC Promoted Videos program.
  • You have to be a paying YouTube advertiser, but do not have to pay extra for the Overlays.

You can include calls to action and links in the description of your videos, but moving those options literally on top of the video can mean a lot for getting results.  According to TechCrunch,

The feature has been in testing with select partners and non-profits for some time, and the results have been extremely positive. Last March, the organization charity:water managed to raise $10,000 in a single day by including an overlay on one of its videos. A handful of politicians have also been trying it out, using it to entice voters to sign their petitions. It’s worked well enough that politicians who haven’t had access to the feature are clamoring for it.

I’m really excited to see what happens tomorrow – but also interested in groups like Call2Action that are already focused on the combination of actionable opportunities and compelling video.

Published on June 30, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

License your photos and more on Facebook

Published in reports and webtools. 8 Comments Tags: , , , .

This blog has a Creative Commons license.  Why? Because I want people to know that I expect them to share things they find interesting, or to help further the conversation but that in sharing, others need to keep the content free, too.  Because Creative Commons licenses help creators, sharers, and readers enjoy online content respectfully.  So, when I saw that Creative Commons released a version of the licensing and an application for Facebook, I had to check it out!

“CC licenses enable anyone to specify to the public how they want their work to be used. If you’re a photographer, you might be happy to let someone use your photos so long as they give you credit. CC licenses make it easier to be clear about how you want your content used.

The Creative Commons License application allows users to choose one of the six Creative Commons licenses to apply to the content they upload to Facebook.”

Why Use Creative Commons in Facebook?

You may be licensing your blog posts or website content under a CC license, like I do (you can see the license information in the right hand column).  Maybe you use Flickr and share your photos there under a CC license as well.  Why, because you want others to know they can share or post your cool photos so long as they give attribution (or any other stipulated criteria you’ve set via the licensing options).

Facebook has a great deal of content you are creating, uploading, posting, and sharing.  Why not license that as well so that your Flickr photos AND your Facebook photos are both included. So that your blog posts AND your status messages are both licensed.

How do you get started?

facebookccIt’s pretty easy!  Just visit the Creative Commons Facebook application page here (be sure you are logged into Facebook first) to add the application and select your license.  Something to keep in mind: “Because of the way Facebook applications work, users cannot select a license per-photo or video, and must choose a CC license for all items of a particular type of media.”

If you want to suggest ideas or features for the Facebook application, you can visit the Creative Commons wiki.

What do you think?

Will you use the application? Do you use Creative Commons on other online spaces as an individual or as an organization, like a blog or website?  How did you select which license you wanted to use?

Published on May 19, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 8 Comments

My Social Actions – is it yours, too?

Published in socialchange and webtools. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Social Actions, the platform that makes it easy for individuals and organizations to share actions across the web, has just launched it’s Ning-powered social network:  My.SocialActions.

The social network side of Social Actions is an exciting venture – it’s a way to make actions more personal and track the actions your participate in or start.  It’s built on Ning, so it has some features you’re probably familiar with, too.

Check it out on My.SocialActions.com

Peter Deitz, the founder of SA, has shared his 10 Ways to Make a Difference on Social Actions – a guide to using SA to make a difference.  The 10 ways you can make a difference include:

  • Find actions
  • Share actions
  • Reflect on the actions you’re taking
  • Share your wisdom with others
  • Get advice
  • Customize your profile
  • Connect with like-minded people
  • Post events
  • Invite your friends
  • Keep it real

Check out Peter’s Guide to using Social Actions – or jump over to My.SocialActions and start making a difference!

Published on January 22, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Change.org Rings in New Year with More Ways to Make Change

Published in socialchange and webtools. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Today, Change.org launches 7 new community areas.  The new blogs which include:

This brings the total number of cause areas featured in Change.org up to 19!  I’m really excited about the new additions but am most excited about Change.org’s realignment process which started last summer and is continuing to take shape.

Change.org integrated all nonprofit pages and actions into affiliated cause areas so that investigating an area of interest to you is much easier, and taking actions to support the cause (whether that’s supporting an organization working in the field, pledging to make a change or take action, or donating money or time) are available to you when you visit your cause area to read news, and so on.  I think it helps empower individuals to get more involved in a meaningful way (instead of leaving the site because there are too many other things going on, they can zoom in on the one area they are interested in).

How do you use Change.org?  What do you think of the platform, the cause areas, or the actions?  How would you change it or which cause areas would you add next?

Published on January 2, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Twitter, twittering, tweets: How to make Quality Content on Twitter

Published in strategy and webtools. 4 Comments Tags: , , , .

I might be on a Quality Control string here, judging by the title of this post and my recent SSIR post, but I think it’s valid.

More and more people and organizations are using Twitter, the micro-blogging tool that lets users answer the question, “what are you doing?” with short 140-character sized posts to the world.  Even more people and organizations are talking about Twitter.  I’m sure you’ve heard buzz, whether you meant to or not, and whether you are a Twitter-er or not.

Darren Rowse’s post today on TwiTip focused on the question, “What value are you creating for your followers on Twitter? What’s in it for them?” I think this is a great question for individuals AND organization to consider and here’s how…

Quality Twitter-ing from Organizations

No one wants to be friends with a building, a billboard, or a fundraising flier. They want to be friends with people.  Even though your Twitter account (or you Facebook group, or anything else for that matter) is representing the organization, people still expect real people to be behind the messages.

Keeping your organization’s Twitter feed from feeling too impersonal is easy:

  • Have a conversation (using the @ feature on Twitter to reply to others’ messages)
  • Show some personality (comment, don’t just advertise)
  • Show some emotion (don’t fear the emoticon :) or web laugh hahaha )
  • Be real (your organization probably doesn’t have an answer to everything, share links that aren’t just from your website)
  • Be helpful (use search tools like TweetScan or Twitter Search to find people talking about subjects you can help with and send them a link or info)

Recently, I looked at The Womens Museum’s Twitter feed for a slide I contributed at the NFPTweetup.  I examined the messages that appeared on the main page of The Womens Museum’s Twitter feed (the most recent 20 or so) at the time I visited – I was looking to see how balanced the messages were so created some categories and tallied the messages where they fit:

Self Promotion with Links: 6
Self Promotion without Links: 6

Questions with Links: 4
Questions without Links: 3

Fundraising with Links: 1
Fundraising without Links: 0

Affinity Promo with Links: 4
Affinity Promo without Links: 0

Information with Links: 0
Information without Links: 3

I think the numbers are pretty balanced!  The messages are true to mission/vision of the museum by including retweets (or forwarding on the messages of others), links to websites other than their own, compliments, transparency, and inclusion.
If you use Twitter for your organization, try measuring the messages with the above categories and see how balanced your messages are!  Or create new categories and see how the numbers work out.

Quality Twitter-ing from Individuals

Of course it’s always hard to lay yourself on the line by putting forth strategy, guidelines, or even tips.  Because, hey, look at me – oh wait, I’m not perfect either :)

Dan Bowsher, of Newbury, UK, nails the value of Twitter, I think, in his comment on The Evening Standard’s piece about Twitter (emphasis:

Twitter is not something you can gain any value from if you dip into it for a couple of hours. Twitter is about engaging with and building a community of people and allows you to tap into information, trends and opinions far quicker than traditional media. To that end, I find it invaluable. The fact that Twitter also enables developers to create applications that allow users to capitalise on its functionality, is also a major benefit.

Quality content on an individual user’s perspective is really rooted in engagement. Days when I feel like I’m disconnected, Twitter and email are too quiet, or I’m out of the loop with news and conversation, it’s becuase I haven’t connect with anyone.  Replies on Twitter are made using the @ and someone’s user name, like @amyrsward if you wanted to talk to me.  All I need to do is start listening, by browsing recent posts, and then responding to individuals using the @ to jump into the conversation, ask questions, or provide responses.  And as quickly as that, I’m back in.

It’s definitely a good idea to measure or gauge the balance of your individual Twitter stream as well, but it isn’t as easy as examining the organizational stream.  Here, because of the above point that conversation and engagement is key, it’s more important to measure between @ messages and standard messages.

Remember:

  • You are, every day, building that personal-brand, but that doesn’t mean you get to be blowhorn
  • Potential clients, bosses, friends, or significant others could be reading what you say
  • People are ultimately good and have come together on free community tools like Twitter to share information, you should too
  • You get out what you put in; don’t be disappointed with the tool if you don’t have the time to set it up or use it

Ultimately, the Golden Rule of Twitter: Provide the links, information, conversation and content that you would like to find in everyone else’s stream, too.

Happy Twitter-ing, all!

Published on December 10, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 4 Comments

So you’re interested in social media…

Published in roundup, socialmedia and webtools. 12 Comments Tags: , , .

Beth Kanter just asked me, “what is your best introduction to social media blog post that you would point a noobie to?”  My answer was, “hmmm – good question!  I’m not sure.  Maybe I’ll have to write one tomorrow!”  So, here it is!

Ready = Resources

Where do I find ‘em and what will they give me

Knowing how to find answers to your questions is the most important part of adoptiong new technologies.  You can’t have all your questions now, because you don’t even know what lies ahead.  Here are some of the best places to go first when you need to know how to use something, how to do something, or why you would be interested:

CommonCraft:  These guys get to be a category unto themselves because they are that cool.  They have a series of videos that explain social media tools “in plain English,” meaning pictures, sketches and fun stories that make even new and complex technologies seem fun and manageable.  Check them out!

Blogs:  There is A LOT of information out in the blogosphere for FREE.  Take advantage of it!  AllTop has a nonprofit page that can get you started finding blogs to read.  Once there are some you like, check out the other blogs they link to in posts or in the sidebar to find even more good ones!

WeAreMedia:  One of the best reasons to take advantage of information online is that it’s been crowdsourced.  What’s that mean?  Projects like WeAreMedia are the culmination of many smart people pooling their smartness, not just one person on a soapbox.  The WeAreMedia wiki has a toolbox to help you get started with all kinds of social media tools and is a wiki, so it can continue to be updated and improved.

Groups:  Why connect with groups?  I know that working in a nonprofit organization on tech/social media/web ’stuff’ can be a lonely job as you’re often the only one doing it.  Connecting with communities online like NetSquared and NTEN mean you can learn, share and collaborate with others around the country and the world working on similar projects, using similar tools and/or facing the same issues.

Set = Strategy

Thinking about you need, not what you want

It’s hard to avoid the “shiny new tool” syndrome; believe me, I know!  But it’s worth it.  Thinking about what your organization is doing now, where you want to be/go, and then how to get there will help you most appropriately pick the tools to do it.  Resources like the POST method and other social media guides can be fun to use (make it a strategy afternoon in the office!) and help focus social media adoption.

Here are the 3 most important things to remember:

  • If you build it, they won’t necessarily come
  • Tools are only as effective as the resources to maintain them
  • Social media doesn’t just mean Facebook

Go = Give it a try!

You’ll never know til you try it…

Isn’t that what they always say?  It’s very true for social media.  You can read all about Twitter and watch other people use it, even, but it really doesn’t make any sense until you do it yourself.  This is true for understanding how tools work but also to see how they could be put to use organizationally.  It wasn’t until many people started blogging for themselves (about a hobby or their family) that they were able to see the way their organization could use blogs to tell stories, share information, and create community.

Don’t be nervous or scared.  You have the resources at the top of this list to help you answer questions and feel your way through.  Like I said, you can’t know the questions now; you have to start using the tools and then ask as you learn.  It’s exciting and fun – and watch out, this social media stuff is pretty addicting!  :)

Keep us posted how you do and what other resources and support helped you as you started out!

Image: Ready…Set…Go! by Saskia B

Published on December 4, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 12 Comments

Wrangling your RSS feeds

Published in rss and webtools. 10 Comments Tags: , , .

I have quite a few colleagues who commiserate on Twitter or emails about the daunting task of checking the RSS Reader because the number of feeds, the number of unread posts and the sheer time it takes to get through it all is too intimidating to approach.  For many people, an RSS reader is a helpful way of staying on top of news, information, and conversations happening across the web without having to visit hundreds of websites every day. But if it is too enormous a task to even check the reader, staying on top of information is no longer possible.

What’s an RSS & an RSS Reader?

If you’re wondering what RSS means and how an RSS Rreader works, the wonderful team at Common Craft has a video just for you:

My RSS Reader in Practice

I use Google Reader.  There are lots of options out there, browser based tools (like Google Reader), desktop applications, etc.  I use Google Reader because it works for me and that’s really all it comes down to (since a reader is a reader is a reader, well, mostly).

The key to using an RSS Reader isn’t necessarily in the reader you choose, it’s how you wrangle all those feeds!

3 Keys to Wrangling Feeds

#1.  Folders are your Friends

Your feeds aren’t gone, they’re just grouped with their friends!

We use folders for everything: email, server documents, file cabinents, etc., and your RSS Reader should be no exception.  Folders let you group feeds by the topics that make sense to you.  Don’t be afraid to be too specific, because being to vague just means all the feeds are in one folder!

I am not the ultimate example of folder usage, but I’m still happy to share.  Here’s a screen shot of my Google Reader.  You can see the folders (well, half of them as I’d need to scroll down for the rest) on the left side.

amy sample ward google reader

(It’s harder to see than I would have preferred.)  My folders include:

  • Applications: Blogs from applications like Twitter, Google, YouTube, and Facebook
  • Delicious: Feeds from Delicious tags like NPTech, Net2ThinkTank, and my name
  • Friends & Family: The blogs of my parents and friends, obviously
  • Fun: I highly recommend starting a folder for and subscribing to feeds from websites and blogs that have nothing to do with your work but add a laugh to your day!
  • Fundraising: This is where the segmenting of nonprofit-related feeds begins
  • Individual Blogs:  People who span content-specific folders or that I identify by who they are and not their field or organization
  • Jobs: Feeds from Idealist and other jobs searches to stay on top of the new positions in the industry to circulate to friends, colleagues, and readers
  • Journalism:  This is a folder for citizen journalism and traditional news outlets using social media
  • London- Individual Blogs:  Similar to the Individual Blogs folder above but specific to contacts from/around London
  • Marketing:  Industry news and consultant blogs about marketing and social media
  • Media:  Industry news and consultant blogs about media (social media, multimedia, digital media, etc.)
  • Media Law: News and updates about legal cases and issues related to social media and Internet use
  • Mobile: People, projects, consultants and more working specifically in mobile development
  • My Blog:  Search and alert feeds based on my name, my blog, etc.
  • Net2 Team:  The blogs and delicious feeds from colleagues at NetSquared to stay on top of what everyone is reading and thinking about
  • News:  Technology, social media and general news feeds
  • NPLeaders:  Blogs about nonprofit leadership
  • NPNews:  Blogs and industry aggregators about nonprofit sector news
  • NPTech:  Blogs from individuals and groups (like NTEN) focused on nonprofit technology
  • Organizations:  Blogs from organizations that I’ve helped, I’m watching, I’m interested in, or are good examples
  • Other: Things I just couldn’t categorize or didn’t want to start a folder for (limited to only a handful of feeds)
  • Philanthropy:  Blogs and industry leaders covering philanthropy issues, trends, etc.
  • PR:  Like the media and marketing folders, general Public Relations consultants and groups
  • Research:  Feeds from firms like Forrester and others
  • Social Change:  Blogs and aggregators like Social Actions and others focused on helping individuals make change
  • Tech: Technology-specific feeds, beyond nonprofit usage or social media
  • Webinars: Feeds from organizations providing webinars to circulate with friends, colleagues and readers

#2. The Art of Skimming

Skim milk isn’t for everyone but we can all handle a lesson in skim reading.

This blog post was spurred mostly by an exchange on Twitter with a friend:

citizensheep: Been putting off wading through Google Reader. Must be done though, so here goes…
amyrsward: @citizensheep good luck with that! guessing your reader is like mine…four digit unread :)
citizensheep: @amyrsward Yes, it is! And I’m not very good at skimming (getting better though). Any tips?!

Skim reading doesn’t mean you aren’t reading.  You just prioritize what you read.  Most RSS Readers show you content in a way that make this easier.

  • Try reading the post title and then just the first few points (things in bold or section headers)
  • Scroll through the post quickly and see if videos or links pop out
  • Look for lists or pull-out content (might be able to just read those instead of the whole post)

It takes practice, but you’ll be happy with the result when you can cut down the time it takes to wade through all the posts!

#3. Let Go of Status

We’ve all learned, I hope, that status isn’t everything in life—you really just need the substance.

The greatest part of using the RSS Reader is that it isn’t like email with a delete button.  Once you’ve read something, it is marked as read, but it isn’t gone!  You can search in your reader for content, feeds, specific posts, etc.  How does this help you?

I prioritize my folders.  Ones that usually have less material that I want to share than others will have less of a chance to catch my eye.  For example (and to be honest), I don’t find as many posts that I read completely or share with others from the PR or Marketing folders.  When I open them, I read the titles and skim for important sub-topics or lists but if the first 5 or so don’t get me to stop and read (and there are 30 more unread posts in that folder), then I’ll just hit ‘Mark all as Read.’  And I don’t feel bad about it or that I “missed” content.  Why?

If I’m working on a presentation or a specific blog post, I can search in my reader for the topic I’m looking for an it will include those posts that I marked as read without actually reading.  So, if something I need really was there, I still get to find it!  I might have dropped the status of the posts to ‘read’ but I didn’t lose the substance.

What are your tips and tricks for wrangling RSS?

Published on December 2, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 10 Comments