Tag Archive for 'events'

December #4Change Chat: Education

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This Thursday is the December #4Change Chat!

Education and it’s discontents are being changed by new ways of learning – much of it by new ways of creating, sharing and validating information and knowledge online. Tools and methods are being customized, adapted and remixed for various educational contexts. Classrooms are no longer bound by geography. But there are still barriers, still challenges – some of which we may not be able to predict. How can we attend to these?

This chat will cover the changing role(s) of teachers, institutions and learners – and how they are affected and transformed by new/social media.

Details

  • Date: December, 10th 2009
  • When: 2 – 4 pm US Pacific Time, 5 – 7 pm US Eastern Time, 10pm – 12am London, UK (Late!)
  • Where: Twitter (search for #4Change)
  • Topic: Education: How is social/new media affecting the future of education?

Check out some of the questions we’ll be discussing and resources about the topic here.

Join the Conversation!
If you want to contribute to the conversation, you’ll need to have a twitter account (it’s free).

  • To follow the conversation (whether you are planning to contribute or not), use http://search.twitter.com or another application to search on Twitter for #4Change
  • Jump in to the conversation by adding #4Change to your Twitter message
  • Feeling brave? Check out TweetChat – it’s a great application that integrates with your Twitter account and makes chats more fun! You can turn it off after the chat.
Published on December 9, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Harnessing and Nurturing Communities at MPS09

Published in community and liveblogging. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I’m capturing notes at the MyPublicServices event from PatientOpinion.  This session is lead by Holly Seddon from FreshNetworks and titled Harnessing and Nurturing Communities.  Use the tag #MPS09 to follow conversations and highlights from others at the event.

Head of Community Management at FreshNetworks, previously at iVillage, Daily Mail etc.; most proud of job at an adoption charity

What do we mean by “community” – question asked to the participants:

  • people
  • support
  • shared interest
  • label
  • conversations
  • reciprocity
  • belonging

When you think about “what is community?” do you think about online or offline? Do you think you are part of a community?

  • We mean people
  • we mean connections
  • we mean support
  • we mean similarity
  • we mean social group
  • we mean peers
  • we mean a group being ‘led’

Community confusion:

  • people rarely consider themselves part of communities offline
  • people are rarely members of just one community
  • communities can be physical and conceptual
  • they can be permanent or temporary

What is an online community?

  • it used to mean ‘message boards’ and not much more
  • for a while, people meant ‘facebook’ although that’s a social network of people you already know

What Twitter isn’t… Twitter isn’t a message board, or a social network of people you already know… So, is it a community?

What Twitter is… twitter is a platform, it’s about connections, it’s the direciton we’re heading in; it’s a micro-community that is different for every individual.

What Twitter gives us:

  • freedom
  • it’s blown away old rules
  • a boost to existing communities and content on the web
  • keeping people in touch and highlighting existing communities

One word to describe a good online community experience: nice, warm, friendly, friendship, welcoming, assistance, funny, reassurance, welcoming

People want warm and welcoming, but that it isn’t always what they get with online communities. So how?

Getting Started

Identify a community

  • who are you providing a platform for?
  • build it and they will come… doesn’t work
  • do these people want or need a space to communicate?
  • who are they?

What are the concerns of the community?

  • do they need to speak anonymously?
  • do they need to share images?
  • do they need to be protected?
  • do they have barriers to understanding technology?
  • do they have fractured interests?
  • are there opposing viewpoints and needs?

Sexy or quick?  there are 4 attributes to a good online community:

  • easy
  • safe
  • secure
  • sticky
  • sexy can wait!  it’s great if it has all the bells and whistles but that can come later, what’s most important is that it’s usable, meets community needs etc.

Vibrant, ugly: it’s okay if it’s not perfect to look at; between timely and perfect, choose timely.  An example: Criagslist.org

Where will you host your community?

  • do you have an online presence that can be enhanced?
  • do you need to build community elements into your next iteration?
  • do you have the budget and resources to build from scratch – and manage?
  • should you set up a space where your audience already is?
  • don’t automatically reject free tools like Ning.com
  • what about hiring someone to maintain and participate in that space as a community manager?

How do we keep our community safe?

What do you mean by safe?

  • safe from offensive material
  • safe from ‘trolls’ and trouble-makers
  • safe to chat without fear of personal attacks
  • safe from ‘real-life’ crossover
  • safe from spam attacks

Control – and lack of it: you cannot control people, but you can steer, guide and react; you must establish ground rules, and update them regularly.

  • no one is solely interested in one topic – nor should they be
  • single-issue parties don’t win elections; single-issue communities, don’t thrive – we don’t have only one interest
  • connections are what’s important, give people the freedom to connect – start small, only 3 or 4 sections or topics and then let the community drive the development
  • tools like CAPTCHA

Keeping your organization safe: if someone writes a lie about a celebrity on a community that you host, when are you liable?  The minute it goes up.  Mumsnet case study: some moms posted to Mumsnet that Gina Ford was too harsh with her practices, etc. and Gina took them to court.  Mumsnet said that they don’t moderate as there are too many message to handle and so on.  The best approach is to plan for that and have a take-down policy; encourage members to report malicious content and give them way to do so easily.

Who will keep your community safe…and vibrant?

  • moderation
  • welcoming members
  • stimulating discussion
  • removing spam and offensive content
  • who is liable? – If you use something like Ning does that platform share a part of the liability? Yes. If you make it explicit on your site in your terms of use that your site is not moderated then you are not liable, according to some.
  • “Can the receptionist do it?” – maybe, if they want to, but moderating and welcoming people and getting involved isn’t just for anyone; it takes someone that has the time and the interest to do.

Q&A

What’s been your biggest challenge in building a community? Launching the adoption community, it had a very intersted and active membership that communicated through local support groups and a buddy scheme but not online with many members anti-internet and people in the organization who were skeptical.  Had to prove that it was as well as, not instead of. That it could help people find the organization and provide easier access for people with limited mobility or other limitations who couldn’t get to the offline activities.  Now as a membership they see it core to the organization and have a stake in how it develops.

Have you any tips about how to deal with bad apples? sometimes turning good is the most important thing. if people are complaining and talking about how things should be use it as an opportunity to explain why you did things the way you did and ask for more ideas about how to make things better. some people are trying to get attention, often the way around that is to give them a little attention and encourage them to behave the way you’d like – engage and help, but don’t give in to what they are doing.  sometimes there’s spammers and rule breakers, so make sure you explain the rules they are breaking and explain your actions to moderate their behavior – give 3 strikes and you’re out.

Have you experience with usefulness with combining writing communication with video communication? depends on the set up, whether you are building communities in ning or drupal or from scratch, building in the ability for users to include video and so on is easier. but, other forms of communication might not be appropriate to the community.

Published on November 26, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Great reads from around the web on November 18th

Published in roundup. 19 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources across the web ever day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of November 18th). You can join the conversations in the comments, or click through to the original posts to find what others are saying.

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

  • 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference | NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network – Have you registered yet for the Nonprofit Technology Conference? This is one of the best opportunities each year to meet others from the nonprofit technology sector, learn what other organizations are up to, what's new and what's next! I'll be there and hope you will be, too :)
  • What is your conversation strategy? | Powered by John Haydon – John Haydon has an excellent post today to get you thinking more strategically about your use of social media, and not just what tools to use but what to say once you're using them! "When most businesses and non-profits start using social media, they start with “small talk” with their communities. They politely reply to tweets, express appreciation to donors, respond as quickly as possible to customer support issues, and generally try to add value to their network. But all to often, they fail to move beyond the “small talk” and create meaningful discussions that their communities are dying to have."
  • Whuffie Webinar – "What if you had access to the latest big ideas from the corporate world, distilled into a 10 minute video that was 6.5 more memorable than other ways of learning? What if you then had access to one of the leaders in the not-for-profit world who would show you how to take these principles and apply them to your day to day activities? What if all of this was free, every month?" You do! Check out this great webinar series from Polar Unlimited.
  • Idealist.org: Imagine, Connect, Act – Idealist is trying something. They want to see what could happen if we serious commit to working together, on an offline. "It's time for the world's idealists to work together, online and in person. The first step in this campaign is to ask you to take a few minutes to read this proposal. What you'll find there is a vision for this network, a path and a timeline to build it, and an invitation to be part of this movement from the very start. Then, to share your thoughts and join the 1,361 people in 91 countries who are making this happen, please sign up here."
  • YouTube – Direct's Channel – "YouTube Direct allows you to embed the upload functionality of YouTube directly into your own site, enabling your organization to request, review, and re-broadcast user-submitted videos with ease. News organizations can ask for citizen reporting; nonprofits can call-out for support videos around social campaigns; businesses can ask users to submit promotional videos about your brand. With YouTube Direct, the opportunities to connect directly with the YouTube community are endless."
Published on November 18, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 19 Comments

Great reads from around the web on November 16th

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I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources across the web ever day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of November 16th). You can join the conversations in the comments, or click through to the original posts to find what others are saying.

To follow more of the things I find online, you can follow @amysampleward on Twitter (which is just a blog and resource feed), or find me on Delicious (for all kinds of bookmarks).

  • Global Entrepreneurship Week – This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week! Find out how you can take part from wherever you are around the world! "Global Entrepreneurship Week takes place from 16 – 22 November 2009. It’s a worldwide movement of entrepreneurial people, with millions unleashing their enterprising talents and turning their ideas into reality."
  • http://idealist.org/ICA/root/en/Static/TheVision/default – Idealist has shared a vision and a call to action: Imagine, Connect, Act. Saying that "It's time fo rthe world's idealists to work together (seriously)." I couldn't agree more! Check it out: "What if by looking at the world from a different point of view we can quickly build a network of people and organizations that will allow us to make the most of what each of us has to offer, online and in person? What you'll find here is a vision for this network, a path and a timeline to get there, and an invitation to be part of this movement from the very start."
  • JPMorgan Chase: Chase and Facebook Launch Innovative Giving Program for Small and Local Charities – "For the first time ever, Facebook®: users will be able to choose from more than 500,000 small and local charities to decide which community organizations they want to receive donations totaling millions of dollars from a corporate philanthropy fund. Chase and Facebook today announced the launch of Chase Community Giving: You Decide What Matters, a grassroots campaign to inspire a new way of corporate philanthropy."
  • Nonprofit Tagline Report: Getting Attention Blog – The updated guide shows nonprofits top tagline approaches for stronger messaging, and features a directory of over 2,500 nonprofit tagline examples for organizations to use in creating strong messages. "The 2009 Report provides everything an organization needs to jump start its tagline development process: Why a Nonprofit’s Name Isn’t Enough; How a Strong Tagline Benefits Your Organization – Useful for developing support among colleagues and leadership; The 10 Have-Tos for Successful Taglines; Using Words that Work; The 7 Deadly Sins, 9 Snores and 5 Best Ways to Antagonize Your Audience – What not to do; Research, Create, Revise, Test, Repeat – The right steps to take to craft a potent tagline." Download the report!
  • Beth Asked a Question « A. Fine Blog – "Beth asked a question on her blog the other day: Do we have examples of using nonprofits using social media for: Volunteer or board recruitment strategy; Outreach or educational program delivery; Crowdsourcing ideas for program development; Professional development; Integrated in other areas? The answer is that there are a growing number of examples of organizations, and individuals, using social media as part of their programs not just part of fundraising and communications efforts."
Published on November 16, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

TweetsGiving: Show Your Gratitude With Epic Change

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There’s just one week before TweetsGiving!  Next week, participants will share what they are grateful for through Twitter and other online media and attend gratitude parties around the world. People donate to a shared cause in honor of that for which they are most grateful Funds raised will go to support the work of Mama Lucy Kampton (@MamaLucy), a ChangeMaker who has transformed her community in Arusha, Tanzania through her school Shepherd’s Junior.

Learn more and show your gratitude!

Scheduled for November 24 – 26, 2009, the 48-hour event created by Epic Change will encourage participants to express their thanks using online tools and at live events. In honor of the people and things that make them grateful, guests will be invited to give to a common cause at events held across the globe.

Why TweetsGiving?

Last year, funds from TweetsGiving helped build a classroom in Tanzania.  This year, the Epic Change team are working on building a technology lab there.  Earlier this month, we interviewed Avi Kaplan from Epic Change, and asked him what they were up to in Africa:

What are you up to right now in Africa?

We just spent three weeks at Shepherd’s Junior near Arusha, Tanzania setting up a technology lab and wireless internet at the school. Together with our fabulous volunteers Melissa & AJ Leon of theLacProject, we taught the students and teachers about computers and social media. The students of Class Five at the school are now on Twitter and Tumblr and you can follow them all by clicking their pictures in this blog post. The internet has opened up the world for these students and their teachers are increasingly using the web in their curriculum.

For more details from our recent work here, including video, photos and more in-depth coverage of all about the work we’ve been up to in Tanzania on the “I <3 Epic Change” Blog created by theLacProject and in a recent article in the Huffington Post.

(Read the rest of the interview here.)

Get Involved

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

Chain Reaction 2009: the Social by Social game

Published in events and socialbysocial. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

chain reaction conference logoChain Reaction is coming back to London, and the world, this November.  Last year, innovators and changemakers gathered for a two-day event in London to learn, share, and collaborate to make a better world.  The conversations, presentations and workshops were shared online in real-time thanks to a myriad technology set (including Twitter, blogs, video, etc.).  It’s time again to meet in London and invite the whole world in to the conversations.

Learn more and connect with Chain Reaction!

We succeed when we work together… Chain Reaction is a community of people, passionate about social change, who are saying ‘we can make a difference’.

Chain Reaction is a unique and challenging project based on a very simple idea – that we all have the power of our own actions, but that none of us on our own can change the world, not governments, not businesses, not charities. We succeed when we work together The Chain Reaction Networks helps individuals and organisations to connect together. We provide spaces – at ‘real life events’ and on line – in which people can collaborate with others across the boundaries that divide us and commit their energy to new ideas and new ways of working that will change the world.

Social by Social at Chain Reaction

David Wilcox and I will be leading a round of the Social by Social game!

Drawing on the learnings included in Social by Social: a practical guide to using new technology for social impact, the Social by Social Game walks participants through the strategic steps of creating a social media program for your community, whether you’re part of an organization, a geographic community, a campaign, or anything else.  The game is a fun way to collaborate with others and learn more about what’s needed to create a project that leverages social media.  We promise: it’s fun!

NFPTweetUp after Chain Reaction

The next NFPTweetUp will take place in the evening after the main Chain Reaction event.  This is a great way to pull in new people to the tweetup experience and a super opportunity to keep conversations going even longer from the event.

A meet up of social media users and those interested in the potential of social media for themselves or their organisations.  This event brings together organisations for peer-to-peer knowledge sharing and networking – it will be part learning, part sharing, part social, collaborative, casual and very friendly. Note:  You need to reserve a ticket for this evening session as spaces are limited – tickets are free of charge. (Read more about NFP Tweetup here)

Connect. Collaborate. Commit.

Chain Reaction is taking place November 12th, 2009, at Canary Warf, London.  To find out more, use these links:

You can also follow Chain Reaction on Twitter: use the hashtag #cr09 (you can also follow activity @chainreaction or @cr_events).

Published on October 28, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

Join me for a chat with The Feast

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Join us for a chat!  NetSquared is the guest host of The Feast’s next Twitter chat about the power of social media for social good. We’ll be tweeting questions such as “how can we better leverage social media for less talk and more action?” and we’re looking for remarkable people like you to help answer them!

We may be the host, but we need all of you to join us to make the conversation interesting!

Join NetSquared & The Feast

We want to hear from you to, so leave your questions in the comments section below, or send them via twitter to @alldaybuffet.  Look forward to a Feast on twitter!
How to Join the Conversation:

  1. Follow @alldaybuffet on twitter
  2. Follow the #feastongood hashtag
  3. Join the conversation by using #feastongood in your related tweets on Monday, September 21st from 3 PM – 4 PM EST
  4. View the previous Twitter Chat on Design with William Drenttel of Winterhouse & Twitter Chat on Social Entrepreneurship with Echoing Green

Feast on Twitter Details:

Hosts include Net Squared (@NetSquared) and Amy Sample Ward from NetSquared (@amyrsward), All Day Buffet Team (@alldaybuffet), and ADB co-founders Michael Karnjanaprakorn (@mikekarnj) and Jerri Chou (@jchou).
Feast Conference Details:
The most creative conference on social innovation is right around the corner. A gathering of the world’s greatest innovators from across industries and society to empower, inspire and engage each other in creating world-shaking change, The Feast is sure to get you full on good.

  • Date: Thursday, October 1, 2009
  • Time: 9 AM – 5 PM
  • Location: The Times Center, New York City
  • REGISTER TODAY!
Published on September 17, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

OneWebDay: It’s Almost Here!

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onewebday 2009This September 22nd, contribute to the celebrations of the web for OneWebDay! All over the world, people who care about the future of the Web are joining together to organize events and activities in their towns, growing the OWD network from the grassroots up.  There’s just 6 days until OWD09; learn how you can join the celebrations!

What’s OneWebDay

For the last four years, OneWebDay has attracted a global network of partner organizations and individual activists committed to broadening the public’s awareness of Internet and Web issues while deepening a culture of participation in building a Web that works for everyone. In 2008, OneWebDay organizers documented volunteer-driven events in 34 different cities across the world. In 2009, we’re geared for events in over 50 cities in 20 countries! OneWebDay is all about your passion for the Web and your creativity.

Get Involved
There are many ways you can participate in OWD09 and help celebrate the web.  Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Share Your Story
Tell your story about what you do to celebrate OneWebDay or your story about this year’s topic, “one web for everyone.”  You can also read the stories from others participating this year.  Go ahead, share!

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

We Need to Talk: Up for a Weekly Date?

Published in community. 8 Comments Tags: , , , .

So, I’ve been feeling this coming for a while now and have either put off saying something or just changed the subject.  I think we need to talk about our relationship.  And no, I’m not breaking up with you! :)   Instead, I want to take this relationship to the next level!

Here’s what I’m thinking:

1. I love comments on this blog. Why? Because every single one of them took thought, asks questions or adds to the conversation, and provides an opportunity for me to connect directly with all the smart people who read this blog.  I always (okay, 99.9% of the time) respond to comments via email and really value the exchanges that follow (whether they are on the blog or just in email).  I love this touch and go conversation so much that I want to take it to the next level!

2. I know you are smarter than I am. Why? Because I’m in a position by blogging away as I do to start conversations or serve as a convener for people looking to share ideas via the comments after blog posts but I’m not the one with all the answers or examples or tips.  We get all the good stuff when we come together and share.  So I want to do even more to create opportunities for that sharing and smartness to shine!

3. I’m ready to commit to this relationship. How? I’ve been blogging, facilitating, training, and collaborating with other amazing people in this space – technology and social change – for a while now and it’s no secret that this is my thing.  I’m not going anywhere.  I’m excited at the prospect of dedicating some consistent time to creating better dialogue for my readers and all of our colleagues!

Here the proposal:

Live weekly discussions hosted on this blog.

Who: You, me, and anyone else interested in listening or joining in.

Date: I am thinking Wednesdays because it is the day of the week I almost always am available without meetings or anything else.  I could be swayed by good argument for another day though.

Time: In order to get as many people as possible participating from the West Coast of the US all the way to Australia, well, I’m just not sure.  If it is 7 am in Australia, it’s 10 pm in London, and 2 pm in US Pacific.  That means we could all be awake, but 10 pm for me is not ideal for a mentally stimulating conversation!  What do others think?

Topic: I am open to just hosting, seeing who shows up, and having conversations as they develop organically.  Or, equally, having topics or even doing short presentations and then having conversation.  Or a mix.  What would you prefer? What would be most valuable to you?

We can start in September and give it a go for a while, evaluate together and continue iterating to co-create a valuable weekly conversation for all of us – that’s what community is all about, right?!

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts, ideas, and answers to the above questions to get some shape to the weekly discussion plan!

Published on August 27, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 8 Comments

Twestival is Back and Local

Published in community, events and fundraising. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

twestivallogoThe Twestival is back this September, this time focusing on local groups instead of a global campaign!  Now is the time to help choose the local organizations that will benefit from the twitter-powered organizing and convening.

Twestival Local puts the spotlight on hundreds of causes around the world.

Twestival Local aims to support not-for-profit organizations through global events on 10-13 September 2009. It is up to each city team to facilitate nominations and the selection process using the Twestival guidelines. If you are interested in finding out how your cause can be considered, please reach out directly to cities via Twitter or look for your city on the map.

The emphasis is on supporting one local cause where volunteers and donors can have a direct and measurable impact. The cause selected is the recipient of the fundraising effort and not the event organizers. Twestival Local encourages volunteers to also think beyond the financial goal and find ways to work with the not-for-profit including social media training, recruitment, or communication strategies.

About Twestival
“Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities are able to collaborate on an international scale, but work from a local level, it would result in a spectacular impact. While Twestival Global put the spotlight around one cause, Twestival Local is encouraging cities around the world to host events in support a local cause.”

Published on August 4, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments