Tag Archive for 'networking'

Great reads from around the web on August 11th

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I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of August 11th). 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).

  • Social Versus Entrepreneur – "Grammatically, the word social modifies entrepreneur, indicating a social entrepreneur is one whose entrepreneurial activity is social in nature. I think about the word social as referring to social welfare, be it poverty alleviation, environmental protection, or any type of intervention that benefits humanity in what has traditionally been thought of as a charitable way. With so many new ventures founded every day, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for me to decipher what the social purposes of some initiatives are. This is a significant problem for the social enterprise movement."
  • Submit your Case Study to the Global Digital Activism Data Set! – "The goal of the Global Digital Activism Data Set (GDADS) project is to turn qualitative case studies of digital activism around the world into a non-proprietary quantitative machine-readable data set in spreadsheet form that will facilitate the work of scholars in this new field." Learn more and submit your case study today!
  • http://manage-volunteers.org/ – "As far as we know, it is the first such comprehensive listing of options for causes, nonprofits, and NGOs who need tools to manage volunteers. Organizations that rely on volunteering can compare and contrast the wide variety of volunteer management software available, and more quickly identify the software that is right for them. Software developers may also gain better recognition and hopefully more customers by having their software listed on the database. <br />
    <br />
    Our goal with this site is to help nonprofits and other volunteer organizations grow and thrive by giving them easy access to the<br />
    resources they need to better manage their time and volunteers. <br />
    <br />
    Our goal with this site is to help nonprofits and other volunteer organizations grow and thrive by giving them easy access to the<br />
    resources they need to better manage their time and volunteers."<br />
    <br />
    Check it out and provide your feedback!
  • The 2010 Social Networking Map / Flowtown (@flowtown) – I love maps and I work in social media; so I always love the maps of social media! Here is an updated version of XKCD's Map of Online Communities; with updated numbers and networks.
  • Four social media lessons from the New York Times | Creativity_Unbound – "If you look at the Times from another perspective – that of partnerships, social media behavior, and content – the company’s actually a shining example of how to hold onto core values and evolve at the same time. Here are four things it’s done that serve as examples for any traditional company, including advertising agencies."
Published on August 11, 2010 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Great reads from around the web on July 19th

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I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of July 19th). 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).

  • Blood and Milk » Blog Archive » Ushahidi, Twitter, and the future of foreign aid – Alanna's post is a great example of the power of networks, social media, and open systems. As she notes, her example has luck but it is an example of a growing model of a changing world. What do you think?
  • Net2 Think Tank Round-up: Age Segmentation in Social Networking | NetSquared – "For this month's Net2 Think Tank, we asked you to share your thoughts and best practices for using social media with or for a particular age group. We are hoping to understand what tools or practices appeal to different age groups online and how organizations can best target their efforts to those audiences. This round-up is a summary of the responses we received from the community and it will hopefully serve to help you re-think the ways that you're targeting your limited audience." Add your thoughts or blog posts in the comments!
  • Marketing for Nonprofits: Want to Build Community Online? Become a Bridge Builder. – "Marketing online, in particular, is much more than putting up a static website to announce your gala or ask people to volunteer. It's about having a CONVERSATION with people who care about your work and can help you reach your goals. OK, you've heard this before. But the real question is, HOW do you become a community manager and/or how do you find the right person for the job? What is the skill set you should be looking for?"
  • Social Spaces – I'm really excited to see Social Spaces, a project fueled by a friend a colleague, take off! Social Spaces is project which studies positive community projects and aims to test if these types of projects can be stimulated elsewhere through spreading ideas and practices. It is currently focused on 5 main areas: Hand Made – Portraits of Emergent New Culture, Traveling Pantry, Community of Practice, Organizational Workshops, and Research. Check it out!
  • Don't focus on technology, focus on behavior — SocialFish – This presentation by Paul Adams, Senior User Experience Researcher at Google, reposted on the SocialFish blog, nails home a point I feel like I talk about it every day: it's not about the technology, it's about the people! Great slides.
Published on July 19, 2010 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

Great reads from around the web on June 17th

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I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of June 17th). 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).

  • NetSquared Local Reaches 70 Groups Worldwide! | NetSquared, an initiative of TechSoupGlobal.org – "In the last two months, we've had 5 new NetSquared Local groups join the scene, bringing the new official number to 70 groups worldwide! Below is a list of the new groups that have just gotten started. If you're interested in getting involved either as a co-organizer or a participant in one of these cities, go to the group website and give the organizer a shout!"
  • Facebook | The Networked Nonprofit Virtual Launch Party – "After more than a year of anticipation, on June 21 Beth Kanter and Allison Fine will release the Networked Nonprofit, published by Jossey-Bass. At 4:00 p.m. EDT/1:00 p.m. PDT Beth and Allison will celebrate with a virtual book party on U-Stream and Twitter (#netnon). Our party goal: Make The Networked Nonprofit a top ten bestseller in Amazon.com's business book section before the book is issued (Official release date: July 9). Join us on the 21st at 4 eastern/1 pacific for questions and answers about the book The Networked Nonprofit. Whether you want to watch the dynamic duo live on your computer or just chat with them on Twitter, the party will be a blast."
  • Amazon Patents Social Networking System, Winks at Facebook – "The United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded Amazon a patent for a “Social Networking System.” Amazingly enough, the description of the patent sounds, well, pretty much like any social network we’ve seen over the years, including Facebook."
  • open data doesn't empower communities | internet.artizans – "Open data doesn't empower communities. I'm not saying open data is a bad thing, but we need to highlight the gap between the semantic web and social impact. Otherwise we'll continue to get swept along on a tide of technocratic enthusiasm where hope lies in 'a flood of data to create a data-literate citizenry'."
  • The Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving – "Economic conditions, natural disasters, and market fluctuations have made it extremely difficult for nonprofits to make fundraising decisions informed by the latest donor behavior. That is why we created the Blackbaud Index of Charitable Giving — to provide fundraisers with up-to-date data on fundraising trends and to couple that information with valuable analysis by leaders in the sector." The trend is up 12.1%!
Published on June 17, 2010 by Amy Sample Ward. 1 Comment

Great reads from around the web on May 28th

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I come across so many great conversations, ideas, and resources all over the web every day. Here are some of the most interesting things I’ve found recently (as of May 28th). 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).

  • YouTube Goes Fully Social And Challenges Facebook | Community Organizer 2.0 – "Today, YouTube announced that every single YouTube channel now comes equipped with a moderator feature. It’s an incredibly exciting step to see YouTube becoming fully social. The moderator feature allows any channel to ask for ideas, questions, or suggestions from the community..right from your YouTube channel. Users may vote the crowdsourced ideas up or down. By integrating Google moderator, YouTube has brought real time engagement features into play and made it 100% more engaging."
  • Explaining racial differences in attitudes towards government use of social media | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project – "Last week a reporter from the New York Times read our recent Government Online report and emailed me with a question—how did I explain the disparity between African-Americans' and Hispanics' views of the importance of government social media versus whites? Did I think it had anything to do with minorities being more trusting of the government during the Obama era? Since my reply got pared down due to space constraints, I’m reproducing my response to his query in full below."
  • The new JustGiving Facebook app is here « JustGiving blog – JustGiving has a new facebook application out! It launches alongside the current JustGiving application for Facebook which was launched in 2007, which has seen over a half million users – and over 139,000 active in the past month – and over 9500 fans. The JustGiving team is always great about sharing stories, lessons, and insights – so I'll be watching to see how this new tool goes!
  • Wild Apricot Blog : Make Your Own Infographic – "Infographics are to data what storytelling is to an annual report: a more engaging way to help bring attention and understanding to your nonprofit’s cause. Yesterday we looked at an interesting infographic that suggested a new way to view your volunteers. Today, let’s look at infographics in general – and resources to help your nonprofit get started on making your own."
  • Minnesota Open Idea: Crowdsourcing Contest For Social Change Done Right | Beth’s Blog – "The Minnesota Open Idea is an example of an online social good contest that works. It combines expert judging with popular vote, online strategy with good old fashion off line organizing, links objectives to a theory of change, and incorporates a fun and engaging way for people to learn about and take action on a timely community problem. In this interview, Jennifer Ford Reedy, VP for Strategy and Knowledge Management, at the Minnesota Community Foundation shares the how they designed this online social good contest for success."
Published on May 28, 2010 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

The Networked Nonprofit – #10NTC

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This session with Beth Kanter and Allison Fine will be presented as a webinar and recorded as part of 10NTC Live.  10NTC Registrants can register for the free recording by entering the source code you received via email. Register Now!

Social networks and social media has busted out of the marketing communications and fundraising silos and changing the way nonprofits deliver programs, manage, and even govern.  This session will take a look about these trends and how nonprofits can equipment themselves to be networked nonprofits.

——

http://networkednonprofit.wikispaces.com

The writing process for the book:

  • Expository vs storytelling
  • Different brains – visual vs words
  • Helpful guide tone vs colorful and wordy
  • Hired an arbitrator to be the editor

There was one thing that we both had in common: chocolate.

What is the Networked Nonprofit?

Working through networks allows us to scale social change projects geographically and geometrically. When you do that, there’s an entity called the networked nonprofit.

BE:

  • understand networks
  • create social culture
  • listen, engage, and build relationships
  • trust through transparency
  • simplicity

Do:

  • work with crowds
  • learning loops
  • friending to funding
  • governing through networks

Three Themes from the Book:

1. Social Culture

Red Cross – started social media efforts shortly after Katrina when people weren’t saying very good things. Wendy was hired “to make the bloggers go away.” As she started putting into practice some great listening practices, she realized that listening was the gateway drug for social media.  Staff started to see the value in social media and it led to adoption of tools. Fast forward to 2009, Wendy led a process internally to create a social media guidelines and operational handbook. It’s evolving the social culture of the organization.

Step 1: overcoming the fear and opening up – can’t let fears keep you from moving forward.

Step 2: make learning in public less stressful, worst case scenarios and contingency plans.

Step 3: Reflection – where the greatest learning is

Momsrising uses joyful funerals for things that don’t work. The richest insights come when we are at the wake of a joyful funeral.

Step 4: Leaders experience personal use.

Codifying a Social Culture: Policy

Most important thing in a social media policy: be professional, kind, discreet, authentic. represent us well. remember that you can’t control it once you hit send.

Step 5: Testing the policies: refining, educating

Operational guidelines need to be specific and include examples!

2. Transparency

The gravitational pull of social media is from inside organization out. You can’t close yourself off from the world.  3 kinds of organizations: Fortress, Transactional, and Transparent.

Transparency is not the same as being in a glass house. Think about national archives, behind a glass case – there’s still a barrier even if it is see-through.  A better anology is a natural sponge. They are anchored to the ocean floor, they let in 20 thousand times their weight of water through them every day, and they hold the nutrients from the water. It’s about engaging, that’s why you can’t have a glass wall.

Radical transparency: all naked all the time. You can’t run organizations that way. We don’t know where the line is but the line is there.

3. Simplicity

charity:water – focus on what you do best and network the rest.

You have too much to do because you do too much.

4. Reflection

One small step: what is one small step that you can take to make a big different in your organization to become a networked nonprofit.

http://networkednonprofit.wikispaces.com

Published on April 9, 2010 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

My Social Actions – is it yours, too?

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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

NetSquared welcomed in the UK!

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I have been busy since we moved to London last month, meeting with leaders of the local nonprofit technology community to hear what the biggest obstacles are facing consultants and staff working to help nonprofits adopt strategic technologies, biggest needs are for a group that brings the community together (Net Tuesday London!), and what I can do help.  The conversations have been affirming, enlightening and enthusiastic.  I’m ready to go!

Net Tuesday London is officially in the works!  Put the evening of November 4th on your calendars folks – it should be a wonderful first event bringing together social changemakers of all kinds to discuss social media.  More details will be announced soon.

Two great movers-and-shakers that I’ve had the opportunity to talk with include David Wilcox and Dave Briggs.  David wrote up a fantastic intorduction for me on the SocialReporter blog.  Here’s a bit:

A year ago a group of enthusiasts for web-enabled social innovation and change met in London committed to setting up Netsquared in the UK, loosely based on the Netsquared conference and community started in the US.

It didn’t happen like that, and although the social innovation landscape is now more highly populated, a bit more joining-up would be helpful.

Fortunately Netsquared has come to us, because community builder Amy Sample Ward has moved to London to start up Net Tuesdays like those common in the US and elsewhere. As you’ll see from the video, Amy is already networking furiously, and would like to partner up with others in the field for events and other activities.  Read more…

Dave gave a wonderful shout out as well!

I also got the chance to catch up with Amy Sample Ward, who works with NetSquared helping non-profits get the most out of technology. She’s now based in London and will be doing her best to help UK NFPs catch up.  Read more…

Thanks so much to all the people I’ve talked with so far about supporting the nonprofit technology community here in London and in the UK!  I’m just thrilled to be working with you.

Here’s the interview David recorded with me yesterday:


Amy Sample Ward from David Wilcox on Vimeo.

Published on October 15, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 4 Comments

NetSquared Blog – Guest posts this week

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Many of you are familiar with the super star Britt Bravo, she is part of the Net Squared team, her blog is Have Fun * Do Good, and she represents Big Vision Consulting.  Well, Britt is on a much-deserved vacation and asked me to fill in for her daily blogging on the Net Squared community blog.

I just posted about CARE Connections, the new, free, online network bringing together those interested in and working to end global poverty.  It is an interesting network to check out, especially if you or your organization focus on women’s empowerment, anti-poverty, and/or world news. 

CARE is a humanitarian organization working to fight global poverty by serving individuals and families in the poorest communities of the world. CARE recently launched CARE Connections, a free, online community to connect you with others supporting global poverty work, women’s empowerment, world news and more. You can learn more about CARE Connections, here.

With CARE Connections, you can:

  • Connect with others who share your interests in global poverty and humanitarian aid news.
  • Join the conversation on the blog
  • Tap into the latest news from around the Web on global poverty, women’s empowerment and world events
  • Create your own profile, invite others and form groups and events

Read more about CARE Connections on the Net Squared blog.

Published on July 21, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

Be The Media: Working in a networked way

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NTEN and Beth Kanter are igniting a great collaboration between nonprofit technology social media folks, called Be the Media. This experiment in working in a networked way is a terrific example of social media in and of itself!

Some terrific folks are signing on to collaborate and share their knowledge of social media tools, strategies, and success stories. (You can see the list of participants here.)

Be The Media is based on the beliefs that:

  • With the advent of Web 2.0, more and more nonprofits understand the opportunity of using social media strategies and tools to realize outcomes.
  • Nonprofits that want to integrate social media strategies and tool need practical skills, advice, examples, and methods that will improve their effectiveness.
  • There are many excellent existing social media guides, articles, resources, checklists, and training materials in the nonprofit sector and beyond. Building the curriculum in a networked way on a wiki and offering it through a creative commons license will allow nonprofit practitioners to share ideas and avoid duplication.

Be The Media will:

  • Pull together a wide variety of individuals who will collectively help contribute ideas and pointers to content that is meaningful to the nonprofit leaders and staffers who are charged with integrating social media into their communications strategy
  • Provide a hub for the vetted resources, connections, and conversation on this topic.
  • Provide access to resources such as articles, tips, checklists, presentations, case studies, and individuals offered by people in the network.

I’m really excited to be part of this process! What I am most excited about is to see the way the organizing/participating/leading network grows and changes the content and the way the following/learning network grows and changes the project’s goals and deliverables.  By this I mean to say that I predict those following the project as ‘students’ or listeners, etc., have quite the potential to shift where the project goes based on voicing opinions, questions, and needs.  Those participating as leaders/experts will have a responsibility to listen to those voices and steer this experiment in the appropriate direction.

I think it will be a great opportunity for all of those involved to learn a lot about the power of networks as well as the topic areas/individual tools/etc.  You can check out the Be The Media project here.

What questions do you have about social media that you hope to learn more about and want the Be The Media project to address?

Published on July 1, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 1 Comment

Networking for Success: Beth’s turn!

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A couple weeks ago, I had a chance to mentor for the Networking for Success project which helps teach African women about web 2.0 tools and how they can utilize the Internet in their work.  It is a great opportunity to facilitate learning using the very tools they are learning about!

This week is Beth Kanter‘s turn as mentor with the topic of Effective Networking Online.  You can check out her post and follow along during her week.

Beth is a terrific mentor for the topic and the project.  Her first post on the Networking for Success blog for this week is a great online networking primer for anyone to refer to.  I recommend you check it out and stay tuned this week as the participating women learn more and engage via the blog with their own thoughts, questions, and ideas.

Have you ever participated in a learning process which required you to utilize the very skills you were learning?

Published on June 23, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 1 Comment