Tag Archive for 'ntc'

10NTC: What do you want to talk about?

Published in events and presentation. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

NTEN’s Nonprofit Technology Conference held each Spring is always THE place to be for nonprofit techies: whether you work in a nonprofit organization or with one, are totally technical or fell into your techie job, like social media or like wiring an office.  The 10NTC will be April 8-10, 2010, in Atlanta, GA – mark your calendars now!

But, what do you want to talk about?

I have many things that I want to talk about at the NTC because it’s a one-of-a-kind opportunity to talk about ideas, get advice, or hear stories from others in real time, in one space, as fast as you can share them!  It’s truly like no other conference.  And, I always love getting to talk to people that I follow, read, and am in awe of from our sector IN PERSON! :)

The conference schedule for NTC has been developed openly and collaboratively.  Those interested were able to submit all kinds of great ideas for panels, workshops, and speaking sessions for the conference.  And now you get to vote on what you want to hear!

I am part of four different proposals and would love to have a chance to share some of the ideas and experiences I’ve had with all of you at the event (even if you can’t come in person, you know I’ll post my notes and ideas on this blog!).  Below are links to the four session proposals, and I’d love your support with a vote and comment on any that you want to have at the NTC!

There are so, so many great ideas submitted to next year’s conference line-up.  Review all of the ideas and vote on your favorites here! If you have any trouble voting or have questions about this selection process, please visit the 10NTC voting FAQ here.

See you in Atlanta for 10NTC!

Published on October 5, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 3 Comments

Nten’s Online Nonprofit Technology Conference is here!

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

NTEN, the Nonprofit Technology Network, puts on a massive, be-there-or-be-square conference for nonprofit professionals every year (in 2009, we met in San Francisco).  The next event is April 8-10, 2010, in Atlanta, GA.  But, if you don’t want to wait until April to dive into the knowledge and expertise in the NTEN network, you don’t have to!

The NTEN community co-authored a book and is planning an online conference for this Fall drawing on the contributors to move from writing to speaking.  Here’s what NTEN says:

Information Technology is an increasingly essential element of any nonprofit’s operations. But how often is IT an afterthought, often housed in a corner with the staff charged with implementation not brought to the decision-making table? In spite of this, many recognize that an effective technology manager or a well-oiled IT department can and does help extend the reach and scope of any organization. Helping technology managers and leaders understand and rectify the critical issues at the intersection of technology and mission is the inspiration behind the new NTEN book, Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission: A Strategic Guide for Nonprofit Leaders.

Now, the authors and other top experts in the nonprofit tech field will expand on the content and theme of the book during the interactive Online Nonprofit Technology Conference: Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission on September 16 and 17, 2009.

This is a great opportunity for people to participate in a national event, but without travel expenses!  To learn more about the topics and speakers, and how to register, visit:

http://nten.org/ontc

Published on August 7, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 2 Comments

09NTC Nonprofit Radio: How to Make Podcasts That Promote Your Brand and Engage Supporters

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I’m here at the 09NTC in Corey Pudhorodsky and Chad Norman’s session on podcasting!

Session Description:
With portable music players, smart phones, and cheap bandwidth everywhere, more and more online marketers are turning to podcasting as a powerful way to extend the reach of their brands and engage supporters. We’ll discuss how to produce a podcasts using free tools and from scratch, including pre-production, recording, editing, processing, and rendering. Then, we’ll look at various ways to market your podcast via your own website, the social web, and the iTunes Music Store. And finally, we’ll learn from a few case studies and go over some production best practices. So, bring your iPods and earbuds, and let’s podcast!

Check out their postcasts:

We’re live… !

Who is your audience? existing and target

  • data from edison research from 2008 on podcasting listenership
  • general awareness at around 40%, though…
  • people don’t necessarily know they are consuming a podcast, audio embedded in rss etc.
  • about 50/50 male/female
  • well educated demographic, avg income over 100K
  • 36% of listeners are most likely to have made online transactions recently
  • fluent and engaged online
  • look at stats and compare to your audience to see if it is a fit

More importantly, think about the constituents you want to attract or already engage. Can determine your theme.  Maybe you just target your board members to keep them informed, etc.; maybe one just for employees as an internal stream for updates on work and projects.  Mabye just for your volunteers to update them on volunteer opportunities.  Poll your constituency to see what they are already listening to to find themes that are appealing etc.

Consider your story.

This is the one thing that will secure the success of your podcast more than anything else.  If there are a lot of others doing the same format or topic, could be harder to get an audience.  Also look at who is going to do it – hosted show vs curated show, etc.

Take dynamic speakers from your organization, put in front of the microphone, and help share their passion and stories.  With a podcast you can edit the content, take out the “ums” and “ahs” and craft a great story.

What are your goals?

Are you trying to drive supporters, find funders, or volunteers, etc.?  Make sure that you aren’t making a podcast just to have one. Create a strategy and production plan, a schedule for the topics, etc. Maybe you want it to be seasonal and only have 9 months when you have information to share, or you want it to be on a set schedule, etc.

Hardware

One of the biggest challenges for many people.  USB headset, dynamic or condenser mics, soundboard, mobile devices, video recording, etc.

You can start small – whatever you have, even just a web cam mic.  No reason to let the hardware hold you back.  Often the cheaper out of the box equipment will help a lot because the more advanced and expensive equipment is going to have a lot of settings and options that you’ll have to manage.  You’ll take a while before you find your legs – get started hearing your voice and get feedback before you launch into the field.

Mic – to go straight into your computer with a usb headset or mic; next step up is a dynamic or condenser mic.  a dynamic could be about $20-30, the condenser could be as low as $150.  Those will pick up vibrations and everything so you’ll want a stand or a boom to lift it off the desk where people are touching/moving.  Consider how you are recroding: if you are in a board room with many people you will want an omnidirectional mic to get everyone’s voices or if you are at your desk you want a unidirectional for just your voice.

Soundboards – definitely not necessary. they make digital soundboards that plug straight into your computer and record with various software options. if you are recroding with multiple people, you can record them to separate audio files so you can edit more easily.  allows you to backup the files by recording to multiple devices.

Mobile devices – if you are out in the field, etc. they are great for getting people wherever with minimal equpiment.  Can also use skype and record the call for bringing people together from wherever they are, etc.  Want one that recrods to mp3 or wav files (will be sending mp3 out for production eventually).  Great to have a lapel mic and ear phones (to monitor how the recording sounds).  Surfrider Foundation’s podcast often has interviews out in the field so you hear the ocean or birds and it adds to the recording.  Sometimes the ambient noise is good.

Video – Flip cameras are high quality, easy to use and cheap.  You can also use web cams for a video podcast.

Software

Audacity – open source and free, lots of community resources, have to download a separate mp3 encoder but they have links on their site.  Can import other sources well. Has multiple tracks, etc.  Almost always the first tool you are pointed to for podcasting.

Garage Band (mac) – many people use it on macs to edit, free on your mac

Sony Sound Forge – much like audacity but is single track. not free.

Adobe Audition – is robust but has a cost associated with it (check TechSoup from discounts for nonprofits!)

Levelator – free, from Conversations Network, takes the raw audio and does the compression and leveling for you to give you a better sound file – this means you are just editing out ums and ahs instead of also editing balance between speakers, etc.

Skype – you will need a 3rd party tool to record the call: pamela, hot recorder, audio hijack pro, quick time pro etc. they all have demo versions before you buy them to make sure they work on your machine.  they are all very cheap though.

When you are doing editing, you want to keep it in wav format because it is uncompressed.  Don’t convert it to mp3 until you are done editing.

Production

For every ten minutes of audio, it takes about an hour to edit and clean it up.

Export to mp3, things to consider:

Bit rate – indicator of the quality of the file. don’t want to go beneath 32 and 64 is even on the low end. with increased bandwidth, going with a higher bit rate is going to have a higher value, people are still able to stream it or download it, and store it. can split/switch from stero to mono channels or the other way around; most software can do it natively.

ID3 tags – can use itunes for this, drag album art and file over. let’s you listen to mp3 format before you upload it to be sure it sounds right, add tags, etc.  The tags let a program that is reading the file know what is on the file, so it’s more than the file name but the title, the time, genre, etc. it’s the metadata for the podcast episode. Title should have a form of date and podcast name so people can see if they have already listened to it already when skimming.

File size – length depends on the format of your show. there aren’t any rules really, so long as it is engaging! some are only one minute long and others are an hour or two even. you can have multiple formats where you have one a day that is really short and a less frequent longer one, be creative.

Itunes – you can get a link directly to your itunes listening to point people right there. Corey has about 1,000 downloads a week; but be careful of looking at downloads because they aren’t necessarily listening. Look at what the purpose of your podcast is and try to link metrics to the success of your goals, instead of downloads or listenership.

Show notes – want to make a summary of your show for both itunes, etc. but on your site to tell people what the show is about: who’s the guest, who is the host, what are the orgs or links mentioned.

Hosting Services

Can host your podcasts on your web servers, transfered through ftp, etc. but bandwidth can be an issue – with fees, etc. There are services to help podcasters by offering unlimited badwidth by limiting how much you can upload a month.

Liberated Syndication – great support services, great value, $5/month has 100 mg of upload. $10/month has 250 mg upload. other packages for video support.  Gives you good metrics for downloads, where people are coming from, etc.

OurMedia & Internet Archive – a bit more technical, archived forever, nonprofit organization, RSS and community building tools. upload to Internet Archive and use OurMedia to generate RSS feed, etc.

Amazone Web Services – for very cheap

Industry standard is not limiting bandwidth/downloads but only limit upload.  Bandwidth issues come in when you are putting it on your own website.

Pdocast Directories

iTunes – want to use their tags and categories, and get the direct link to your itunes listing. automatically downloads when people subscribe, etc.

Podcast Pickle & Podcast Alley & Odeo – good directory, has a good community forum, as well as embedable widget players for your website

Promoting

Blogging – if you blog about your sessions it helps Google pick it up; also gives people opportunity to comment and talk back

Social networking – use it to promote

Twitter – great/easy way to let people know when new episodes are out

Wordpress – has plugin to help with podcasts

RSS – the tool that lets people get the updates, just like with blog updates. the only difference is that there is an enclosure tag that points to the file. you can put mp3 files anywhere you want (that is where the badwidth cost is). the rss is the subscription and branding so will want that to be somewhere associated with your organization, etc. and not somewhere that will change really.

Cross Channel Promotion

  • website
  • email
  • newsletter
  • press release
  • advertisements
  • partners

Don’t let your podcast become an island from all the other communications you do.

Don’t think of podcasting being a direct revenue from advertising because it can dilute your brand and really not be worth very much (for example, maybe only a hundred dollars or so for every 1,000 listeners)

Yahoo has a great embed tool that doesn’t require any flash code, etc.

Start simple

BlogTalkRadio – call in, record your message, and as soon as you hang up you have your podcast in an mp3 (so you can’t edit it) with an RSS feed, etc. a great option for out in the field recording, it’s simple, etc. can start podcasting today, right now.

Growing

Invest in tools as you grow and as you want them, not up front.

Case Studies

Volunteer San Diego

  • interview volunteers, staff, directors
  • can see how integrated it is on their website
  • use the show notes well, point back to the blog, more information, etc.

The Nature Conservancy

  • very engaging
  • everything is on the website: itunes link, embed, show notes, etc.
  • really great content

Check out WeAreMedia.org for more resources and information on podcasting in nonprofits!

Published on April 28, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 4 Comments

2009 Nonprofit Video Awards: “Everyone’s Doing It”

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It’s time again for the Nonprofit Video Awards from DoGooderTV, sponosored by NTEN & See3 Communications.

If you were at the 08NTC last April, then you probably remember the awards ceremony for the 2008 contest.  The Humane Society of the US won for the video “Overlooked: The Lives of Animals Raised for Food.”  The winners will be announced at the NTC again this year, and hopefully the winning video won’t be too contrary to the meal during the awards ceremony!

The DoGooderTV Nonprofit Video Awards highlight organizations that are using video to inspire and ignite social change. This year’s theme, “Everyone’s Doing It”, is meant to include submissions of all shapes and sizes, from organizational vlogs, to staff-produced web clips, to high-end, professionally produced videos. If your organization made a video—any video—in 2008, we want to see it!

Submit as many videos as you’d like without any entry fees. Prizes will be awarded to the winning entries at the Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) in San Francisco on April 26-28, 2009. Deadline for submissions is March 26, 2009.

This year, we’ll be selecting winners from the following categories:

  • Staff Videos: videos produced, shot, and edited in-house by your staff
  • Vlogs : series of “video blog” entries about an organization, issue, or event
  • Long-form Videos: any video over 5 minutes
  • Short-form Videos: any video under 5 minutes
  • Overall Winner: best of show

The contest is sponsored by NTEN and See3 Communications, a leading provider of video, web, and online strategy services for nonprofits and social causes.

Learn more and submit your nonprofit videos!

Published on February 11, 2009 by Amy Sample Ward. 4 Comments

501 Tech Club – Conversations from the NTC

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Today was the April 501 Tech Club brown bag lunch event and we focused on some of the best parts of NTEN’s NTC which took place last month.

It was a great chance to talk between conference goers about highlights and questions and even more exciting to have folks who hadn’t been to the conference ask questions to start conversations. Some of the areas that we touched on include:

  • Leadership: Technology staff have a great opportunity for developing leadership skills and helping navigate the organization, with technology-related issues as well as non-technology-related issues. It strengthens the organization to have technology staff a part of the leadership team. Likewise, it is incredibly important for execitve directors to gain technology knowledge so that when new, shiny, tools/toys come out (which seems to happen every day!), there is an understanding of what the organization can and can’t adopt and how.
  • ROI (Return on Investment): Specifically that of Social ROI, for social media, is a growing body of thought and practice with lots of conversations about different ways to measure social media work that doesn’t relate specifically to fundraising dollars. The most prominent component of social media is the community building and conversational nature of the tools, so the development of ways to measure and evaluate your organization’s use of these tools is integral.
  • Social Media Adoption: I was part of or overheard many conversations reinforcing the idea that organization’s can’t, and don’t have the staff/time/support/money, to adopt every tool that comes out. Instead, campaigns and projects need to be designed around the organization’s missions and then appropriate technology can be used when it is appropriate.
  • Communities of Practice: It was interesting to see puddles of people form because of common job functions and experiences that transcended session tracks or table topics. Groups like IT directors, peer-to-peer fundraisers, and non-technical staff that manage or work with online tools in their campaigns. It was great seeing the offline communities form with people who only knew each other online or through other friends. It is very important for people to build their support community because so many of us work in situations where we are the only IT staff person and it can be a lonely position.
  • Vendors: Many people enjoyed the opportunity to meet with and talk to vendor company representatives IN PERSON. Shaking the hand of someone from PayPal or Salesforce really changed the faceless, distant organization to companies with human employees that nonprofits can connect with.
  • Mobiles: A constantly growing field in the nonprofit technology world is that of mobile technology and the changing opportunities for nonprofits leveraging the power mobiles hold for reaching out to communities in need and in crisis. It is a great field to watch, and if you are interested in learning more about mobile technology, Mobile Active is an awesome organization to check out.

If you are interested in attending the next 501 Tech Club meeting in Portland, it is May 28th from 1-2:30 at the NW Health Foundation. We will focus on ‘Storytelling in Crises’ with a presentation from Roger Burks of Mercy Corps. You can find out more and join the community online at http://groups.nten.org.

Published on April 30, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

New post on SSIR

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I have a new post up on the Stanford Social Innovation Review opinion blog!  I have been thinking a lot about the NTC session I blogged about before, regarding techies moving up into leadership roles in their organizations.  Here is an excerpt:

The discussion made me think about user-generated content and the two-way flow of information that comes with adopting new social media components.  This is usually one of the biggest sources of fear for organizations just beginning on the road to web 2.0. But isn’t the openness to letting go of control of the message and specific content similar to the opening of leadership opportunities for staff? (And shouldn’t it be that neither creates fear in the organization and its leadership team?)

You can read the rest on the SSIR blog here!

Published on April 3, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 0 Comments

Reflections on NTC: Lost in [tech] conversation

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Something that should be obvious about a conference for nonprofit technologists is that there was no lack of geeky conversation, ever, anywhere.  It was wonderful!  But, one thing that I thought was important to bring up and great that it was brought up in some of the sessions, was that we have to remember these few days of utopia are numbered, and normally we aren’t able to have the same kinds of conversations with the same kinds of vocabulary and assumed knowledge.

When we are working in offices at nonprofits or other philanthropic organizations, or consulting with these groups, we need to approach conversations in a different way, to avoiding losing people in our techie conversation.  How do you do that?

  • Don’t worry about avoiding conversations! Instead of agonizing over a conversation to leadership about needing $10k, find a way to start a conversation about how that investment can make the staff’s work more effective or efficient, or save money elsewhere.
  • Recognize the differences!  Talking to a fellow techie about new software, platforms, products, etc. can be great but so can conversations about those things with staff so long as you recognize the difference between features and benefits—tech people care about features, no one else does.  This goes for conversations with leadership, buy-in, training, etc.
  • Express what you want clearly! It is fine to ask for or recommend new budget items, upgrades, uses, or strategies; it’s more than fine, it’s your job!  But know your strengths and how to work within them so that what you are asking for and why is clear.
  • Don’t be a cheerleader for the accomplishment! You should, of course, always recognize accomplishments throughout your organization, including the technology department.  But, as a leader (and not just a techie) you should work to cheer on the people, the work and the tools instead of just the end accomplishments.  After all, it was the people, their hard work, and the tools chosen that got to that goal!

What kinds of conversations have you had as the “techie” (accidental or not!) and what results did you have?  How were you able to have the most “successful” conversations with your leadership or staff when dealing with technical matters?

Published on March 30, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 1 Comment

LIVE from NTC: E-advocacy

Published in blogging and liveblogging. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

One last live blog from the NTC here in New Orleans. Click on the link below if you want to follow along with (or read the archive of) E-Advocacy: Mission over Membership with Charles Lenchner, Colin Delany, Jonan Compitello, Farra Trompeter:

Click here to follow the live blog!

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

LIVE from NTC: Targeting your message

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I am going to live blog another session from today’s NTC here in New Orleans. Click below to follow along live (or read back from the archive) of Targeting Your Message: Values-Based Segmentation and Communication Strategies for Nonprofits with representatives from McQueen Morrow Associates:

Click to follow the live blog!

Published on March 21, 2008 by Amy Sample Ward. 1 Comment

LIVE from NTC: Online community building

Published in blogging and liveblogging. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , .

I am going to try out the newly released tool CoverItLive to cover what should probably be a terrific panel here at NTEN’s NTC. If you would like to follow along live with me or read back over the live transcript of the Building, Growing, and Sustaining a Vibrant Online Community – How to Reach Beyond Traditional Tools into the Web 2.0 Sphere with Beth Kanter, Susan Tenby, Keith Morris and Abby Sandlin, click here:

Watch the live blogging now!

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