Let’s Connect at the NTC!

It’s that time again: time to meet up at the Nonprofit Technology Conference!  This year it’s taking place in Atlanta, GA and I’ve got such a long list of people to meet, talk to, and learn from. This year’s event will have me quite busy so I’m hoping that by putting out some of my plans, we can find time to connect so I can learn more about your work!

These are the sessions I’m participating in and other sessions by TechSoup Global staff that I may be supporting or checking out as well.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

NetSquared Open Space (NOS): APIs and Open Data

• Who: Facilitating: Amy Sample Ward | NetSquared; Billy Bicket | NetSquared
• When: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
• What: Learn how your organization could use open data and APIs to show your impact, coordinate volunteers, or inspire supporters to take action. The NOS session is a chance for anyone interested in open data and APIs to connect and collaborate. Even if you’ve never participated in an ‘unconference’ event like this, no worries! The NetSquared team will be working the room to activate and facilitate conversations so everyone can enjoy the ride.

Social Media Veterans (#smvets)

• Who: Speaker: Rachel Weidinger | TechSoup Global
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: This meeting is for for people at orgs who have been using social media for several years and will be a forum to exchange advanced level tips and stories, as well as share what’s worked and what hasn’t.

Local Community Organizers (#localco)

• Who: NetSquared and other Community Organizers
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: This is a chance for local organizers to share stories and lessons learned and network with those considering starting a group.

Science Fair: The NTC Exhibit Hall

• Who: TechSoup Global staff
• When: 3:00 – 8:00 pm
• What: Booth #4 – The Science Fair is an opportunity for companies and organizations that provide technology services to the nonprofit sector to show off their latest and greatest offerings to everyone attending the Nonprofit Technology Conference. This marketplace of ideas will be filled with simultaneous presentations and hands-on demos, and includes the conference’s Opening Reception. It’s open to the public so invite your local Atlanta friends to meet you there!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Member Lounge Hosted by TechSoup Global Redwood Room

• When: All Day
• What:  Relax, or join the fun – it’s up to you! In the lounge you’ll be able to do both with snacks and wi-fi in addition to smart activities that’ll promote engagement with other do-gooders. Activities include:
  – Human Bingo: A fun and easy way to network with other attendees
  – Event Space Hacks: Two great ideas, unlimited open dialogue with peers
  – Open Data Storytelling: Learn how to best tell your organization’s story
  – East-West Technology, Culture & Food Exchange: Innovation and culture sharing with NGO counterparts in India

Listen First! Finding Networks and Connections in Social Media – [Juniper] (#netconx)

• Who: Speakers: Susan Tenby | TechSoup Global; Janet Fouts; Kira Marchenese
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: An important part of your social media strategy should be listening for people and organizations who are talking about the issues you want to discuss.How do you know which networks will be most effective to reach your goals? Listen first and discover where the conversations are!

Bringing Community Organizing Into Online Campaigns – [International Ballroom C] (#co2oc)

• Who: Speakers: Amy Sample Ward | Netsquared; Debra Askanase; Ivan Boothe
• When: 1:30 p.m.
• What: What is the basis of community organizing and why is it important to online campaigns? Traditional community organizing informs a successful online campaign and lays the groundwork for a sustainable, effective movement for social change. In this session, participants will get their hands dirty planning a social media campaign that integrates traditional organizing theory and practice. During the workshop, we will present traditional community organizing principles and methods of campaign mapping. We will also ask up to three attending organizations to present an idea for an upcoming campaign and goals. Attendees will divide into break-out groups to design the online campaign. The groups will use both community organizing principles and social media tools to create an online social media campaign. Each group will present its campaign strategy and tactics to the entire workshop. Workshop leaders will offer feedback and evaluation. Come to the session with your online campaign ideas, and get ready to have fun mapping out a campaign!

Unleashing Technology to Advance Social & Economic Development – [International Ballroom A] (#tech2adv)

• Who: Speakers: Marnie Webb | TechSoup Global; Michael Best; Edward Granger-Happ; Jane Meseck
• When: 1:30 p.m.
• What: Technology can be an amazing tool for social and economic development. It can help people get a better education, learn new skills to earn a living wage, or start a business. It also can enable organizations to meet community needs by broadening access to healthcare, education, micro-banking and other essential services. One of the most significant advances in information technology (IT) today is the growing connectivity among devices— computers, mobile phones and even televisions. With the widespread penetration of mobile phones and other handheld devices that connect to the Web, nearly 4 billion people worldwide now have some level of access to computing. Increasingly powerful and feature-rich software applications are emerging to run these intelligent and interconnected mobile computing devices. At the same time, the Internet continues to mature as a gateway for “cloud computing,” in which remote datacenters host data and serve applications over the Web for use across a broad spectrum of devices and IT systems. The convergence of device connectivity, software innovation and cloud-based services offers great potential to improve how we all work, but even more significant promise for NGOs to manage their operations more effectively, deliver a broader array of services and achieve a greater impact in the communities they serve. This Leadership session will bring together a panel of top NGO IT experts and CIOs for an interactive and forward thinking discussion of technology’s potential as a disruptive force o better achieve their missions and accelerate social and economic development.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Member Lounge Hosted by TechSoup Global Redwood Room

• When: All Day
• What:  Relax, or join the fun – it’s up to you! In the lounge you’ll be able to do both with snacks and wi-fi in addition to smart activities that’ll promote engagement with other do-gooders. Activities include:
  – Human Bingo: A fun and easy way to network with other attendees
  – Event Space Hacks: Two great ideas, unlimited open dialogue with peers
  – Open Data Storytelling: Learn how to best tell your organization’s story
  – East-West Technology, Culture & Food Exchange: Innovation and culture sharing with NGO counterparts in India

Building Stronger Online Communities Without Losing Your Sanity – [International Ballroom B] (#strongoc)

• Who: Speakers: Amy Sample Ward | Netsquared; Mrs. Peggy Duvette; Christine Egger; Manny Hernandez
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: If you want to build a strong online community, getting the right platform in place is only half the battle, and it’s the easy half. In this peer-led discussion, we’ll share our experiences of online community building and build lists of best practices around recruiting new members and retaining them, increasing participation and moderating your community.

Cross Platform Events that Rock – [International Ballroom A] (#cperock)

• Who: Speakers: Susan Tenby & Megan E. Keene | TechSoup Global; Evonne Heyning
• When: 10:30 a.m.
• What: Online events aren’t only about having a conversation on your own website. How can you get more people involved by meeting them where they’re at? We’ll use the TSdigs event in October 2009 as a case study. The event took place on forums, webinars, Tweetchat, Second Life, flickr and YouTube. This cross-platform event allowed for multiple levels of interaction with the single goal of teaching nonprofits how to tell stories digitally. The panel will take place across a mixed-reality framework, to illustrate the process and feeling of a cross-platform/mixed reality event.

Greening Your Technology – [Cottonwood B] (#greentech)

• Who: Speakers: Anna S. Jaeger | TechSoup Global; Robin Billings; David Deal; Steve Lippman
• When: 1:30 p.m.
• What: Learn how to reduce the environmental impact of your information technology and how to effectively use IT to improve your organizations’ efficiency. In this session, we will explain how to green your IT infrastructure and effectively use software and hardware to reduce the environmental impact of your operations. We invite audience participation, so bring and share your ideas. We will start out with a panel of nonprofit technology and vendor product experts and then break out into smaller groups to discuss best practices and real-world solutions. Often going green does not necessitate spending more money; in fact, it frequently can help you reduce energy, resource usage and costs. Whether you are thinking about cloud computing, power management, hardware procurement or travel reduction come join our workshop to discuss tools and practices that can help you go green.

Follow the Conference Live

There are various ways you can follow the NTC online from wherever you are, as select sessions and key note speakers will be live-streamed, various people will be live-blogging, and the Twitter stream for sessions will be active.

• Live-streamed events
• Sessions as webinars
• Follow in social media

I will also be using Twitter and blogs during the event: Twitter @amyrsward and @NetSquared as well as this blog and the NetSquared Blog.

Can’t wait to see you there!