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).

• Is For-Profit the Future of Non-Profit? – Amy Schiller – The Atlantic – “Charity is for patsies. If you really care about making the world a better place, buy a trendy bag. That was the logic Lauren Bush Lauren articulated in a 2013 interview about FEED, a for-profit entity she founded that creates simple, eco-friendly tote bags whose price covers the cost of donating school meals to children in Rwanda via the UN World Food Program”
• What Solutions Are Hiding In Our PDFS? : The Rockefeller Foundation – “The World Bank recently published a noble and important report with answers to the question Is anyone reading our reports and publications? They note that nearly 50 percent of their policy reports have the goal to inform and influence the social impact sector, yet more than 31 percent of these reports are never downloaded, and 87 percent are never cited.”
• Google’s Ray Kurzweil: The Business Of Extending Human Life Is Going Into “High Gear” | Co.Exist | ideas impact – “Over the last many centuries, human life expectancy has very gradually lengthened with improved health and medical technologies and research. In the next 20 years, we can expect our expected life spans to be extended at a far more rapid pace than in the past.”
• Facebook Manipulated User News Feeds To Create Emotional Responses – “Facebook conducted a massive psychological experiment on 689,003 users, manipulating their news feeds to assess the effects on their emotions. The details of the experiment were published in an article entitled “Experimental Evidence Of Massive-Scale Emotional Contagion Through Social Networks” published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. The short version is, Facebook has the ability to make you feel good or bad, just by tweaking what shows up in your news feed.”
• Which Social Networks Are Growing Fastest Worldwide? – eMarketer –

Location: San Francisco, CA

Topic: At the Cross Section of Web, Social and Mobile

Description: ADisparate marketing channels complicates the life of the average NPO today. How can a non-profit today use mobile technology, social and web in a way that increases participation, ensures success and provides easier management campaign and their resulting data points. Learn about the tools available that bring mobile, web and social together.

Related Links:

• Innogive Program
• Panel recap on Beth Kanter’s blog

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).

• Why Your Infographic Is Evil (And Three Ways To Fix It) – “Blogger’s confession: I can spend a couple of hours interviewing sources and crafting a post several hundred words long and get a couple of thousand hits. Or I can write a pithy introduction, repurpose an infographic that has already appeared on several other sites and most likely was created by a public relations firm or a company looking to push a product and service and end up doubling or tripling those traffic numbers. I’ve done both. But I’m not necessarily proud of succumbing to the infographic trend. I’m not bashing infographics. Some of my best friends are graphic artists who design infographics that are eye catching, smart and tell stories better than my words ever could. But this latest visual Internet fad of telling almost every story with a dense infographic is something that I’m hoping will soon be played out.”
• Red Cross Opens Social Media Center For Disaster Response – TheNonProfitTimes – “The American Red Cross (ARC) has launched a digital operations center and digital volunteer program to coordinate response efforts during disasters, particularly when storm victims are huddled in a basement away from other forms of communication. The Digital Operations Center demonstrates the increasing importance of social media in emergency situations. The launch of a Digital Volunteer program will help Red Cross respond to questions and information from the public during disasters.”
• Crowdraising | Heath Wickline – “Advertising can be a great vehicle to make a real, emotional connection with our audiences and to raise the visibility of a campaign or organization. But the expense of buying ad space can be a barrier to many nonprofits. Ads aren’t worth a thing if no one seems them, and ad prices are based on the number of eyeballs that will see them. That’s why Super Bowl spots are obscenely expensive while you see ads for local furniture stores in the middle of the night. It’s how the system works and it’s a conundrum. Social media may now provide an answer. A new online platform calledLoudSauce is looking to change that difficult advertising equation by introducing a simple way for individuals to amplify ideas they like.”
• What can local websites offer the BBC and other public service providers? | Networked Neighbourhoods – “Networked Neighbourhoods has been working with the BBC to test the potential contribution of an alliance of London neighbourhood sites, using the forthcoming digital switchover as a catalyst. With representatives from a number of London local networks and heritage media groups, gathered in the council chamber at Broadcasting House yesterday, we explored the ways in which neighbourhood websites could be used as part of a two-way public service information network.”
• Facebook Fan Gates Are Dead: How Do I Get Fans? | Brian Carter – “A stunning change with the new Facebook Timeline is that you can no longer have a landing/welcome tab for your business page. Everyone is going to land on your Timeline Page with the big cover photo. You’ll still have apps (tabs) but they’ll be even harder for people to find. Few people were going to Facebook pages already, fewer were clicking on the tabs, and now it will be nearly zero.”

Location: Austin, TX

Topic: Social Media Boundaries: Personal/Personnel Policy

Description: As our networks expand, our profiles get more public, and our work requires a human face, where do we draw the line between personal and professional identities online? How do we maintain those boundaries for our community members? How do we respond to attacks, opportunities, and over-shares online? When does over-sharing hurt the community? When should you share your own personal stories as a manager, or personally reach out to community members? Growing and cultivating an active community also requires that the community manager walk the fine line of personal and professional sharing. Every community manager wonders when and how to professionally cultivate leaders and members to create a thriving community while still being personal. On the reverse side, sometimes community members share too much, which can hurt the health of the community. This panel will address these questions and more from experience in nonprofit and public media sectors.

Related Links:

• SXSW
• Debra Askanase blog
• Session recording
• Session notes and resources

Location: New York

Topic: Mastering Social Networking as a Volunteer

Description: Want to spread the word about all the great work you do with New York Cares? In Mastering Social Networking as a Volunteer, you will learn specific strategies for utilizing web sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to spread the word about your volunteer experience with New York Cares. Learn how to post effective messages and keep readers interested in what you have to say. A New York Cares Communication staff member will be co-leading this session.

Related Links:

• New York Cares conference
• Presentation slides

Listening Dashboard

Why create a listening dashboard?

• Save time looking for news
• Monitor multiple channels at once
• Track your organization and your cause
• Create a shared tracking space for your team or whole organization

How to get started:

• I suggest using Netvibes, you can also try iGoogle or even Google Reader
• Use this step-by-step guide for adding RSS feeds
• Refer to the slides below for examples

Content Map

Why create a content map?

• It provides an easy-to-access reference for everyone in the organization showing all content and outlets
• Supports cross-team collaboration as staff understand where their content is going
• Supports tracking and analysis for message and call to action response

How to get started:

• Use this template: http://bit.ly/DIYtemplate
• Follow this step-by-step guide for using the template
• Refer to the slides below for examples

Content Calendar

Why create a content calendar?

• Easy reference
• Coordinated messages
• Supports tracking and segmenting
• Ensure people receive appropriate amount of messages
• Create multiple touch-points
• ID traffic sources

How to get started:

• I prefer Google Calendar, though you can use any shared calendar you have in place in your organization – DivvyHQ is designed specifically for this purpose
• Create a format; ie: Message (STAFF) – Segments, Details
• Use color codes as possible
• Use all-day and timed events
• all-day for emails and blog posts
• timed events for social media posts

Here’s an example:

DIY Management Tools

For looking for a list of suggested tools, here’s a place to get started!

Free tools:

• Google Apps
• Tweetdeck, Hootsuite
• Bit.ly
• Netvibes
• Google Analytics
• Storify

Tool-Specific tools:

• Twitalyzer
• 14blocks
• booshaka
• EdgeRank
• Klout

Low-Cost tools:

• Hootsuite Pro
• CoTweet
• Small Act’s Thrive
• Spredfast
• Sprout Social

Location: New York, NY

Topic: Philanthropy and Social Media

Description: To launch the whitepaper, Philanthropy and Social Media, presented by The Institute for Philanthropy and The Indigo Trust, this panel discussed the impact of social media on philanthropy and giving from various perspectives. In addition to myself, the panel included: Ben Scott (Policy Advisor for Innovation at the US Department of State), Mayur Patel (Vice President of Strategy and Assessment, Knight Foundation), Scott Oki (Entrepreneur, Venture Capitalist, and Co-Founder of SeeYourImpact.org).

Related Links:

• The Institute for Philanthropy
• The Indigo Trust
• Download the whitepaper (PDF)
• Blog post with speaking notes

—–

Google+, the social network launched by Google nearly 5 months ago, has recently opened up the platform to organizations and brands with a profile type akin to the options for individuals and Pages on Facebook. Many early adopters in the nonprofit community were already working hard (despite announcements from Google that they would police use and roll-out an organization-specific profile option) to start building a space for their organization’s profile on the new social network since it originally launched. Those same early adopters and others have now jumped right in to create an official profile for their organization in Google+, with many sharing some concerns or complaints about the options and functionality available.

In a sector where we are always trying to do more with less, we can’t be fooled into thinking our strategies for engagement on online networks can be cut and pasted from one space to the next. Here are a few reasons why using multiple social networking platforms doesn’t just mean you repeat your effort.

Community First

Who is using the platform? Is your community largely tech-savvy early adopters? So far, the demographics of Google+ skew toward American males working in technology. By last month, the user ratio between male and female had come up to about 70/30 and the country with the second highest number of users was India at about 13 percent. One of the core principles in community engagement is to use the tools your community is using. If your community meets offline at a local watering hole to share opinions and make plans, don’t bother setting up a Twitter account with the purpose of influencing them. But if they congregate online, on a community news site or blog network, join them in conversation there.

It’s the same with any platform. Pay attention to your community. If they are using the tool, then join them. If they’re not, it’s OK to wait—especially if time and energy are scarce.

The Price of Early Adoption

Organizations that joined Facebook early on endured the “price of early adoption”—they were the guinea pigs for a platform that was still figuring out just what to do with this form of user. Just as Facebook experienced users putting an organizational profile into the system designed for individuals, Google+ attempted to swiftly moderate nonindividual profiles and publicized an application form for first-round brand profiles once the functionality was available. Now that it is here and organizations are jumping in to create their profile on Google+, they’ll need to work through the kinks.

Changes, new functionality, and platform iterations will continue indefinitely—for better or worse. The difference is that in these early stages, changes could mean your investment literally disappears or you need to start over. As many have already complained, you cannot (for the moment, at least) share access to a brand page on Google+. If your current social media plan and strategy calls for staff transparency and shares responsibility across staff, Google+ may not work at the level you need just yet.

Apples and Oranges

Ultimately, though Facebook and Google+ (or any other networking platform for that matter) are both social networking tools, there are important differences. MySpace, Friendster, FriendFeed, Diaspora, Bebo, and others all offer plenty of fuel to the argument that comparing two social platforms has to go beyond the functionality of messaging, commenting, and connecting to your friends. The differences between the platforms are real and important to consider when deciding whether or not it’s a place where you can advance your goals—whether they’re engagement, communication, fundraising, or anything else.

For example, if your organization currently uses Facebook as a major channel for fundraising, you are probably actually using Causes—an application that runs within Facebook—for the management of the campaigns, communications, and donations. That’s an important clarification because it means that your strategy doesn’t use “Facebook” as the tactical level of implementation, and you can’t simply duplicate that on Google+ now. If, instead, you use a private group on Facebook to organize volunteers or champions who are instrumental to your fundraising efforts, but your activity, communications, and donations are taking place elsewhere, then creating a similar strategy for Google+ could work. It’s integral to the success of online efforts to recognize just where these various tools and platforms compare and where they are dramatically different.

What do you think? Are you using Google+ now and have you set up a profile for your organization? Please share the link and your thoughts about the experience so far!

—–

Whether your organization has had a presence on Facebook for years or just days—or you’re considering starting now—trying to follow along with all the changes to functionality, options, and analytics is incredibly overwhelming. Just when you think you have it all figured out, a new button appears or you can’t find the same options you had before—there’s always something changing!

The good news is that the nonprofit technology community is rich in sharing, and there are lots of online tutorials about this latest wave of updates on Facebook. I’ve pulled a few of them together here. (Note: You can find resources about Facebook on Facebook using its resource center.)

Remember Strategy First

In the midst of all this change, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture and why you are using Facebook for your organization in the first place—instead, we focus on the particulars of how to use new tabs, plugins, or applications. The fact that so much is changing—and will continue to change—should reinforce the idea that our use of Facebook (or any other platform, for that matter) should be guided by a larger strategy with goals that further our missions. Beth Kanter compiled examples of the way organizations are using Facebook for specific purposes. Whether you’re using it for community building, marketing, communications, or anything else, you should have a strategy that extends beyond the “Like” button.

Calls to Action

Most organizations have a call to action, a campaign, or a fundraising push to promote on Facebook and other social media. You may already be using Facebook’s Causes application, which helps you spread messages and fundraise; it also empowers community members to do so on your behalf. If you are using it, then things just got easier; if you aren’t, you may want to try it. Facebook has just made changes that will let you do even more with the Causes application, such as promoting actions directly from a tab on your page. To learn more about it, I suggest going to the source: Causes has a post that walks you through the steps of promoting actions via a dedicated tab. If you’re looking to explore the dynamics of social sharing influencing online fundraising, read Debra Askanase’s recent overview.

Subscribers and Fans

One of the biggest changes shaking up Facebook users is the introduction of the Subscribe option. Much like Google+, Facebook now allows users to subscribe to pages and individuals without being directly connected (as a fan or friend). This means users can share content publicly with subscribers (and privately with their direct contacts). Organizations that have community managers, program managers, or other public-facing staff can now enable individuals to be organizational ambassadors who share news and information about programs, services, events and campaigns publicly. This increased activity in a public channel is increasing search results on Google too. Ted Fickes’s guest post on the Care2 Frogloop blog explains how this new feature impacts the way nonprofits are sharing news and updates.

Metrics that Matter

When it comes to using a third-party platform for community engagement, communications, marketing, and fundraising, organizations often find that they have trouble tracking the data they really want to, or they find it too difficult to get to the numbers that they stop trying all together. One of the new changes to Facebook is the expansion of Insights, the Facebook analytics tool. You can now see beyond the Likes and comments on your page. You can look at the demographics of those engaging with your content, measure your reach (the network of your fans), and get feedback on how well every each of your posts is received by the community. John Haydon has an in-depth video tutorial that will walk you through every report now available. John also outlines 39 questions your organization can now answer with Insights, including where your fans come from and which days your page sees the most activity. Understanding the options now available in Insights to help you track and analyze the way you and your community engage on the Page will dramatically increase your ability to be strategic with your efforts on Facebook. Strategy? Well, that takes us back up to the top…

Other Top Resources:

Here are a few other great compilations to check out:

• Facebook Changes Again: Everything You Need to Know from Mashable
• Facebook Updates Could Give Nonprofits Better Visibility from The Chronicle of Philanthropy
• How Your Nonprofit Can Benefit from the New Facebook from Event360
• 10 Recent Upgrades to Facebook Your Nonprofit Should Know About from Nonprofit Tech 2.0