Beth's Blog: Nonprofits and Social Media

Google Alerts Adds Feeds! Less Email Clutter

For novices just starting to explore social media, I recommend google alerts as the first listening step because they didn't have learn another application (RSS Readers) to get started. I use google alerts, but always wished they had an RSS option. I get way too email that I can barely keep up. So, I was so happy dancing to hear that they have added this option.

Project 10 -100 - $10 Million from Google for Ideas To Change the World

Project 10¹⁰⁰ (pronounced "Project 10 to the 100th") is a call for ideas to change the world by helping           as many people as possible. Here's how to join in.

 

1. Send us your idea by October 20th.
          Simply fill out the submission form giving us the gist of your idea. You can supplement           your proposal with a 30-second video.

 

2. Voting on ideas begins on January 27th.
We'll post a selection of one hundred ideas and ask you, the public, to choose twenty semi-finalists. Then an advisory board will select up to five final ideas. Send me a reminder to vote.

 

3. We'll help bring these ideas to life.
We're committing $10 million to implement these projects, and our goal is to help as many people as possible. So remember, money may provide a jumpstart, but the idea is the thing.

 

Good luck, and may those who help the most win.

Google Apps Book Giveaway

Okay, I admit I'm reading tech books at the beach.  Earlier last month, the good folks at O'Reilly offered me some books for my summer reading list.  I requested a second copy so I could do a book giveaway for you all! 

Here's the first one.

I'm like many of you accidental techies out there  ... I've developed a method of trying to figure things out through a little trial and error, asking other people, or searching the FAQs or online user forums.   But that only goes so far.    And, if I had to support other people or was teaching a workshop on Google Apps, I'd sure want to have a book for the reference.

The book gives you the basic how-to's for Google's Productivity Suite (docs, spreadsheets, slide shows, gmail, google talk, and calendar).  It also covers Igoogle and google apps.  It's written in an entertaining way (what else would you expect given that David Pogue started the missing manual series.)

Here's how my blog book giveaways that I've been running over the past few months work:

• Leave a comment to this post about why you want the book
• I'll use random.org to select a random number and then the winner
• You have until July 11th

Google Launches Nonprofit Widget Builder: Check Out Marshall's Review and Busy Kenmore Repairman

 

Marshall Kirkpatrick at Read/Write Web has a scathing review of the Google Nonprofit Widget Builder. "Google Stiffs Nonprofits, Launches Second Rate Widget Builder."  I'm battling a second rate washing machine from Kenmore right now, so I didn't actually put my hands on it.   Marshall says there is little customization and no customization.   He suggests checking out the easy to use SproutBuilder instead.

Are nonprofits spoiled children? Anyone have a different take on the Google Nonprofit Widget Builder?

On a side note, the crappy customer service I'm getting from Sears/Kenmore and my attempts at live broadcasting of the repairman visit (it isn't his fault - he's a good repairman with good people skills --  it was the fact the guy who was scheduled to come out got really sick and they still scheduled him and canceled him 3 times in a row!).  Chris Brogan has a good piece on customer service and different channels.

While I'm writing this, the repairman just called me over and told me he had some bad news. It seems like the first repair person - a month ago - misdiagnosed the problem and I need another part that is no longer standard stock on the truck.   This guy is good though - he put in a emergency request.   Well, never thought I'd be airing my dirty laundry or that washing machine would be a web appliance.

Google Calendar/Outlook Calendar Synch

It's been about a year now since I kicked my outlook email habit and been a gmail and google calendar user.  There are two things that I miss.   In gmail, I wish I could sort my inbox by subject line or user.  I really really miss that feature and it helped me clean up my email quickly.  The second thing I missed was having my calendar and sync ability with my pda/cell phone (treo).  I relied on the mobile version and if I couldn't get online was screwed.

Google has recently launched this feature and I thought this is worth hauling out OutLook so I can sync my calendar, keep it on my desktop and sync with my treo.  No glitches.  Glad this is back.

You can download the app here.

Search Engine Optimization Gurus: I need your help!

File this in the category of no good deed goes unpunished.   Remember that fundraising campaign I did for Leng Sopharath?   I just got this message from one of the donors and I am wondering if anyone can help. (see below)

When you do a google search on this person's name, my blog posts come up first and lower hers!   I looked at the results and I'm number 2.  Number 1 is another blogger.  Many of the rest of entries on the next few pages are references to this campaign, including some -- ugh - splogs.   This person does not have blog or a domain name with their name.

Hi Beth,
I gave to your campaign a couple of months back (saw the appeal on your blog) and you'd been in touch to get a better sense of who I was so that you could thank me on your blog.  I wasn't able to get back in touch for a bunch of reasons, and then also I didn't give to be thanked, but because I thought that it was a wonderful and worthy idea.  In any case, fast forward to now - when anyone searches my name on google, the fact that I gave via your charity badge comes up many many times over.  I'm thankful to have been acknowledged, but this has actually done more harm than good for me as my affiliations get completely buried.  I wonder if there is anything I can do to reverse this.  Thoughts?

My options:

a.)  Delete the thank you post and the donor name from the list on my blog (I can't control the splogs)
How long will it take to clear out of google?
b.)  Would it also be a good idea for this person to grab the domain name with their name and set up a blog too?
c.)  What about also setting up a profile on linkedin and twitter and the like with the full name as the profile url?

Can anyone please give advice?  Thanks

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Facebook, Open Social, Networked Relationship Building, and Leveraging Social Capital

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A couple of disparate ideas in this post from different perspectives -- I'm trying to make connections and this will probably make no sense to anyone but me.

I caught this slideshow when it was first posted last month by Tara Hunt and just recently watched the video of the keynote. (In addition the content, I learned a lot about the delivery - in terms of a visual approach to powerpoint) .  She also just signed a book deal with the tentative title:   How to be a Social Capitalist: winning with the currency of online communities.

My question: Network for Good's recent Wired Fundraiser report talks about "superactivists" or the nonprofit equal of Seth Godin's Evangelists.  Superactivists are individuals who raise money for a cause and have a large network that can be leveraged.   

So this leads me to a recent discussion thread on the NTEN discuss list the other day.

Ben Greenberg from Physicians for Human Rights asked a couple of really great questions

• What are you doing to capture email addresses of your Facebook friends/cause joiners/group members?
• Do you have a significant contingent of people networked via Facebook who are not joining your email list but are receiving messages, feeds, events, etc from you via Facebook?
• I am curious about how the network activity becomes part of (or relates to) the organizational activity. Are people just letting things evolve organically w/the presumption that the FB network activity will lead people to other involvement with their organization? Or are people developing more overt strategies for drawing network members into other activity (and getting them on their lists, turning them into donors, getting them to take action, attend events, etc.)?
• Can anyone recommend good reading on best practices for organizational uses of Facebook (not just for fundraising but also list for building and mobilizing)?

I think the key is to go beyond "friend collecting" and to leveraging social capital through building relationships one-to-one.   This is where the line between "organizational" and "personal" gets blurry and uncomfortable for nonprofits, but maybe I'm wrong.

I am wondering about the role of an evangelist or what Networked for Good report calls super activist, an individual who acts on behalf of an org, business, or other entity.  They build and cultivate a personal network (on their personal FB profile) and leverage this for an organization.  This happens by building personal relationships, getting to know the people beyond names on your list.    There are many ways to interact  with people in your network and further engage them in your organization's activities in Facebook:

1) Get the user to specifically give you their email address in a private message, you can share the url of your sign up page
2) Message the user through Facebook messaging
3) Write on their wall
4) Comment on their photos
5) Use the Ask A Question Application

I've been experimenting with this as volunteer for an organization where I serve on the board to raise money for Cambodian college scholarships.  Through relationship building have gotten them to sign up for the list, contribute again, come to events, and turn them into evangelists for my cause.    It happens one person at a time.  Of course, the above activities take time to care and feed the network.  You are building loyalty and love for your cause or organization!  The issue is how to make it efficient?

There was a question as to whether the Facebook causes application allows you get email addresses of the donors.  David Geilhufe noted that Facebook API prevents you from getting the email addresses and pointed to the announcement by Google for OpenSocial.

Because if you had an email address, you could then form a relationship with the constituent outside of Facebook. Then Facebook couldn't sell ads based on that person's affiliation with your organization and then the company wouldn't be worth $15B.  Watch out for Google's Facebook killing strategy, OpenSocial. The technology here will better allow nonprofits to form relationships with constituents, independent of the social network on which the initial relationship is created.   

Andrew Cohen added that Facebook recently held a political summit where they announced they would life the limit of <1.000 people for group mass messaging within Facebook.  The summary is available on TechPresident here and backstory is here.

I can't add much to David and Susan's smart comments. As many folks probably already know, until recently, there were many barriers on mass messaging within Facebook. You could only message to <1,000 people. Facebook recently held a political summit where they announced that they would lift this limit. TechPresident had a nice summary of this announcement. 

More coverage on Google's Open API

Checkmate? Myspace, Bebo, and Six Apart Join Google Open Social from TechCrunch

Will Google's Open APIs Threaten Facebook?
 
Details revealed from TechCrunch

Ning founder Marc Andresen notes "Open Social is an open way for everyone to do what Facebook has done..."

Google Docs in Plain English

I discovered a new blog today called "Tools, Thoughts and Things .."  and a long and thoughtful post called Village Green VS Walled Garden.    There was link in the post to Lee LeFever's latest in his Plain English series.  This one (above) is about Google Docs.   Laura Whitehead thinks the video rocks.   Laura Quinn writes about her impressions using Google Docs for collaboration.

Michele Martin has an excellent post detailing a suite of online tools for collaborative or team blogging projects which also makes use of google docs.

Google.Org Blog Launches! In Your Reader?

 

The google.org blog just launched!   Is it in your (google) reader?   Hat tip to Sean from Tactical Philanthropy blog!