Tuesday, April 21
Not that I am bitter
by
Deborah Elizabeth Finn
on Tue 21 Apr 2009 01:10 PM EDT
 That headline is a lie. I'm not going to be able to attend NTEN's Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) next week, and I'm feeling pretty grumpy about it.
Fortunately, NTEN is doing a good job of providing channels for remote participation:
There are also plans for offering conference sessions through webinars, live streaming, and live blogging. Kudos to the NTEN team, and to all the other folks who are collaborating to make that possible.
Still, it hurts to miss the conference, because not being there in person means that I can't engage in my favorite activity, which is standing around in the hallways and persuading people to talk to each other. When 1,000 or more of my favorite colleagues get together, I'm overwhelmed by some sort of inspiration or compulsion to introduce them to each other and to point out how it would practically be a crime if they failed to collaborate with each other.
Perhaps next year there will be a special Altruistic Busybody traveling fellowship for people like me. We do have our uses. I'm tempted to grumble "Hey, just try to have a successful conference without me. When you all go home this year, having failed to forge new professional relationships that permanently transform your lives, that's when you'll really miss me." However, I'm not that bitter. I really do wish NTEN and all the attendees a wonderful conference experience.
Sunday, April 19
Your mileage may vary: Birthday etiquette and online fundraising
by
Deborah Elizabeth Finn
on Sun 19 Apr 2009 02:46 PM EDT
 I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about online fundraising campaigns tied to birthday gifts, and have been inviting my nptech colleagues to discuss the topic.
Lately, I've received at least one online solicitation a week from a colleague or acquaintance who would like to invite me to make a donation to a nonprofit in lieu of giving him/her a birthday gift. In almost every case, it's someone for whom I feel respect or even affection, and a cause that is extremely worthwhile. Oddly enough, I've never received one of these requests from any members of my circle of intimates, i.e., folks for whom I routinely buy birthday gifts.
This has led me to wonder how these online solicitations are received in cultures and sub-cultures where asking for a birthday gift is not customary. Are they seen as offensive and presumptuous? This is something that we need to think through, when we plan online fundraising campaigns, especially now that the internet allows us to communicate across national and cultural boundaries. If we encourage our organization's stakeholders and friends to use their birthdays as an occasion to go online to raise money, are we doing more harm than good? By going online to make these pitches for donations to our organizations, our friends and stakeholders may be inadvertently offending others with different cultural norms about gift-giving, and those others may end up blaming our nonprofit organizations as the instigators.
These reflections have also led me to inquire about the norms for the culture in which I live (i.e., English-speaking residents of the U.S.A.), but I am hardly the best person to adjudicate what's appropriate. Indeed, for years now, I've been marking my birthday by going on a silent retreat at a monastery. This only shows how out of step I am.
However, I consider Judith Martin (a/k/a Miss Manners) an excellent arbiter of gift-giving etiquette in this part of the world. Poking around her books and an online index of her columns, this is what I infer about American gift-giving traditions:
o Gift-giving is never obligatory on any occasion
o It is unacceptable for me to imply that I expect a birthday gift
o It is unacceptable for me to ask for cash (or anything at all) as a birthday gift, unless the giver asks what I would prefer
o Gift registries are acceptable, but potential gift-givers must not be directed to them unless they ask me about them
o A charitable cause is not an excuse for me to break any of the aforementioned conventions of etiquette
Now, I might decide to defy the conventions, or I might decide that Miss Manners is not a valid authority on these matters, but these do seem to be norms that I need to consider.
In my own case, I think it's a tremendous challenge to show ample courtesy and consideration for those with whom I interact face to face and who belong to my most intimate circle. When it comes to relationships that are conducted mostly - or entirely - online, I think it's etiquettically impossible for me to ask them for a cash gift to a nonprofit organization in lieu of a present to me. It's too much of a presumption on my part. I might go online to say, "I know that you care passionately about this cause, so I'm letting you know about an opportunity to support it financially," but I wouldn't tie it to my birthday or any other personal celebration. It's far too easy for me to give inadvertent offense in online communications.
I'm just sayin'.
YMMV.
Monday, April 13
Perhaps there's no such thing as a free lunch - but thanks to the Data Collaborative, your nonprofit could have a free strategic technology consultation
by
Deborah Elizabeth Finn
on Mon 13 Apr 2009 03:11 PM EDT
 The Data Collaborative, a database and web development firm in Massachusetts that serves a lot of mission-based organizations in the area, is a firm that consists of real mensches.
Earlier this year, they started underwriting a few free technology consultations by yours truly, so that small nonprofits in the Boston area could have some much-needed strategic assistance. I love doing these consultations, and am very grateful to Data Collaborative for making them a part of their service to the community. Organizations I have worked with at the behest of the Data Collaborative include Leadership Metrowest, the Parents Forum, and Chelsea Neighborhood Developers.
The Data Collaborative is now open to applications from more small nonprofits in the area that are interested in free strategic consultations. There are a limited number of slots available, so there are no guarantees that you will be selected, but the application process is very simple. It consists of three questions:
1. What does your non-profit do?
2. What are your technological challenges?
3. How do you think a consultation with Deborah could help?
Here's how the consultations themselves work:
A typical session kind consists of sitting down with me for an hour or two, alone or with key members of your nonprofit's team. If you prepare a list of strategic technology problems, concerns, or questions in advance, I'm often able to make recommendations on the spot. During these sessions, I can also walk you through a discussion that will help clarify how to subordinate your technology infrastructure to your mission. In many cases, I can recommend products, services, and vendors that would be a good match for your needs. I do not ever take a commission on any products and services that I recommend, and will not make any sales pitches. In every case, my concern will be to ensure that your information and communications technology is helping you achieve your organization's programmatic goals.
Please note that I cannot provide hands-on tech support in these sessions. After your consultation, I will be available to you by email and telephone for brief follow up questions. In some cases, I may do follow up research for you, and report back via email with additional information and recommendations.Our goal is to provide you with the greatest possible benefit from a single session on a pro bono basis, and in almost every case a one or two hour consultation is all that a small nonprofit needs.
Friday, April 10
Twitter "follow cost," IPPNW, and the "anti-nuclear follow cost"
by
Deborah Elizabeth Finn
on Fri 10 Apr 2009 01:16 PM EDT
My esteemed client, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), has turned a geeky social media joke into an opportunity to educate the Twitterati about abolishing nuclear weapons.
In order to get the joke, you need to know that Twitter is a free social media application that allows anyone to communicate in text messages of 140 characters or fewer. Some folks have many others following them; some folks are very prolific in sending and replying to Twitter messages. (The messages are known as "tweets.") The Follow Cost web site is a project by Luke Francl and Barry Hess that provides a whimsical rating of tweeters. You can input the Twitter account name of any individual or organization, and find out the average number of messages that he/she/they send in a typical day. The unit of measurement is the milliscoble, which is named after the prominent blogger and tweeter, Robert Scoble.
The highest rating - i.e., the one reserved for the most prolific tweeters - is nuclear follow cost. "Follow cost" rhymes with "holocaust." Get it?
As International Physicians for Nuclear War started to use Twitter as a tool to engage with potential allies, I kept an eye on its follow cost rating. Eventually, IPPNW had a nuclear follow cost.
This led to a series of conversations with Dan Karp, IPPNW's director of development. Was it right to have the an international medical organization dedicated to the abolition of nuclear weapons associated with nuclear holocaust on a web page that displayed a photo of a mushroom cloud? Was it funny, in the great tradition of grisly medical student humor? Could this macabre joke be turned into an opportunity for IPPNW to gain visibility with social media users, and offer them information about the campaign to abolish nuclear weapons?
And that's how we dreamed up the "anti-nuclear follow cost."
After some brainstorming, we went to Barry and Luke, and suggested that IPPNW be given a unique follow cost page, replacing the mushroom cloud with IPPNW's logo, and that they add a link to IPPNW's web site, along with the words, "Learn more about nuclear weapons."
Here's what Dan says about it:
"The Follow Cost team was enthusiastic about the partnership not least because they appreciated IPPNW's willingness to collaborate on a project with a coincidental connection to IPPNW's mission. All of our recomendations for Follow Cost were adopted with the condition that IPPNW mention the partnership on twitter, which is in IPPNW's interest anyway."
For me, this seems interesting and important - but not because their Follow Cost tool offers a serious analysis of Twitter traffic. It really doesn't. As near as I can tell, they created it for two reasons that are very valid in the hacker universe: because they could, and because it was fun.
Barry and Luke's Follow Cost tool has managed to get traction among Twitter users, and IPPNW, as it became more sophisticated about social media, was willing to use it for outreach to a cohort that might not actively seek opportunities to support the movement for nuclear disarmament. It's refreshing to see IPPNW - that deadly serious, high-minded, Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization - is willing to deploy social media to engage with potential allies and friends in a manner that is lighthearted, informal, and perhaps a little edgy.
As readers of my blog know, my office is co-located with IPPNW's international headquarters. This means that my office mates are the aforementioned high-minded folks who get up every morning and do their best to prevent nuclear war and advocate for peace through health. On a day to day basis, they are also warm, funny, and much more astute than I will ever be about global politics. It's a quite a perk to chat with them informally. While not everyone can share office space with the central office's staff, social media in general and Twitter in particular makes it possible for people all over the world to engage in informal dialogue with these folks. Since they started tweeting in August 2008, IPPNW has attracted more than 1,300 followers, most of whom had no prior awareness of the organization, and who would not necessarily have been motivated to seek informal dialogue with a group of physicians who are concerned about war as a public health issue. But that's social media for you. The experience should be interactive, it should be educational, and it should be a good for a few laughs, even if the mission is very serious. The idea of "anti-nuclear follow cost" cracks me up, and if it helps other people connect with the nuclear disarmament movement, then I'm all for it.
Monday, April 6
Participatory journalism goes mobile
by
Deborah Elizabeth Finn
on Mon 06 Apr 2009 08:20 PM EDT
CNC recently launched the "Ask Your Lawmaker" widget, and I am very enthusiastic about this mash-up of new era geekiness with a fine old American tradition.
The basic equation is:
Populism + Professional Journalism + Web 2.0 = Ask Your Lawmaker
In other words, everyone in the United States should have a role in holding our elected officials accountable, and professional journalists should make use of interactive web-based tools to enlist all of us in this enterprise. Fortunately, CNC's founder and bureau chief, Melinda Wittstock, has the experience, the credentials, and the vision to make an outpost of any computer that has internet access... more »
Sunday, April 5
It was an inside job!
by
Deborah Elizabeth Finn
on Sun 05 Apr 2009 10:03 PM EDT
Every so often, I just have to boast. One of my much-loved clients just launched a new web site, and I had hardly anything to do with it!
The Public Conversations Project (PCP) decided to develop their own Drupal web site in house, and they launched it last week. I gave them a little strategic coaching last summer, and then dropped out of rotation. They had outside help from Steve Backman of Database Designs Associates (who provided technical coaching), and from Rachel Stark, librarian extrordinaire (who catalogued the content of the previous site and provided invaluable guidance about usability and navigation). However, most of the development work was done by Andrew Park, their IT coordinator, with input from other members of the PCP team.
It's very satisfying and yet a little bit sad to work with PCP, because I keep rendering myself obsolete. I enjoy working with them so much that I'm sad when it's time to stand back and watch them go forward on a project without me. On the other hand, there's great joy in seeing clients really learn what they need to know in order to make strategic decisions and manage their projects. That's when I become obsolete, for the best of reasons. If I'm really lucky, they bring me back in when they're ready to go to the next level or take on a different challenge.
In the case of the Public Conversations Project, one of the next challenges is social media. We've already kicked off a PCP Facebook page, and I can hardly wait for them to try Twitter. In some ways, this is an organization with the potential to be a powerhouse and a force for good in the world of Web 2.0. Their mission is to foster constructive dialogue about difficult issues, and to uphold civil society by helping folks who have different world views build relationships with each other. This is the kind of skill set that is needed just about everywhere in the world right now. They can help netizens go far beyond flamewars, and can in turn be helped by the internet's ability to minimize (some) geographic barriers to effectiveness.*
* Oh, and just by the way, the PCP team can serve as role models to staff members in relatively small nonprofit organizations that want to develop their own CMS-based web sites using open source platforms . How cool is that?
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