A Flitter over Twitter

OK, one week away from NTEN's Conference and I'm hooked on Twitter again. Granted, I don't have as much time to update my status as I'd like, but I love following organizations like Global Giving and TechSoup. I've been on the fence about Twitter for awhile. I even remember reading its obituary last year. I still meet people who are very enthused about it and some who are over it. And, I've met those who think it's a great channel for organizations to communicate to active online constituents.

However, you might ask: What is the real ROI of Twitter? Yes, it's fun to network and meet people and keep in touch almost instantly but does it work? Well, that depends on what your organization is trying to acomplish.

Twitter can fulfill one of the big buzz words being tossed around right now: groundswell. If your organization is a 501(c)(4) that heavily relies on social networks to get the word out, then you should start an account immediately and start encouraging your constituents to do the same. It may take some time to build a network, but you can build a very responsive network in cities and towns just by pulling in a few dedicated followers. So, when you need a groundswell for hitting the phones or attending a rally, it can really work for your org.

Can you raise money online with Twitter? Perhaps. You could create a following and then create a sense of urgency with a specific campaign. If your .org have to raise $25,000 in a week, then mobilize your Twitter devotees to hit their networks for you. Your organization can create a single login and keep it updates with event and campaign information. You might be surprised by the results.

However, that said, if your staff is already pushed to the limits and you can barely make site updates without hassle, then keep Twitter in your back pocket for now. The key part of social networking is being social; some .orgs have discovered that it's hard work to keep up with all the networks, posts, and feeds, even with updates from your devices. Perhaps you have a verby volunteer who would love to keep our .org's Twitter page a-titterin'. If you can make the most of social networks, then try to fold them into your overall ephilanthropy plans. Who knows, your .org may become Twitter-aholics.

www.twitter.com/garthmoore

A Flitter over Twitter

OK, one week away from NTEN's Conference and I'm hooked on Twitter again. Granted, I don't have as much time to update my status as I'd like, but I love following organizations like Global Giving and TechSoup. I've been on the fence about Twitter for awhile. I even remember reading its obituary last year. I still meet people who are very enthused about it and some who are over it. And, I've met those who think it's a great channel for organizations to communicate to active online constituents.

However, you might ask: What is the real ROI of Twitter? Yes, it's fun to network and meet people and keep in touch almost instantly but does it work? Well, that depends on what your organization is trying to acomplish.

Twitter can fulfill one of the big buzz words being tossed around right now: groundswell. If your organization is a 501(c)(4) that heavily relies on social networks to get the word out, then you should start an account immediately and start encouraging your constituents to do the same. It may take some time to build a network, but you can build a very responsive network in cities and towns just by pulling in a few dedicated followers. So, when you need a groundswell for hitting the phones or attending a rally, it can really work for your org.

Can you raise money online with Twitter? Perhaps. You could create a following and then create a sense of urgency with a specific campaign. If your .org have to raise $25,000 in a week, then mobilize your Twitter devotees to hit their networks for you. Your organization can create a single login and keep it updates with event and campaign information. You might be surprised by the results.

However, that said, if your staff is already pushed to the limits and you can barely make site updates without hassle, then keep Twitter in your back pocket for now. The key part of social networking is being social; some .orgs have discovered that it's hard work to keep up with all the networks, posts, and feeds, even with updates from your devices. Perhaps you have a verby volunteer who would love to keep our .org's Twitter page a-titterin'. If you can make the most of social networks, then try to fold them into your overall ephilanthropy plans. Who knows, your .org may become Twitter-aholics.

www.twitter.com/garthmoore

NTC 08: A Few Updates

A few thoughts and announcements as NTC 08 wraps up here in New Orleans today:

* DoGooderTV has posted the winners in the 2008 Video Contest. Congratulations to the Humane Society of the United States for their Best Overall Video win.

* Best Overheard Quote and Overall Sentiment: "Don't judge ROI by donor dollars, judge it by the results of the lives you change and how you make your donors feel about this change." Well put.

* Best Treats: Coffee and beignets from Cafe du Monde and Jelly Bellies from GoLightly. Both were addictive.

* Check out the blog posts on Technorati for more feedback from NTC 08.

* Finally, one of the best sessions came from See3's Mike Hoffman on video for nonprofits. A great session and I'm glad they posted it:

2008 NTC Day Two Wrap-Up

Day two: Sessions, sessions, sessions!

NTC 08 Day Two started off with a hilarious plenary speaker, New York Times Tech guru David Pogue. Pogue spoke about the three trends for the future: cell phone technologies, television and movies whenever you want them, and Web 2.0 user content. The most interesting example he gave was Google's Grand Central, a service where one phone number will ring or text any phone in your life, which means you are always accessible, whether you like it or not! Pogue ended his talk with a grand piano performance of his famous (at least for NYTimes site junkies like me) iPhone song (And yes, I held up my iPhone for the ballad). Here's the video of Pogue in action:

There were plenty of breakout sessions today ranging from communications, IT, fundraising, and community building. The morning sessions focused heavily on e-mail campaigns, mobile phone fundraising, analytics and social networking. The afternoon sessions continued the Web 2.0 discussions and discussions built on analyzing campaigns. The key question that seems to be on a lot of minds is understand the value of social networking. Does it work? Does it build awareness? Does it raise money? How do you measure the ROI of social networks? Should your organization be doing social networks? How will it affect your organization?

A lot of organizations were quick to share their stories and curious to hear feedback from what other have done. It's a bit unruly and uneven to navigate, but the social network gurus gave strong advice for sticking to your guns and pursuing new audiences with these tools, even though the ROI was difficult to measure. Of course, onLine always says go for it! If you can build an online with social networks, social bookmarks, or any micro-group, you should pursue it. You never know when a channel could open a very big door. It's all trial-and-error and even the best experts can't predict which organization will have a groundswell.

The evening wrap-up featured afternoon ice cream and a Network For Good-sponsored reception, followed by a night out on the town in New Orleans. I have a feeling I may be one of the few people at the morning sessions.

2008 NTC Day One Wrap-Up

Ah, New Orleans: the palm trees, St Charles Avenue streetcars, the Mississippi River and rolling, morning clouds, and the more than 1,000 techies who descended upon the Sheraton New Orleans for NTEN's NTC '08. The tech conference started with a Day of Service, as more than 80 tech professionals helped almost 30 local groups and organizations. Check out Beth's Blog for more information on this great service from NTEN.

Today's sessions focused on Affinity Group Meetings, ranging from an informal gathering of the Information Systems Forum group to discussions on Salesforce.com and Google Apps groups. If you don't belong to any affinity groups, you should. Join a listserv or online group and expand your techie or service knowledge with your peers. These groups can help you find a solution to your particular tech issue without having to do all the research or re-invent the wheel. Very informative peer groups today and a nice serve-up for tomorrow's big sessions. Plus, as almost moderator mentioned, it's all about networking.

The day ended with this year's Science Fair, as vendors and service providers set up their booths to show their wares and expertise. Food and drinks were served as bags and bowls were filled with business cards and pamphlets. The best tchotchke of the event was the red, flashing antennae from digital media platform gurus Red Antenna--very cute.

The big push this year was all about open source tools and how you can tie them into social networking tools and databases, whether it's MPower, Convio, or Salesforce. There were also groups like NPower, TechSoup, and Network For Good promoting their networks and services. Whether you were a social networker, fundraiser, database manager, or a communication manager, there was something for you to see and learn.

Tomorrow, the big sessions, with more chances to hear what challenges nonprofit techies and vendors face and more solutions.

Last Call for the DoGooderTV Video Awards

I finally checked out the finalists in the 2nd Annual DoGooderTV Video Awards. I won't tell you who I voted for--you have to see them yourself. I can tell you that one of the videos made me laugh quite a bit (you'll know which one). But, I really liked them all and I'm glad more organizations are using online video to reach out to constituents and enter these types of contests. DoGooderTV had more than 160 entries in this year's contest--an astounding number. Plus, DoGooderTV is a really great place to post and stream your online videos.

Voting is open until Thursday, so go now. This year's contest has video choices in three categories - PSAs; short videos from a minute to four minutes; and long videos over four minutes. You can vote on one overall winner across all categories. Winners will be announced on Friday, March 21 at NTEN's National Technology Conference. We'll post the winner here at onLine and on our media> blog. Hopefully, this will inspire you and your organization to grab a camera, find some creative thinkers among your staff, and get to work for next year's contest.

Join onLine from 2008 NTC Central in New Orleans

Join us this week as onLine's Garth Moore blogs every day from NTEN's 2008 Nonprofit Technology Conference in New Orleans. More than 1,000 attendees will come from organizations and vendors far and wide to connect with colleagues and share information on technology, communication, fundraising, and more. This year's plenary speaker is New York Times personal technology guru David Pogue.

If you can't make it to this year's event, then stay in touch with onLine this week for news, analysis, and photos from the conference. And, if you are at the conference, say hello to Garth Moore as he bounces between sessions and the coffee stands.

FOWA's Top Ten Web Apps

The Future of Web Apps conference was recently held in Miami, where they announced the winners of the top Web apps (www.webappcharts.com). The Web App Charts winners were selected by FOWA readers. Voters selected some usual suspects (Gmail, Twitter, Facebook) and some ones I really like (Basecamp, Last FM). Ravelery.com was a bit suspect, but I'm not a big knitter. Frankly, Digg and YouTube should have also been on the list, but that's the great thing about online voting, you can give it a spin.

What are your favorite app? Tell us with your comments.

Charting Violence in Kenya

I listened intently to Larry Brilliant’s conference call on investments made by Google.org last week, and heard about some pretty far-reaching goals using just a fraction of the search giant’s billions. But some of the best cause-related work in conjunction with Google is being done by its users. Witness Ushahidi, an online mapping project tracking both violent episodes and peace efforts in the sectarian disaster that is Kenya. Here’s how the site describes itself:

Ushahidi.com is a tool for people who witness acts of violence in Kenya in these post-election times. You can report the incident that you have seen, and it will appear on a map-based view for others to see. We are working with local Kenyan NGO’s to get information and to verify each incident.

What you can do is get the word out about Ushahidi so that it’s utilized to it’s full potential. This especially extends to talking to the people that you know who have seen things in Kenya and getting them to the site as well. You can also help by using the contact form to volunteer to help with the tracking and verifying of each incident.

Spend some time there and click on the some of the truly terrifying single incidents - I honestly didn’t have as much of a feel for what’s happening in Kenya before this site complemented the coverage I get in the Times. Something about a map and the personal stories of real people and citizen journalists. [Cross-posted from CauseWired].

New Pew Internet Study: Digital Footprints

If you have ever wondered what your online constituents think about providing information to your organization, then take a look at the new Pew Internet and American Life study: Digital Footprints: Online identity management and search in the age of transparency. It seems few folks monitor their online information, most people don't mind what information they find about themselves online, and people use search to find others. More importantly, as constituents post their information on social networking sites, they  become "not only findable, but knowable." If your organization has ever worried about the types of information it gathers from constituents and the security of that information, it might be time to re-think your constituent management strategy.

Care to Comment on That?

By now, you're sick of the phrase Web 2.0. It's the catch-all phrase for a lot of new stuff (and frankly, old stuff) and it gets tossed around like an old rag in conversations. Maybe it has been rendered meaningless to you by now (is it design? social networking? marketing? Of course, for O'Reilly and gang, Web 2.0 is much more about how data is moved around.

IMHO, Web 2.0 really kicked in with blogs and blog comments. The two-way communication between an organization and site visitors is the key factor in defining what is truly Web 2.0. This swung the door open for everything else. The read/write Web is 2.0. Some terminology critics maintain that these tactics and devices have been around forever (including Tim Berners-Lee), so it's not really a 2.0 version of anything that hasn't been done. But now, it is expected that users not only read your materials, they need to offer their perspective, too. And comment tools should be ubiquitous on your website.

OK, maybe not all over your website, your privacy policy or contact page doesn't need user comments. But, you can offer the the chance for comments on pages you might not be thinking about. Do you have a weekly or monthly newsletter? Have you posted the newsletter HTML on the website for casual visitors or for people who just subscribed? Now, just imagine a handy comment tool after each article. If your organization authors its own content for constituents or members, you can solicit comments there, too. Event wrap-ups and campaign material pages also provide great content for comments.

Now, you may think some pages don't apply. You might want to be the perceived expert or though leader on a topic and feel that comments on library articles or position statements would lessen your authority. That's definitely Web 1.0 thinking. If you've read Wikinomics or Naked Conversations, you know that audience collaboration is a new method for success. You should accept those comments and questions as they will help you redefine and strengthen your position. That transparency will help in the eyes of potential constituents or donors.

A great place to get started is to check if your CMS has a comment feature. If not, scour the Web for free tools, usually only takes a small patch of code at the end of a page to get started. Try JS-Kit or Download.com to find a code for your site. And please comment on our blog. We love 'em.

Ron Paul's Haul: Lessons for Online Fundraisers?

The political world was stunned yesterday with the news that Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, a libertarian insurgent who is considered a longshot for the Republican presidential nomination by the mainstream press, had raised a forehead-smacking $4.2 million online in little over 24 hours from a whopping 35,000 donors. To recap: casting his 5th of November online fundraising plea as a not-subtle Guy Fawkes attack on the entrenched political powers in his own party, Paul's campaign raised what his campaign calls "the largest single-day online primary fundraising effort by a presidential candidate in United States election history."

It really is amazing, considering the decentralized, open-sourced, viral nature of the campaign - and I think there's a lesson in there somewhere for nonprofit fundraising. The entire campaign was choreographed by a volunteer, Trevor Lyman, according to The Politico:

Lyman, who’d never contributed to a politician before Paul, doesn’t fit into either category.

The co-owner of a company that promotes musicians on the web, he saw a video online proposing someone gather pledges from Paul’s legions of Internet followers, to be contributed through Paul’s campaign website on Monday, Nov. 5

He bought the domain name ThisNovember5th.com and launched the site Oct. 18.

“There’s no officialness about it in any sense. It’s just a website that said ‘hey let’s all donate money on this day,’” Lyman said. “And once the banners were in place and people could start spreading links, it just propagated virally. And that’s really it.”

Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said the campaign did not coordinate with Lyman but was aware of his efforts, which Paul piggybacked on as Nov. 5 approached.

Could committed volunteers operating semi-independently from major organizations and causes really blow the doors off online fundraising (not to mention list-building)? I think so. Political fundraising isn't the same, of course, as charity fundraising but the basic techniques online can be similar and they do boil down to an effective case, good timing, ease of use, and list-building. We'll be watching the Ron Paul campaign for more developments.

In Case of Emergency, Use Twitter?

Micro-blogging escapes me, I admit it. Blogging, yes, of course. Social networking? Do it. But, micro-blogging on places like Twitter always seemed to granular to be taken seriously as a nonprofit communication device. It falls somewhere between blogging and an SMS or chat. Do you really care what people are doing right this instant (I'm building a report in Excel! I'm going to lunch with a client!)

However, Beth's Blog posted a YouTube video called "Use Twitter in Emergencies." The video is part of a series called "21st Century Disaster Tips You Won't Hear from Officials" and comes from David Stephenson of Stephenson Strategies, a homeland security firm. Stephenson has a whole YouTube channel called Homeland Security 2.0. The synth intro music and graphics aside, he provides some excellent tips using wikis, flash drives, and Twitter to distribute emergency contact information.

Can nonprofits use micro-blogging in a disaster? Absolutely. Nonprofits should use their website, blogs, social networking groups, anything to get the message to constituents and donors. Every channel is an opportunity for success.

And just when I thought Twitter was hopeless. I'm going to go post this on Twitter.

 

Funny News Rules

Clearly, online video is quickly becoming a commonplace way to communicate to a wired audience. Over half of internet users watch video online, one in five do it in a typical day. Three-quarters of the growing number of those that have high-speed online connections use it to access video.

Despite the stereotype of the wildly popular amateur video, Pew Internet & American Life Project’s recent online video report tells us viewers prefer professionally produced content over homemade videos by over 3 to 1. Not surprisingly, the two leading types of content viewed are news (37%) and comedy (31%). 

Perhaps this explains the popularity of watching professionally-produced clips of John Stewart’s comedy-news program, The Daily Show.

But amateurs should not fear. "Anyone with a digital camera and an internet connection can create and distribute video that has the potential to reach millions of viewers all over the world," said Mary Madden, Senior Research Specialist at the Project and lead author of the report. "Online video tools are providing ordinary people with extraordinary ways to communicate with one another."

Just ask Nathan and Greg Hamel. Their 18-second video featuring “Billiam the Snowman” asking presidential candidates’ to explain their environmental policies found a major audience during the CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate. At last count, their video had been seen by over 130,000 viewers and the brothers are working on a line of "Billiam the Snowman" t-shirts.

This is the first major report about online video from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. You can view the full report at: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/219/report_display.asp.

R.I.P Page Views

For months, our staff has discussed how RSS feeds and readers like FeedBurner would kill the page view metric. We all talked about page impressions was a really useless way to set online advertising rates. We also speculated that a lot of blogs get the short end of the stick in ratings. Now, Nielsen/NetRatings has finally "killed" the page view. The ranking service will now track "Total minutes" as the new measurement  (see yesterday's NYTimes article "Nielsen Revises Its Gauge of Web Page Rankings").

Most nonprofits could probably care less about Nielsen/NetRatings rankings. When's the last time you went to Alexa and discovered your organization was in the top 100 sites? Most nonprofits aren't even a blip on Nielsen/NetRatings. And, you probably don't have advertising on your website (or shouldn't!). But, the topic does bring up questions about how organizations view their website metrics.

I like page views as a metric (I still lecture clients on "hits"... ugh!). True, it's a useless stats for blogs and video sites and a bloated stat for sites such as Facebook (read Richard MacManus' article from Read/WriteWeb). But, it's still a nice clean metric. "Total minutes" has issues as well.  Does time equal engagement? OK, you have dense content that everyone just loves to read or lots of fun widgets (I can play Pac Man on some blogs for hours and not read very much word), so do these sites take a huge leap in ratings? Are people really engaged? Does the credo hold true that the longer the stay, the more likely a user interacts with your organization (e.g. donate, sign up for mail list, take a survey, etc)? if so, then it's time to increase your rich media offerings. 

Check your logs and examine the time on site for the last several months. Stack them against campaign launches or newsletter releases. Stack them against page views. But, don't give up on the page view just yet. If you run your "total minutes" stats over the course of the year, you may be very disappointed or be stuck with numbers you wouldn't dare take into your next meeting.

Case Foundation Asks You to "Make It Your Own"

The Case Foundation's new "Make It Your Own Awards^TM" contest is an interesting opportunity for a small or fledgling nonprofit to earn money to jump start their online technologies. The Foundation is awarding more than $35,000 in grants an prizes to the top four individuals or nonprofits who can demonstrate the best "citizen-centered approach"--basically a Web 2.0 idea They also have tiers for other prize packages. It's nice to see a Foundation that recognizes the importance of technology for an organization--and that a couple of thousand bucks won't cut it for tech development costs.   

So, if you have a great project and idea for marketing it or work for a small organization, go apply. Even if you win $100 for landing in the Top 100, it's better than nothing. And if you get nominated, let us know.   

Web 2.0: clean and essential

I like clean. I like minimal. I like essential. I like Edward Tufte, even when I don't understand him. I hate clutter and tiny fonts and I cannot abide by websites that throw everything up on their homepage. Boy, I'm glad Web 2.0 site designs have changed things. Gone are the days of frumpy sites with bad backgrounds, shims pixel gifs, and uneven, overstuffed page designs. Clean and simple works! Yay!

Of course, it's difficult for a nonprofit to adopt this look with so many stakeholders in your organization clamoring for attention (and rightfully so). But, if you can achieve it, you could redesign your website into something clean, lean, and meaningful. Just look at Amnesty USA's website; it's a thing of beauty.

Take the time to discover a look for your website that's clean and essential. Check out this excellent primer from Web Design from Scratch, a U.K. site. Their Web 2.0 style design guide is the perfect start for your to think about how to change your site.

Have fun! And, if you do redesign your organization's site or have another site to show us, leave a comment.

The Buzz about Widgets: We told you so...

The recent Nonprofit Times article (by Beth Kanter, who is part of our blogroll) about widgets really hit home with a lot of people. I belong to a few lists who noted the article. The techies' response: "Eh, 'bout time someone noticed... know any good developers?" The marketers' response: "Yes, we know already." Everyone in the nonprofit world: "WOW! CHECK THIS OUT! LITTLE THINGS ON PEOPLE'S WEBSITES AND WE CAN MAKE MONEY. "

*Ahem* Easy now. Don't rush. Single file, people!

That story, along with the Chronicle of Philanthropy's report about online giving (subscription required), and Tom Watson's great article about Facebook, has really got people buzzing about online giving again. Online giving didn't really go away, but in the face of fewer immediate, media-hyped disasters and relief efforts (there are still plenty of slow, agonizing disasters in the world), it didn't get full attention from traditional resources for awhile. But, development departments are finally ready to sink their teeth into widgets, and just in time for developing those fall and holiday season apps.

If you still aren't sure, check out our post about donation widgets from a few months ago. Now, remember that widgets go beyond "the ask." They can incorporate all kinds of functionality: content, RSS feeds. blog posts, etc. Remember three things about widgets (along with all the other advice you've read thus far):

• They're fun and can be useful tools for spreading the word. But, they are gadgets. Don't blow your budget getting a few developed. Ease into and it find the right widget and builder.
• Develop a marketing plan to get them to your users: e-mail announcements, site links, and social network posts. Heck, find some bloggers who like your organization or cause and contact them directly. And give it three months. Don't junk it until you know it has completely stalled.
• This won't be a windfall. It will augment giving and traffic, but it's not THE killer app... yet.

Check out Squidoo's Widget Finder for more information. Also, if you have a killer widget, let us know! Leave a comment with a URL so everyone can ogle and covet your idea!   

Scripts and Tricks

Recently, I was desperately looking for an elegant solution for displaying Flickr photos on a web site. Using the RSS feed supplied by Flickr just didn’t do justice for the images I wanted to display. So I searched and searched…

My initial searches found a wide selection of javascripts to display the photos. Some required a good bit of knowledge about javascript to make modifications for my own needs. Others required uploading javascripts and then embedding code into each page where the images were to display.

And then, I found Pictobrowser. It is a script that was easy to cut/paste into the page and easy to modify to work with my Flickr account. Pictobrowser’s script also allows for some customization if you want to play with background colors, image resizing, and more. You can find directions for Pictobrowser at http://pictobrowser.com/.

Is there a script that has made your life easier? Please share it in the comments.

TED Relaunches as Video Network

In the world of techno-geeks, the TED conferences have long been as exclusive and A-list as you can get without visiting Davos. They're expensive, you have to be invited, and they sell out more than a year in advance. But exclusive as they are, the conferences usually explore the kind of people power that's driving both Web 2.0 expansion and the growing world of consumer philanthropy and social entrepreneurship.

Enter the new TED: launched today, the ted.com site is open to free membership by anyone. It features a full suite of personalization tools - headhots, comments, feeds, bios, tags and links to social networking services. All of that surrounds TED's archive of videotaped conference sessions, including a few good ones for philanthropy nerds in the sections labelled Rethinking Poverty and A Greener Future?

The video integration is elegant, featuring a smart ratings system that goes beyond the usual five-star variety, to allow users to rate each video using a system of subjective tags. And each longer presentation is broken up into more digestible microchunks. So far so good.

Still, do you see that video of Jacqueline Novogratz discussing micro-finance up top on this page? Or the session with Bono doing his world poverty spiel over there? No you don't.

And that's because TED has embraced some of Web 2.0's vision around social networking, but not all of it. I cannot embed their videos here YouTube-style. And that's a shame - because while it may well mean a few more eyeballs for ted.com it also means a lot less conversation, a lot smaller distribution, a diminished dialogue.

TED still has its velvet ropes up; it still wants you there, not here. I hope this changes, because the original intent of taking the TED dialogues to a wider audience was a great one. It signaled that TED - a nonprofit - was moving from a gathering to a change agent. To complete that path, TED should encourage wide distribution. And take the rope lines down.

Widgets? Badges? Making Sense of Online Donation Badges

Network For Good made donations widgets/badges official last winter with their donation badge tools. NFG plopped right into a competitive market: the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) providers were already working furiously on donation widgets and there were already a few out there in the market. The field opened for development and technology officers to stretch their fundraising efforts by empowering members and supporters to help drive online donations.

The first thing I heard from my nonprofit colleagues and counterparts was, "Wonderful... something else I have to monitor." Now, is that any way to embrace technology and the future of fundraising?

A few truths about donation widgets: it's easy to get lost among all the different widgets and badges, they'll never bring in millions to your organization (not for awhile anyway), and they do take some marketing and monitoring. But, your nonprofit can't afford to not give it the effort. So, what do you need to know?

Widget Providers:
Here are just a few widget providers. each one will provide complete instructions to create and download a donation widget. Keep those FAQ URLs handy for staff and widget hosts.

ChipIn - www.chipin.com

FirstGiving - www.firstgiving.com

Network For Good - https://www.networkforgood.org/pca/PcaLandingPage.aspx?SOURCE=SIXDEG&CMPGN=SCB

Change.org - www.change.org/mywidget

CareBadges - www.carebadges.com

Expectations:
Millions? No. Thousands? Possibly. Hundreds? Yes, with some work. OK, so how much can you expect to raise online with your donation widgets? As much as your supporters can reach into their networks and ask for donations. So, it's up to you to find those supportive bloggers and social networkers to help you raise money. You can also take a proactive step and post one on your blog (you still don't have a blog? Oh boy... next time).

Strategy:
You need a strategy once you have your widgets and expectations in place. First, do some searching on Google and Technorati. Find some blogs that talk about your organization and mission. Maybe they touch on your topics (animal welfare, women's rights, or poverty). Reach out to them with an e-mail or comment about helping your organization with a widget. It's a lot of work and some bloggers may bristle at the type of contact. But, they are low-hanging fruit and fair game for your organization. Here are some other methods to consider:

• Make a mention in your newsletters and online mailings to drum up supporters.
• Enlist school or religious groups to post a badge on their personal or group sites.
• Post a widget page on your website to show your offerings.
• Conduct a survey to see how many of your site visitors or registered users use MySpace or similar pages and reach out to them with information on your widgets.
• Mention widgets in your offline marketing materials (magazines, newsletters, conference materials).

Workload:
Yes, you will need to monitor these badges (ugh). Most of the time, it's just a matter of keeping a spreadsheet of bloggers and sites with widgets. Most tools come with administrative dashboards for monitoring and reports. You can also get a glance of that bloggers running total by just visiting their site. You might want to also make sure the blogger/page owner truly represents your organization and doesn't make your organization uncomfortable. The whole monitoring contact and minoring process will take up to 20-30 hours at first, then slow down to maybe five hours each week. easy work for a young admin, development officer, or even a volunteer to handle as part of their workload.

Mixed Results
Don't expect tons of money per each blogger (sometime, it may only be $20 or as high as $4,000). It's often a cumulative effort to raise these kinds of funds. It won't make a huge difference to your overall goals, but every little bit helps. try not to make assign a dollar amount to the number of work hours for each widget, you might be disappointed. One immeasurable effect of social widgets is the visibility they provide for your organization. They could lead potential donors to your website to complete a transaction or for a different kid of transaction (newsletter registration, event registration, survey, etc). Just getting your name into the blogosphere or MySpace is important enough to help spur your widget efforts.

It's just one more thing you'll get to monitor.

More reading:

Charity Badges: Turn Your Supporters into Fundraisers (TechSoup)

Change.org launches fundraising widget (NetSquared)

Kevin Bacon may give your charity $10,000 (Katya's Non-profit Marketing Blog)

Explaining Web 2.0

OK, so you're not a kid. You've been around. Sure you use technology, but you don't live inside of it - you're just a bit wired, but too busy to immerse yourself. And what's this "Web 2.0" stuff everyone's talking about.

Philanthromedia's Susan Herr does a great job summing up not the "what" but the "how" - how to jump in, that is. Writes Susan on the Community Foundations of America site:

At 44, I'm not too old to know that a communication's revolution is going on around me. Collectively known as "new media" or "Web 2.0," information is flowing faster and farther than ever in the form of blogs, podcasts, and videocasts. Because "community" and "social networking" are words frequently used to describe what these tools promote, new media had me from hello. Unfortunately, my ability to understand how it works is glacial when compared to your average 16-year old. About eight months ago, I accepted my 30-year-old friend's dare to begin blogging about philanthropy for a high-net worth donor audience.

Susan covers blogs, audio, videocasts, ideas and (importantly) possible revenue opportunities. Go ahead, jump in the. The water's warm.

Social News You Can Use

Can you it? Have you ? Did it taste ?

These little icons are taking over the web. They empower you to tell Katie Couric that in the last 24 hours, you (the collective “you” of the Internet) prefer stories with pictures of the world’s most exciting roller coaster over stories about the male brain vs. the female brain. Seriously, you can see what the collective “you” are taking note of or “DIGGing” right here.

Some moments I drift off pondering the enormous creativity that goes into turning just a few pixels into a clever or cute brand. But mostly, I’m looking for opportunities to make the most of out these tools for my online campaigns.

3 ideas:

1. News to note: I glimpse the top stories for news and information covering online trends, new tools that can be leveraged for nonprofit fundraising or marketing…
2. What’s hot, what’s not? A quick scan of the top stories can inspire creative for an online appeal.
3. To post or not to post, that is the question… Will a campaign that I’m leading benefit from posting a related news story or appeal to any or all of these services?  I know that posting a story to Digg or another service doesn’t instantly produce masses of donors or potential constituents, but it may drive a Google Alert, increase popularity in a search, or perhaps grab the attention of a future supporter.

Google Maps: Show me, don't tell me

If you ever need to present geographical information to your members or site visitors, consider a Google Maps mashup to display your information. Some nonprofit techies already play with mashups. But a lot of nonprofits have yet to adopt this very easy tool.

What's a mashup? Wiktionary.com defines a mashup as " A derivative work consisting of two pieces of (generally digital) media conjoined together in some interesting way, such as a video clip with a different soundtrack applied for humorous effect, or a digital map overlaid with user-supplied data." Your nonprofit would adopt  Google Maps to display your custom coordinates with your own labels.

Your organization can create a Google Map mashup to plot points of chapter offices, recent field work locations, regions affected by a disaster, or whatever you need to show your visitors. Don't just jot down a static list of places on a page, show your visitors these locations. Mashups can be more visually stimulating and give me a better understanding of the scope of your programs or mission.

So, what do you need for a mashup? Not much, that's why they are becoming so popular. You need a little bit of money, GPS coordinates, and a vendor or designer who can program your map. You also need some creative thought as to what you can show (links to content? pop-up content? link coordinates to each other?). The smart programmer can also use KML (keyhole markup language) to program Google Earth coordinates, giving a three-dimensional, satellite images to your maps.  Fun stuff!

Want to learn more? Sure you do:

• Google Maps API
• Google Maps API Blog
• Google Maps Mania
• ZDnet's Post on recent KML news

However, be honest with your data. Don't just don't cover up any new geographic map data with old data, a la Google and their pictures of the New Orleans area. Not too smart, Google. 

Welcome to onLine!

Welcome to onPhilanthropy's newest blog, onLine. Our goal is to examine all aspects related to online marketing and fundraising for non-profits and philanthropy. Blogs covering these topics already number in the dozens (see our blogroll).  How can there possibly be room for more input on topics like fundraising in Second Life, Web 2.0 strategies, and how to entice prospective donors with targeted e-mail campaigns?

Consider that only 1-5% of overall giving for a nonprofit comes from online methods. Why not 10%? Why not 50%? Why not save trees, publishing costs, and direct mail marketing headaches and run a whole campaign online?  How come MySpace and Facebook can't account for more giving-- like your organization needs dippy comments from so-called "friends"? How come e-mail is still the killer app? What's the next killer app? Frankly, what's next?

That's why we are here and will continue to cover these types of topics and any other issues that come up. We also want to hear from you. Have a question? Want a topic explored? Want to provide a guest commentary? Want to be added to our blogroll? Check out our masthead to contact us and let us know what you're thinking about ephilanthropy, site design, e-mail strategies, or Web 2.0 marketing.

We're onLine, part of the new onPhilanthropy.com, and we're here!