Author Archives: Alex

Nominated Neighbor: Len Edgerly shares his love for social media, art and his motto to: TLFC

Please forgive my delay in posting. I had to defend my thesis, travel from DC to KC to Columbia and get all my paperwork together in the past 5 days! However, Len is a great sport and was nominated by our previous neighbor Beth Dunn, over at Small Dots. Read below to learn more about the newest addition to the blogger neighborhood!

Blog Name: LenEdgerly.com

Blog Topics: Arts, technology, politics, travels.

About the Author: Len Edgerly lives in Denver and Cambridge, Mass., and is retired from careers in journalism and the natural gas industry. He podcasts every Wednesday, alternating between the Audio Pod Chronicles and the Video Pod Chronicles, both available at iTunes and from links on his blog. He is a board member of the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs. He enjoys giving presentations to arts groups and introduce them in non-technical terms to the wonders of the Internet and why they should be playing around with things like Twitter, podcasting and Qik. He is a Kindle enthusiast, an avid photographer, and an Obama volunteer.

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why? Easy Street, and I already live there, it seems. I’m very fortunate since age 45 to have been able to work hard at what I love, without having to worry about finances.Flickr Farm1

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor? The poet W.S. Merwin.

If you customized your own license plate, what would it say and why? In fact, I do have a customized license plate. It reads TLFC. My wife, exasperated with all my spiritual striving in Zen and elsewhere once asked me, “Why don’t you ever just take life as it #$%*& comes?” This struck me as an inspired formulation for a good life, something we could agree on, thus the plate. Please don’t tell the state of Colorado Motor Vehicles Department, though. On the form applying for the plate I said the letters stood for “Take Life as it Fully Comes.” Either way, I like it.

What would you gift to a new neighbor as the perfect welcoming gift? A fresh bag of coffee beans.

What’s your favorite blog post and why? “La Belle Grammaire,” one of the posts I labored long and hard to write in French three years ago when my wife and I spent two months at L’Institut de francais, near Cannes.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging? Twitter is hell on my blogging habit. [You can follow Len @LenEdgerly.]

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This continuous weekly series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.

Web 2.0 Wednesday: Building a Field of Dreams

Dream big. When non-profits look at the world of Web 2.0 and begin to learn about all of its possibilities, I think you should dream big. This accomplishes two things:

  1. Can create excitement and a learning culture when presented to staff. If no ‘expert’ knowledge is really held by any, it can bond staff together in that everyone is experiencing a similar learning curve where all inputs and questions are equal and valuable.
  2. Shows that your organization or cause can be limitless and bigger than yourself and your staff. Oftentimes, it brings staff members back to the original purpose of why they are doing what they do by reigniting their passion.

Now, keeping dreaming big in mind, I also empathize with the Non-Profit Tech blogger, Allan Benamer whose post discusses Web 2.0’s barriers to entry in some non-profit worlds. Allan brings up some great points on how a non-profit can approach technology, all technology, and create a culture shift within organizations without the web 2.0 hype.

To share an experience, last summer I was a research consultant for a non-profit organization. This included conducting an e-communications training workshop for all staff, conducting a User-Interface study, gathering relevant case studies, identifying and researching a target audience (Surprise, the millennials), and drafting recommendations for the organizatioan’s e-strategy.

In brief, the whole project was a great success. We purposefully left out a budget section of the recommendations as the chief communications officer and I agreed that a budget section would limit the brainstorming process by placing the focus on what we can and can’t do, rather than bringing the staff together to learn, brainstorm and have fun.

From the experience, the staff as a group, came to the consensus that they were focusing too much on their inputs than their outputs in all their communications and strategy. It may seem like a simple outcome from the project, but it meant great changes for the organization. It brought everyone back under the original purpose of the organization – to help their clients, show how fun doing good can be and to share that with others. Instead of focusing on text bringing in donations and showing how each dollar would be used (which is important) and looking at what the organization could ‘get’ from their donors….they instead made a change. They started to focus on their outputs and what they are offering as a whole.

Now, the organization is changing for the better by the day. These changes include:

  • Updates and additions to their website and e-communications strategy. Some of which include simple presentation changes but others include great uses of Web 2.0.
  • A refreshed staff who is renewed by their passion and greater purpose of the organization.
  • Increased organization internally.
  • More ways for volunteers to get involved.
  • Greater participation and interest in events by the millennial audience.
  • And more!

All in all, yes, technology is great. Yes, Web 2.0 can be fun and helpful. But also:

Dream big. Remember your purpose. And, focus your energy on your outputs and your inputs will follow. (As a quick analogy, if you focused solely on blog traffic, would you get more traffic? Or, if you focused on offering great content, wouldn’t the traffic follow? Think Field of Dreams.)

Blog Pitching: 5 Big Tips on What Not To Do

contact
Steve Field, over at The D-Ring, a blog about the military combined with social media, posted a great comical entry about his frustrations in receiving press releases as a blogger on behalf of various groups’ blogger outreach strategies.

Some tips Mr. Field mentions and are pretty practical:

1. Make the address personal.

The heading ‘To whom it may concern’ may be a bit un-inviting to the blogger whose name is obviously apparent on the homepage or in the about section.

2. Following the first tip, have you read the blog?

Show you have an interest or at least have a general idea about what the blog is about and its purpose.

3. Don’t assume bloggers know about what you are talking about.

If pitching a new product, service, campaign, idea, your latest invention….describe it.

4. Don’t be a link begger.

Offer something in content or service that is useful to the blogger or the blogging community.

5. Don’t contact a vegetarian blog about the latest McDonald’s big juicy burger.

Be targeted and relevant. Just like in traditional pitching, many of the same rules can apply.

Let’s see if we can extend the list (thxs Beth Kanter for the extending the list idea)!

What tips do you have regarding how people/groups contact bloggers? either what to-do or what not-to-do….

NIDA and AIDS.gov Join Together in Blogger Outreach Effort for World AIDS Day 2008

“HIV/AIDS has now become a pandemic that has literally put the world at risk, affecting diverse populations in different ways”. –Dr. Nora Volkow, NIDA Director

Bloggers Unite

HIV/AIDS has been a global epidemic for more than 27 years. Most of today’s youth have never known a world without it. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published national HIV incidence (new infections) that showed much higher numbers that previous estimates.

On December 1st, individuals and organizations will recognize World AIDS Day. This year’s theme is leadership – from all sectors, including government, but also leaders among individuals and families, communities, non-profits and other organizations.

Today, on December 1, many of us are joining together through our online activity in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Joining us are two government agencies: the National Institute on Drug Abuse and AIDS.gov.

Together, they both offer numerous free resources for the public that address the HIV/AIDS issue. This is why they are joining together, along with Bloggers Unite, to harness the power of the blogosphere for good and join in community.

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Personally, I find this effort important beyond the issue of HIV/AIDS, though I definitely do not want to undermine the issue by my saying that. World AIDS Day 2008 is also important because this (to the best of my knowledge) is the first official blogger outreach activity conducted by not just one government agency, but two. Working together.

Both the National Institute on Drug Abuse and AIDS.gov are joining together with Bloggers Unite to recognize World AIDS Day 2008 through a blogger outreach call to action to raise awareness not only of the issue, but also of the great, free, public resources both agencies offer. The online Webisode below, provided by NIDA, is just one of these many resources. For more information, please visit the Bloggers Unite Participation pa

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EL8rnEVfU-A&hl=en&fs=

Other resources include:

NIDA’s Learn the Link Campaign
Drug abuse by any route can put a person at risk for getting HIV. This is because drug and alcohol intoxication affect judgment and can lead to unsafe sexual practices, which put people at risk for getting HIV or transmitting it to someone else. NIDA has developed the following resources to help educate, share and increase awareness of the AIDS issue.
AIDS.gov
The Federal government has developed a wealth of HIV/AIDS testing, prevention, treatment and research information. In addition, the following are some of the many resources you can use to help response to HIV/AIDS.

What are your thoughts about the increasing rise of government agencies in the social media playground? Thoughts, concerns or comments. I know you’re not shy. 😉

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Full disclosure: I am leading this effort at IQ Solutions for our client The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), along with AIDS.gov and Bloggers Unite.

An Early Thanks.Giving…Carnival Style

Welcome to the Carnival. The theme for this week was “Give Thanks!” by taking a moment and sharing the tools, resources, mentors, etc. that you appreciate.

  • UPDATE: Guy Kawasaki just posted on “10 Tiny Apps I’m Thankful For.” In this post, Kawasaki writes about 10 lesser-known Web applications that he uses almost every day including Adjix, MarsEdit, SmartyPants, and others! Kawasaki says these applications help his productivity. What’s your experience? Have they increased your individual productivity or that of your non-profit or organization?
  • UPDATE: Jocelyn Harmon at Marketing for Non-Profits shares the “3 Things I’m Thankful For” in her latest post. I appreciate how Harmon brings us back to the basics and what really matters in life: friends, family, freedom, community and good health. I’ll cheers to that Jocelyn!
  • UPDATE: Chris Brogan, on Thanksgiving, cleverly finds a way to tie Batman into the day of Thanksgiving while also giving a shout to numerous friends, colleagues and talent. Most interesting I thought, was Brogan’s shoutout to “The Next Generation.” Being one of those people, thank you….for paving the road and making more opportunities possible. Happy paving in the new year!
  • Avi Kaplan wrote a wonderful thank you to Stacey Monk for her mentorship and for the hard work she is accomplishing through Epic Change. To those not familiar with Monk’s work, I too will vouch for not only her hard work, but for her genuine passion and firm conviction in Epic Change’s mission. Monk is definitely, as Avi says, a true inspiration to our sector.
  • Steve Cunningham took time to offer a personal note thanking both his life and business mentors. Steve also made a point to refer to these mentors as heroes, a label I think well-deserved. For often, being a mentor takes extra time, a longer email, a phone call back or the extra support that only a mentor can offer.

“To my heroes in business and in life – thank you for teaching me that if you never stop learning and believe in yourself, great things are possible. You have made more of a difference than you could ever imagine. I owe you a lifetime of gratitude.

  • As for myself, I have many people to thank who have made my dream of moving, living and working in Washington D.C. a reality. This includes:
  • My employer and my boss – who I continue to admire and learn from everyday.
  • My graduate professor Fritz Cropp who allowed me flexibility in my graduate research scope, the tools and knowledge to bring it together, and believed in the vision I set before myself. Plus, he reminded to live a little every now and then.
  • My friend Lacey, for without you, I know I would not have survived the practical joys (and challenges) that come along with moving from Kansas to Washington D.C.
  • All the amazing, social media, social marketing and non-profit minds that exist within the blogosphere, Twitter…it is you all who propel the conversation and demand more of us practitioners everyday, and I love every minute.
  • To the new friends I’ve made, you rock. You are solid, supportive, and good people.
  • To my beloved fiance, I love you. Each and every day. Who would imagine we’d go from running hurdles on the track together to fast forward, living our dream in Washington, D.C.
  • And finally, my parents. Words cannot express. At the very least, thank you for teaching me to 1) always believe in your dreams and 2) always believe in working hard to achieve them. And that along the way, you can never be too gracious.

With that, I hope this Carnival session encourages you to share the love. Extend a hand. And tell someone the difference they’ve made in your life.

Thank You. And an early Thanks.giving to you and yours.

The Blogger Neighborhood: Meet the DigiActive Team

candle lightGet out of your comfort zone. This includes myself, often I am use to comfortably perusing my usual blogs in my RSS reader, however, when I first found DigiActive over the summer, I immediately knew I needed to get out more. DigiActive brings together a team of international bloggers from SIX continents and offers great content from diverse perspectives. The change movement knows no boundaries.

I must also give Amine, from DigiActive the award for patience. Amine and I conversed at the end of August, and I am just now getting up their interview. Thank you Amine and the DigiActive team for your world-class patience. Without further adieu, enjoy!

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Blog Name: DigiActive.org

Blog Topics: Being the Intersection of Technology and Grassroots Activismfacebook-guide-cover300px

Blog Explained: The group blog at DigiActive.org is part of DigiActive’s overall mission to help grassroots activists around the world use technology to increase their impact. DigiActive also publishes guides, such as “A DigiActive Introduction to Facebook Activism” and maintains a digital activism map. DigiActive is also in the process of launching a research program (R@D), which will provide actionable analysis for the benefit of digital activists around the world.

About the Author(s): The site features an international group of bloggers from six continents from countries including Iran, Morocco, China, Cameroon, the US and Germany. We come from a wide range of backgrounds and professions. Some of us work for NGOs while others are students or journalists. All our bloggers are volunteers and write for the site because of a passion for digital activism.

Why do you blog? A few answers from some of the DigiActive team members include:

“I love to write about things I love” –Kate Brodock

“I write for DigiActive because it gives me an excuse to keep up to date on the cutting edge of digital activism. Activists “hacking” online applications, creating new uses for platforms like Facebook or Google Earth and turning them into tools for change, that’s what gets me up in the morning.” – Mary Jocye

“I’m blogging for DigiActive because I have a crush on digital activism. Blogging let’s me share the product of this splendid connection with a global community, which is another thing I will never really understand, but always be amazed of.” – Simon Columbus

“It is a fantastic opportunity to investigate and learn about this increasingly important movement. I work in a part of the world where these tools are underutilized but needed with urgency, and I use my work to educate and involve the people around me.” – Tamara Palamakumbara

What first prompted you to blog? DigiActive was started by Mary and Amine, who met on Facebook and built DigiActive together before ever meeting in person. Our ambition was “to create a center for the global digital activism movement.” With an ever-increasing number of partners, we are still working to achieve that goal.

Why digital activism? What is it, and how do you know when it’s successful?

Digital Activism is defined as digital actions taken by grassroots organizations or individuals to achieve a social or political change. It means taking the power of the new global reach of user-generated content and turning it towards the purposes of social justice.

It’s hard to know when digital activism has succeeded. Clear-cut cases of digital success, like the Help Fouad campaign in Morocco are rare. Even when a goal is achieved, it is often the result of multiple campaigns, not only digital ones, and often it takes years to achieve these goals. I don’t think there’s a clear formula for success. Digital activism is not about quantity of people you can reach, but it’s about the quality by which you reach them.

What’s the impact digital activism has, or could have, on our community?

One of the greatest strengths of digital activism is that it allows people to collaborate closely regardless of physical location. As mentioned previously, Mary and Amine developed the idea for DigiActive and built the site without ever meeting. In fact, they still live on different continents. Talia edits for the DigiActive blog from Boston, even though our correspondents are dispersed across the globe. I think the two biggest technical advantages that digital activism has are 1) the speed at which technology is being introduced, improved upon, and made widely available and 2) the number of tools that are available, which enables users to use the one that best suits their situation. It’s not a one-sie-fit-all. It’s a custom-tailored approach. The biggest qualitative advantage of digital activism is, as mentioned, the ability to connect to so many people and get yourself in front of large number of eyes and ears!

If you could live on any street, what would that street be named and why?

“Hope Street” – Simon

“The Beginning” – Kate

“TechCanHelpUChangeTheWorld Blvd.” – Mary

Who would be your dream real-life neighbor?

Some of the answers from the DigiActive team include: An international group of passionate grassroots activists, committed to the goal of realizing the human dignity of all the world’s citizens. Dalaid Lama and Dave Barry. Maybe Jon Stewart too.

What was the last URL you added to your RSS feed?

What’s your favorite blog post and why?

Successful digital activism campaign are always fun to write about. Whether it be about young Egyptian activists using Facebook to organize a country-wide strike, about Jamaican gay rights activists who use blogs and the internet to fight to get into a UN AIDS meeting or about activists in Morocco who used the web to coordinate a successful international campaign to free the “Facebook Prisonner”. However it is also important to consider the limitations of digital activism and provide useful information and guides on how to best harness its potential.

What’s one lesson you’ve learned from blogging?

  • Don’t be afraid to express yourself – everyones experience and opinions count.
  • That it takes a global village to write a blog.
  • It’s a great way to meet and to get to know incredible people from around the world.

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Past Blogger Neighbors Include:

This continuous series highlights different blogs and their respective bloggers in the blogosphere neighborhood. Following the great Mr. Rogers, who tells us to ‘Get to know your neighbor,’ this series introduces us to our blogger neighbors, making for a more unified, collaborative voice for the social sector. Like to nominate someone or be featured yourself? Contact me @ socialbutterfly4change@gmail.com.

Carnival Time: What are You Thankful for?

It’s about that time of year again. And instead of just going through the motions “again” this year – the Carnival for Non-Profit Consultants and SocialButterfly are asking those in the non-profit sector to take time for reflection and pause. Often times, we get too caught up in the deadlines and the thrill of the moment, that we overlook giving ourselves…a moment. After all your hard work and dedication, at the very least, you deserve a moment.

Do you know anyone else who deserves a moment? Tell us about them. In fact, it doesn’t even have to be a person. This edition of the carnival asks submitters to “Give Thanks!” by taking a moment and sharing the tools, resources, mentors, etc. that you appreciate.

This is your opportunity to give a shout-out. Even if it’s a quick e-mail blurb, all messages of gratefulness will be shared.

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Theme: “Give thanks! Tell us which tools, resources, menotrs, etc. have aided you or what you are thankful for this past year.”

Deadline: Monday, November 17, Midnight

To Submit: Submit your permalink to npc.carnival@yahoo.com or use the BlogCarnival submission form. If you are sending to Yahoo directly, please include the edition date in your subject line.

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Survey This: Bloggers and Advertising

In hopes to not influence responses, I will withhold my commentary on why I am inquiring about the topic: advertising on blogs. Instead, I will refer SB readers to the quick, 10-question survey I created, and look forward to sharing and discussing results. All responses are anonymous, unless designate your blog’s URL.

Survey Monkey

Click Here to Take Survey

Feel free to share, as the more people that share their experiences, the bigger picture we will receive. Feel free to share with friends and colleagues as I am depending on a snowball sample for this informal survey. Gratzi

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Bloggers Unite for Refugees United

Bloggers Unite

Today, over 10,000 bloggers from around the world will unite to raise their voices on behalf of more than 40 million voiceless refugees.

Some have wondered about the potential of blog awareness days and what their potential and impact may be beyond raising….[wait for it]…awareness. However, awareness can lead to action. To be honest, before Bloggers Unite announced it’s “Bloggers Unite for Refugees United” initiative I was not that connected with the issue. However, due to BU + RU efforts, I am now more engaged. And that in my book, is a direct result of Bloggers Unite.

As the BU resource page says, “Knowledge can bring change.” Though it may not be a direct correlation, change begins with individual action, and individual action must be born with passion and knowledge. (Some of my social marketing friends will argue there is much more involved in behavior change. I concur. This being one of the reasons I encourage the study and application of social marketing.)

Because I concur, Bloggers Unite brings the issue before us. The challenge then, is how will we respond? On the BU resource page, they offer a number of resources to begin with, including:

UK Refugee Services

Lutheran Refugee Services

Aotearoa-New Zealand Refugee Services

United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrant Children

Church World Service Immigrant & Refugee Program

Women’s Commission for Refugee Women & Children

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Disclaimer: In my professional life, I currently have a working relationship with Bloggers Unite for an upcoming project that I am looking forward to share with SB readers in the very near future. =)