Flickr Photo: kjoyner666I spent the latter half of last week in lovely Arlington Virginia at a communications and marketing training for the Kellogg Action Lab. Although I do love to talk, my favorite part of this sort of opportunity is the Q&A period, or after the presentation when folks stop by to talk further.

It's always exciting to discover that something I've said has inspired someone to think about things in a new way. But the best part is how much I get to learn from the participants. It's a real gift.

The Kellogg Action Lab was no exception. I focused on social media strategies for distributing your message, and I got as good as I gave. Here are just a few of the new ideas I walked away with:

Flickr Photo: Cubbie_n_ VegasI'm in DC -- well, Arlington -- for the next couple of days, giving a social media training. A few big things happened yesterday, but I spent most of it on airplanes. As it's currently 4:30 am, according to my body, I'm going to cop out and just give you guys a bunch of links to keep my daily blogging streak alive.

Here's the stuff I wish I had the wherewithal to write about today:

Flickr Photo: bitzceltI just had a conversation with one of the organizers of the Twebinar, a summer series of webinars about social media hosted by Chris Brogan and Radian6. David Alston, from Radian6, picked up the phone (you remember those, don't you?) to respond to some of the questions I had emailed him about the Twebinar format.

I had expressed some confusion about the series, based on the first session I attended, the descriptions they provided, and the discrepancy I saw between the two. David was generous enough with his time to respond to some of these concerns.

Here's what I learned:

Flickr Photo: fr@nsI'm not normally an Oprah's Book Club kind of girl, but I happened to be trapped in a Starbucks with no reading materials for 90 minutes one day, so I bought "The Art of Racing in the Rain." Although everything jaded and cynical in me was annoyed by the sappy homilies, one bit really stuck with me: Your car follows where your eyes lead.

When it comes to our use of social media as a sector, I have to wonder, where are we looking? Where are we trying to drive? I hear a lot of general answers: we want to raise more money; we want to spread our message further. But I don't hear the specifics needed if we're going to do those things meaningfully. Having a Facebook group and a blog will not, on their own, raise more money for your organization.

One of the interesting side affects of the new web-based world we live in is that people expect everything to be free. Have you noticed that? I totally expect to have to pay for mobile phone service, but I want Internet access for free. I know I have to buy the book if I go into Powell's, but think I should be able to read it online for free.

Because the Internet really has democratized access to information, we all expect more information, more transparency, more openness, more collaboration. While I know that not everything can be free, I generally think this trend towards sharing is great.

So I was surprised when a group of lawyers representing a forthcoming book told us they didn't want us using Be the Media for the name our latest project.

Flickr Photo: husband unitIt's the day before a major holiday, so things are a wee bit quiet around here. Well, except for the iPod blaring Elton John. But quiet other than that.

I've finally had some time today to dive into the conversation that you, dear NTEN community, are starting on our Be the Media (name about to change) project.

If I didn't already believe in the wisdom of crowds, I certainly believe in the wisdom of THIS crowd. So many of you have contributed to the first module: Why Should Nonprofits Embrace Social Media (Or Not)?

Flickr Photo: Daniel F PigattoWe've started a new project to help aggregate the many amazing social media resources out there and develop a social media training curriculum that anyone in the sector can use. The best part is, we're making it happen in true Web 2.0 style. This is content truly created by and for our sector.

The amazing Beth Kanter is working on this project with us, and we've started work on the very first module for the curriculum: Why Should Nonprofits Embrace Social Media?

How did you pitch a blog, flickr, or twitter to your boss? Is there a metaphor you use to describe social media? Share your experiences with us on the wiki. Everything you share contributes to a richer curriculum we can all use in the future.

Corinne Ramey, MobileActive.org

The numbers speak for themselves: There are currently 236 million cell phone users in the U.S. – an astounding 76% of the population. In December of last year alone, 18.7 billion text messages were sent — up 92% from 9.7 billion in December 2005. Estimates for this year are topping 195 billion text messages sent in 2007. That is 600 million text messages a day.

Nonprofits and advocacy organizations around the world are increasingly turning to mobile phones for advocating for issues and engaging constituents, for providing services, and even for fundraising.

Katrin Verclas, CalderStrategies.com and MobileActive.org

There is increasing evidence that mobile social marketing works in increasing awareness and moving people to actions. It is also becoming an effective way to engage users and constituents. Throughout our experience with mobile campaigns, we've run into some great campaigns and some failures as well.

Here are the top ten things that nonprofits should and shouldn't do when running a mobile campaign.