The first week of 2008 has already offered up some good advice and discussion from the nonprofit technology community. NTEN members contributed by focusing on lessons learned from 2007 that can be applied in 2008.

An effort spearheaded by social media guru and lifetime NTEN member Beth Kanter offered some honest and helpful takeaways on the state of social media from Britt Bravo, Katya Andresen, and our very own Holly Ross, including:

• Get over it. Holly and Katya say it's important to be brave and experiment. Don't worry that you're not an expert yet -- considering these tools and applications are still new, who is, really? YOU, or at least you will be as soon as you start participating...
• Start with the purpose, not the tool. Take Britt Bravo's advice and determine what you hope to get out of social networks first, so you can make the best use of them without feeling like they're getting the best of you! What kind of connections do you want to make? Who's your audience? Who are your "friends"? Depending on the network and your mission, your answers could be different for each question.
• It's about the conversation, not the tool. Katya puts it perfectly and Deborah Finn echoes the general -- and excellent -- point.

For a good roundup of lessons learned, check out Beth's post.

NTEN member Forum One offered this helpful summary of tools and trends nonprofits used in 2007 with an eye to how they can be maximized in 2008.

And GuideStar's article about online social networks is a great place to start if getting your organization connected online was one of your 2008 resolutions.