We don't do a lot of podcasting around here at NTEN. (Maybe that should be one of the things we experiment more with in 2009, in accordance with Holly Ross's resolutions.)

Luckily, Sarah Durham at Big Duck has an excellent podcasting series, the Nonprofit Jungle. You should really check these out for both their helpful nonprofit communications content and as example of how to put together great podcasts.

Sarah just interviewed NTEN's Executive Director, Holly Ross, about the Social Media for Nonprofits curriculum project, We Are Media. Take a listen here to find out more about:

• What the We Are Media project is;
• General tips and strategies for your nonprofit and Web 2.0;
• How Holly got started in nptech in the first place.

Berkeley BreathedIf you know me, you know I love to talk. I find silence uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I often write on this blog about the power of social media for listening.

When I hear folks talk about pushing their message out through social media channels, I cringe. To me, social media isn't a channel, it's a cocktail party, where different kinds of conversations require that you LISTEN.

Of course, as any party host knows, when the party gets big enough, you have a problem: you simply can't listen to everyone. 2009 NTC keynoter Clay Shirky talks about this in Here Comes Everybody:

Flickr Photo: b_d_solisImagine you're at a cocktail party. Your friend introduces you to her colleague before heading off in search of drinks. You exchange names and occupations. What should you say next?

A) "Wow, that's an intersting line of work! How did you get into that field?"

B) "Yeesh! That line for drinks sure must be long. I'll go help my friend."

C) "Yeah, so the nonprofit I was telling you I work for? We're in the middle of our annual campaign. How about donating $25?"

Flickr Photo: Duane StoreyJames Carville helped keep the Clinton campaign on message in 1992 by hanging a sign on Bill Clinton's door that read, in part, "The economy, stupid." That now-famous catchphrase is widely credited with giving the Clinton campaign its win. Although we don't know if it was ever taped up on any doors, I think the winning strategy for the Obama campaign was "Transparency, stupid!"

In this election, Obama rode a tidal wave of youth vote to the presidency, with 66% of voters under 30 casting their ballot for the Democrat. What the campaign realized, early and often, is that the under-thirty crowd communicates differently from the rest of us. As Allison Fine writes in Momentum, this group is "... likely to engage in two-way conversation with staff, volunteers, and clients, rather than in one-way broadcasts, the style of communication most often used by organizations now."

This meant two things for the campaign.

Danielle Brigida, National Wildlife Federation

As social media grows in popularity, one fact cannot be ignored: if used well, it can generate impressive amounts of traffic and increase engagement around your cause or organization. If ignored, however, it can lead to tears of anguish and people punching their computers.

I spend a lot (and I mean a lot) of time trying to figure out how to use social networking, bookmarking and news sites to enhance the National Wildlife Federation's online presence. The work I've been doing with my large non-profit can be translated to even the smallest message.

There are several key techniques for dispersing information effectively. These overall strategies aren't anything new in the marketing world: Social media is just a new way to do old business. The tools may have changed, but the need for knowing your audience, having an end goal, testing theories, and acting on lessons learned remains the same.

Karen Curry, ACLU

The ability to have conversations with members and supporters is the most exhilarating part of the new media landscape for advocacy groups such as ours. We no longer just shovel stuff out there, not knowing if it ever reached anyone or what they thought of it. Advocacy is now a multi-way street, with information coming in and going out -- and nuance being added to the message as it evolves.

Consider Kenevan McConnon, a Colorado blogger. This May, having just gotten his rebate check from the government, he began looking around online for something to spend it on. Then, he spotted his ACLU renewal form. He had been putting off renewing, for no particular reason, but when he saw the notice sitting on his desk he had an A-HA moment. He realized he could spend his money on that most quintessential of all "made in America" items -- the United States Constitution --and decided to send the entire rebate to the ACLU.

But that was only the start.

Maddie Grant and Lindy Dreyer, SocialFish, LLC

Social media is all the buzz these days. For associations and non-profits wondering how to get in the game -- or how to figure out whether they should -- listening is the place to start.

Listening means finding the online social spaces where your audience is already communicating, monitoring the conversations that happen there, and gathering intelligence you can use to better understand your audience. Because social media is open and public by nature, listening is not only welcome -- it's expected.

Best of all, you can get started for free!

Lauren-Glenn Davitian, CCTV Center for Media and Democracy

Election 2008 is remarkable for many reasons. For the first time in U.S. history, the candidates for president have raised more than $1 billion. Voter registration is headed for new highs across the nation -- with a firestorm of newly registered voters under the age of thirty. And early voting levels -- 2.2 million ballots as of this writing -- indicate a massive, record-breaking turnout on Tuesday, November 4th.

Because campaigns employ such a variety of communications tactics to win an election -- from door knocking to lawn signs to TV commercials -- it may be hard to determine exactly what role social media tools have played in this historic year. But, clearly, the campaigns have made social media a central strategy in their Donor, Volunteer, and Voter mobilization efforts.

As agents of social change, there is a great deal the nonprofit sector can learn from Election 2008.

Let's close out this week of We Are Media goodness with a really fun one: video sharing!

I have to confess I have no idea how I lived my life before this:

The New York Times reports that Barack Obama's campaign has purchased virtual billboards in a video game. That's one way to reach the kids! We wonder if they've read Ben Rigby's new book, Mobilizing Generation 2.0: A Practical Guide to Using Web 2.0 Technologies to Recruit, Organize, and Engage Youth. Well, you can ask him yourself at our next "Meet the Author" (free for our Members).

> Learn More and Register Today!

Ben's book is a great resource for anyone interested in reaching the youth audience. It describes in a clear manner how to leverage new media -- blogs, social-networking sites, photo- and video-sharing sites, mobile phones, wikis, online maps, and virtual worlds -- to reach the youth audience.

Of course, it does beg the question: Does Generation 2.0 have more features than the 1.x release?