Flickr Photo: 2-Dog-FarmIt's been a while since I've posted a round-up of the online news and activity of NTEN members, but that's because there's been so much going on with you all, not to mention around here at NTEN!

On this afternoon before a long weekend, I thought I'd channel my cabin-fever energy into a roundup of what I've seen online this week from and about NTEN members:

A monthly roundup of our favorite nonprofit tech resources. Read more posts on our blog.

1. Campaign Monitor's "Guide to CSS Support in E-mail Clients". Brilliant! If NTEN Connect looks bad on your screen, we'd like to blame the engineers who coded your e-mail client, please.
2. The Mobile Marketing Association has a code of conduct, which helps prevent mobile junk messages. Is it too late to hit the reset button on e-mail?
3. What exactly would one charge with a solar power bra?
4. A much cooler use of solar cells is Australia's solar updraft tower, capable of powering 200,000 homes, emission free. Oh, and Portugal's building a wave farm.
5. NTEN's book club. Read a book, discuss it with other nptechies, "meet" the author.
6. Cubans can now buy cell phones. Trips to the mall to find custom Che Guevara skins can't be far behind.
7. mGive: Affordable text-to-give campaigns for nonprofits. That's it. No joke.
8. e.Politics "Online Politics 101" is a great read! Sample: "Let’s change the world! But how? Robot/kung fu army? Too expensive. Zombies? Too messy. Online politics? A wise choice."
9. Wired thinks Google's Android platform will free the wireless web. Maybe it will make robot armies more affordable, too.
10. We've plugged them before, but the Center for Biological Diversity's RareEarthtones project still rocks harder than Dave Grohl after 5 Red Bulls. Recently added ringtones: alligator, bald eagle, and baby emperor penguin.
11. Another reason to visit Japan: the C-shirt. See a shirt you like, scan its code with your mobile, remix it Creative Commons style, have it shipped to your door.

Nobody wore a hat today, so Karl drew the winner's name out of the plastic shell that covers our stack o' DVD-Rs. Drumroll please. The NTEN Blog comment raffle winner is... Avi Kaplan.

Avi will receive a copy of Media Rules!: Mastering Today's Technology to Connect with and Keep Your Audience by Brian Reich and Dan Soloman

Find out more about purchasing the book through NTEN, with access to an online Meet the Author session with Brian Reich. You can also join the developing discussion in the online Affinity Group - Book Club.

> Learn More and Join the NTEN Book Club Today!

Flickr Photo: Timmy ToucanI admit it: I use the terms CIO and CTO almost interchangeably. To me, the CIO/CTO split was like the distinction between Executive Director and President -- a matter of taste.

Turns out, I'm totally wrong. According to TechRepublic, there's a big difference betweeen the CIO and the CTO, and it has to do with who you serve. The CIO serves an organization's internal audience, or its staff. The CTO focuses on an organization's external audience, or clients, stakeholders, donors, etc. Check out the full breakdown.

So, what happens if you're the only techie at your organization? Are you the CT&IO?

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.

Michael Sabat, Mobile Commons

Your organization needs to understand how to send different messages to different people through different channels. It would never have made sense to run a TV commercial over the radio trying to reach a newspaper reader, just as it doesn't make sense trying to get an instant response from business people by messaging through your org's MySpace page. Getting the mix correct means you send the right message, through the right channel, reaching the right people to accomplish your goal.

So, how should mobile fit in your mix with regard to the messages, the people, and the goals involved?

Corinne Ramey, MobileActive.org

NARAL Pro-Choice America recently began a mobile program -- they're calling it Txt4Choice -- and has been exploring how to use mobile in ways that compliment and integrate into their already developed communications strategy.

Curious how your state ranks on reproductive choice? NARAL makes it easy to find out. By texting the word "grade" and the abbreviation of your state to a short code, you get an almost-instantaneous text response with your state's grade and opportunities for more information.