Flickr Photo: alexander drachmannWe started the week off here at NTEN with a Q&A session with Chris Brogan, who answered questions from NTEN members about engaging people through social media. In case you missed it, you can see a transcript of the questions in the materials section (and if you're a member of NTEN, you can get the recording) here.

Chris commented a few times on how impressed he was by the questions you all asked him -- demonstrating yet again that, in many ways, the nonprofit sector is a leader in harnessing the power of social media to engage and energize communities and individuals online.

Here is a summary of take-aways from the session:

LOLnptechNTEN members were sharing lots of great tips, checklists, and resources online last week.

Colin Delany, of e.politics, shared his Social Marketing "cheat sheet" for using Web2.0 tools for engagement and fundraising purposes.

If you're a do-it-yourself kind of nonprofit when it comes to designing your web site, you might want to check out Kivi Leroux Miller's "10-Point Basic Website Checklist for Nonprofits".

For anyone plagued by email delivery statistics (or curious about what your organization should be considering when it comes to email messaging), take a look at NTEN member and NTC speaker Bill Pease's helpful tips.

Marnie Webb provides a couple of posts about integrating Twitter into your communications practice: first, she brings Twitter into the virtual tool chest she's building for her readers, then shares a list of Twitter resources that can help you maximize your Twitter-effectiveness.

Speaking of Twitter, Rose Vines is the back-channeling star of the NTEN community. Fortunately for us, she shares her tips for using Twitter for good (documenting and sharing).

In other news, NTEN members are . . .

AdamNicholson's NTENny DisplayI'm composing this weekly round-up differently this week, for two reasons: 1) there's a LOT of buzz in the blog- and twitter-spheres from and about NTEN members because of last week's conference, so I'll be truncating the summaries; and 2) I want to take this opportunity to share my thoughts about the conference and the NTEN community -- and thank everyone for the great experience.

First up, here's an abbreviated round-up of the 08NTC-related posts from members:

At the close of his session at the 2008 Nonprofit Technology Conference on Thursday afternoon, Google Adwords Evangelist Frederick Vallaeys announced a new partnership between Google and NTEN.

"Due to our similar goals in supporting the non-profit community, particularly through technology, Google Grants and NTEN are partnering to enhance their impact on non-profits. We would like to invite all qualifying NTEN organizations to apply to Google Grants and we will expedite the review of those that apply."

How cool is that? Very.

If you don't already know about Google Grants, they allow qualified nonprofits to use Google Adwords for the low, low price of free.

To take advantage of this offer:

• If you're not yet a member of NTEN, join today!
• Then, apply for the Google Grant at http://www.google.com/grants through Google's easy online application. Please spend some time reviewing the site to learn more about the program, eligibility, grant details, etc.
• Finally, send an email to grants-nten@google.com to help Google identify you as an NTEN member, which should hasten your application through the process.

LOLnptechAmy Sample Ward gives a summary of takeaways from the 501 Tech Club Portland Brown Bag Lunch event this week, at which Jeanette Russell, from DemocracyInAction, discussed online advocacy. I also caught some live tweets from Amy while she was at the event.

Kintera announced the "Connect Developer's Challenge" with cash prizes (of up to $15k) for "entering a software application or applications that integrate directly with Kintera's platform or customize an existing Kintera application."

Britt Bravo blogs about a request for virtual meet-ups for rural NetTuesdays. What are some technology tools/options out there for this? SecondLife, elluminate, wiziq, and Skypecasts were all suggested. Other ideas?

Marnie Webb is back this week urging all those nonprofits who took her advice about searching last week to take the next step -- and "follow". She's working on her series of tips for nonprofits getting started with social networking and web2.0, but her advice really applies to anyone starting out with online research. I'm looking forward to next week's installment!

Michelle Murrain was at the Politics Online Conference this week, speaking about -- what else? -- open source tools. She shared a panel with other NTEN members, including Ryan Ozimek, Jo Lee, and Alan Rosenblatt.

TechSoup announced new Flickr accounts for nonprofits through the "Flickr for Good" program. The NTEN organizational member and general nonprofit technology contributor is partnering with the photo sharing site to donate 10,000 1-year Flickr pro accounts. OK, NTEN community: how will you use yours?

Ruby Sinreich is Twittering as I post this about her day in DC with the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership, practicing "nonviolent civil disobedience" (hint: find the #OBIPP tags). Will she have been arrested by the time you read this?

LOLnptechAmy Sample Ward let us take a peek at her technology toolbox last week by describing 6 of the daily e-tools she incorporates into her online work and life.

Michelle Murrain has a new free and open source tool overview: Miro, a video tool you can use to play, organize, download, and disseminate online videos. She predicts that this is the future of television.

NTEN member Beth Dunn is profiled as a "tech star" over at @Bar. We're so proud!

Marnie Webb to all organizations thinking about social networking: start with the search. She gives some tips and links to begin your (re)search.

NTEN member Ed Schipul will be speaking on a panel (which includes NTEN superstar Beth Kanter) about web-based social media technologies for nonprofit organizational fundraising at the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSW). All you NTENners who will be at SXSW -- let us know what you learn!

A couple of familiar NTEN members and contributors joined our nptechies across the pond for the Circuit Riders 4.0 Conference last week. Laura's Notebook has a nice round up, including a video of Beth Kanter, who joined via Skype to discuss Web 2.0 for nonprofits. She also referred to NTEN superstar John Kenyon, who was invited by NTEN organizational member LASA to lead a workshop on nonprofit advising (or leadership, as we refer to it around here) the day after the Circuit Rider Conference. Good show!

Beth also has a great post addressing the issues of transparency and criticism in the world of social media. She offers a hypothetical scenario that anyone engaging constituencies in this user-generated environment should consider (hint: read the comments).

In response to Beth's post, NTEN member Kivi Leroux Miller offers some great advice for nonprofits dealing with negative user-generated content.

Joyce Harmon, of NPower Greater DC, posted slides she presented recently for nonprofit leaders about online strategies and tools for this generation of online fundraising and constituent engagement. Thanks, Joyce!

Speaking of giving stuff away, Katya Andresen wrote this enlightening post applying the business model of the "gift economy" to nonprofit organizations. The important takeaway for me here is that, with the low-cost of technology tools like email, e-newsletters, and of course social media tools, it not only makes sense but is fiscally possible for even the smallest nonprofit organization to use this model. Read Katya's post for more background and ideas.

Finally, I found a new form of online update from an NTEN member: this tweet about the upcoming Nonprofit Technology Conference from "Erica G." Why is this exciting? I used Google Alerts to search for "nten member" -- and was sent a link to this twitter update in my email. Implications? Tweeting has reach outside subscribed followers.

LOLnptechNTEN member Beth Dunn picked up on the discussion on Beth Kanter's blog about outcome-based thinking for nonprofits using social media. She encourages those who set out on the "journey" through social media for good causes to plan ahead and keep notes.

Amy Sample Ward discusses Twitter for nonprofits, emphasizing the importance of individual interest over organizational broadcasting. Amy always applies the golden rule when she tweets.

Judi Sohn is back with another down-to-earth -- or from-the-trenches -- post about what it really means to implement a new technology for an organization, even if it's a free technology (such as Salesforce or Google Apps for nonprofits). Someone has to spend staff time (or consulting fees) learning the tool before it can be applied to the organization's mission.

Beth Kanter summarizes the many definitions and implications of "authenticity" and "transparency" for the nonprofit sector.

There's sad news from our anonymous NTEN friend 1centNPtech: his/her organization has decided to outsource their technology planning and oversight. Please drop by our comrade's blog to offer your condolences. And maybe some job leads.

Michelle Murrain rants about the problems with custom CMS solutions for nonprofits. She calls on all nonprofits to reject the custom CMS option in their RFPs.

Our very own Holly Ross was highlighted in PBS.org's Idea Lab blog for talking about the "power" of information, nonprofits, and technology.

If your organization is considering whether (and how) to apply social networking for your cause, read Beth Kanter's contribution to Network For Good's blog, "8 Secrets of Effective Online Networking."

Finally, Deborah Finn wrote a guide on search engine optimization (SEO). She was kind enough to re-publish it on her blog.

We tracked and blogged about America's Giving Challenge and the Causes Challenge, sponsored by the Case Foundation and Parade Magazine, which challenged individuals to leverage their friends, families, and online networks to raise money online for their favorite causes. The idea was to encourage many people to give small donations, proving what Jean Case so eloquently stated in a Slate article: "Small amounts of money given by large numbers of individuals can be combined to do great things."

Today they announced the official winners, including the cause championed by "NTEN Member for Life" Beth Kanter, with the help of Michele Martin. Their cause, "Route Out of Poverty for Cambodian Children," raised $41,673 from 1650 donations, and earned another $50,000 from the Case Foundation for coming in first in the Global Causes category, sponsored through GlobalGiving.

Congratulations, Beth! You can read more about her successful campaign, including from her campaign wiki and her giving challenge diary, here.

We also want to congratulate and thank all the individuals who participated in and organizations who helped sponsor these challenges. Many in the NTEN community participated and discussed the challenges, and we all saw another example of the power of technology for good -- another reminder that the real power comes from you!

LOLnptechThe Salesforce Foundation's Innovation for Nonprofit Success, in NYC, was the big nonprofit technology this week event.

Jake Brewer, of Idealist.org, wrote an article for the Huffington Post, that gets at the heart of what we nptechies are all about: technology levels the playing field and allows even the smallest nonprofits to run their programs using the same tools as the big guys. Jake gives a shout out not only to Salesforce's contribution to nonprofits, but also to Google Apps and the organizations, big and small, that've been able to use these tools to further their missions. (There are too many NTEN members highlighted in this article to name here, so check it out!)

Judi Sohn blogged about the Salesforce event this week too -- but from a different perspective. She couldn't be there! Syncing Google calendars with her husband made her realize that she'd have to miss the NYC event. I missed it too, Judi, and I have Old Man Winter to blame for interfering with my travel plans! Thanks for the down-to-earth insights about using these tools.

Michelle Murrain is back this week with an aptly titled post (Tidbits) about a developers' challenge -- and an open source update, of course.

LOLnptechLet's start with the How-Tos.

NTEN member Amy Sample Ward points her blog readers to a helpful how-to published by Global Voices, "Blogging for a Cause". I think Amy's doing a good job of this herself!

Michelle Murrain, NTEN Board member, continues her helpful series of posts about open source tools by discussing Filezilla, an FTP application. She also includes a helpful post about data portability, pointing out that, with more organizations working in and with Web 2.0, they need to understand what data portability is and why open standards are important.

Judi Sohn offers an update on her organization, C3, which was recently featured on Lifetime TV. She also catches her readers up on staff additions, technology implementations, and the sad loss of one of their advocates.