EMERGING TOOLS AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR .ORGS Considering the breakneck speed in which new web tools and
applications are developed, it can be difficult to stay on top of the
latest and greatest tech innovations. It can be even harder to determine
if they make sense for your work and to convince your colleagues that
your organization should be using these tools.
We're here to
help. This issue of NTEN Connect focuses on emerging tools and how
nonprofits should approach bleeding edge technologies. Read on for
articles describing the latest tools and how you can use them, and
opinions on how to best evaluate whether the latest is indeed the
greatest for your work.
 FEATURE: TEN COOL TOOLS FOR
WORKING ON THE WEB  Marshall Kirkpatrick,
SplashCast
New services and applications are coming
online all the time and some of them can prove immediately useful for
nonprofits. Here are ten of my current favorite tools for research,
collaboration, and productivity.
1. News Alerts Via IM
and SMS
Some things are best responded to in real time.
For watching your high priority concerns, I recommend using a service
that checks RSS feeds frequently and alerts you by instant message or
text message whenever there is a new item of interest. Most feeds are
better watched by feed readers or a start page but nothing beats real
time notifications about urgent matters. This is how I break a lot of
stories in my sector.
Rasasa.com is the smartest tool available,
but if you're a Verizon customer in the United States you'll need to use
something else. In that case, check out Zaptxt.com.
FEATURE: BLEEDING EDGE - WHAT'S
THE ROI?  Ali Levine, NTEN Fellow for Special
Projects
Working "on the bleeding edge" is
exhilarating, but it can be nerve wracking too. Staff time and money are
in perpetually short supply and ensuring the most efficient and
effective use of resources is one of the most important tasks a
nonprofit manager must undertake. Deciding to put those scarce resources
into a new idea or tool can be a tough call. New ideas are, by their
nature, largely unproven, and there is usually little data to go on.
Even when data does exist, it rarely tells you what you want to
know. Most available data is captured by a single organization and tends
to stay within that organization, where it's useful but doesn't offer a
big picture look at the trends. And just because several organizations
are using the same tool doesn't mean that they have the same goal.
 |
GoLightly:
Online Collaboration for Nonprofits
GoLightly is a
unique online tool for connecting people with email lists, threaded
discussions, document libraries, blogs, wikis, and more. NTEN uses
GoLightly to host its Affinity Groups.
Meet GoLightly's Dale
McGrew on Tuesday, February 27, at the NTEN-sponsored webinar "Is An
Online Community Right for You?" This webinar will be useful to
organizations that are considering developing an online community and
are evaluating their options. SIGN UP FOR THE
WEBINAR > | 
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RANT: THEY MYTH OF BLEEDING
EDGE VS. BASIC NEEDS
 Tate Hausman, dotOrganize
Many of us mythologize the bleeding edge. We fill our minds with
"first mover" success stories like the MoveOns and Dean campaigns of the
world that make headlines for using brand new tools. We secretly dream
that we too might get our hands on a bleeding edge tool that skyrockets
us and our organization to success. And we feel a little ashamed and
nervous when peers talk about Second Life, Frappr, and Meebo because
we're still struggling with our email.
Dreams of breakthrough
success drive innovation and experimentation. But when we prioritize the
bleeding edge over basic needs, we do a huge disservice to our
organization and our cause.
GEEK LOVE: SHOW YOUR TECHIE A
LITTLE AFFECTION ON VALENTINE'S DAY Techies have a lack of lovin'. We thought it
was about time we did something to change this. So we declare tomorrow -
February 14 - to be Love Your Techie Day.
Need some ideas on
how you can show the geek in your life your appreciation? We have plenty of
them. But first read a few select poems from other holiday revelers.
We're collecting Geek Love Poetry and will publish all your contributions tomorrow, so let the
creative juices flow and pen a poem for your favorite techie.
WYSIWYG, By Bob Johnson
Ignored by
most, but needed 24/7,
Hell on Earth, but they always go to
Heaven.
Never loved or coddled, unlike a household pet,
But just like computers, what you see is what you get.
HOW TO: USING MOBILE PHONES FOR
IN YOUR CAMPAIGNS  The mobile buzz is definitely on, and with
good reason. There are 2.7 billion mobile phones in circulation around
the world and these numbers continue to grow at astonishing rates, even
in the United States where we are notoriously behind in the use of text
messages and creativity in mobile applications. But with half of the
world owning cell phones, all organizations that want to communicate
with their constituents and spread their message should be looking at
mobile phones as a promising, new outreach tool.
Yes, using
mobile phones is still a novel idea for most nonprofits. The good news
is that there are many resources available to help your organization
enter the world of mobile communications. For starters, here are a few
things to consider as you plan a mobile campaign.
Mobile phones should be used as part of an integrated campaign. As
sexy as mobile marketing and campaigning is, it can't yet stand by
itself. Texting campaigns, especially with short codes
on a professionally run platform, are still expensive and will not turn
into "profit centers" any time soon. Mobile phones are a
great way to strengthen ties with your existing supporters and get
immediate responses for urgent actions. For now these are the two most
promising uses for mobile phones in campaigns, but I think it's safe to
say that we'll see this broaden as mobile marketing takes off.
HOW TO: START PUTTING
TECHNOLOGY TO USE Your guide to resources that will help you put technology
to work for your cause.
EXPLORE WINDOWS
VISTA
The release of Window's latest operating system is
here. What does this mean for you and your organization?
> TechSoup explains what Vista can do and answers your questions on the operating system.
>
Ed Bott explains what you need to know about Vista in Five
Vista tips, revisited and expanded.
> Vista may be right for
you, but can your
computer handle it?
TAGGING
You've
heard of tagging, but what is it really? And what can it do for you?
> Beth Kanter has put together a must see screencast for anyone new to tagging or
looking to reap all of the benefits. If you still have questions after
the screencast, read through
her notes.
THINGS WE LIKE COMMUNITY BUZZ
News and buzz from people and
organizations in the nonprofit tech sector. Read our posts on our blog.
HOW THE CONVIO/GETACTIVE MERGER WILL AFFECT
YOU
Last week we hosted a live discussion with
representatives from Convio and GetActive to find out what their merger
means for the people and nonprofits who use their software. You can
listen to the recording of the discussion and read what listeners had to say about it. ONEWORLD'S PEOPLE OF THE YEAR
NTEN member
OneWorld has declared Dr. Rashad Zidan and the women of Iraq the People
of the Year for their efforts to hold families together during the time
of war. Want to know more about the situation for women in Iraq? Ask Dr. Rashad Zidan a question. TECH SAVVY COMMUNICATIONS
NPower Seattle has
released an excellent toolkit designed to help nonprofits communicate
effectively - both in message and in medium. The toolkit is available
for free download on their website. TRICKLE DOWN TECHNOLOGY
NTEN member Paul Lamb
talks about how we can bring access to tech tools to the masses in his
article Us, Not You,
for Person of the Year.
| |  Photo by Michael
Stein
UPCOMING WEBINARS
Best of Breed or All In One,
What's in Your Software Future?
Wednesday, February 15
11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET
Presented by Jeff Herron from Beaconfire
Consulting
Choosing a
Low-Cost Constituent Database
Wednesday, February 15
11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET
Presented by Eric Leland from Leland
Design RSS for Research and Media Monitoring
Thursday,
February 22
11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET
Presented by Rob
Cottingham from Social Signal
BECOME A MEMBERIf you like your monthly edition of NTEN
Connect, support us by becoming a member.
Need another reason
to join? Members save up to 50% on webinars.
MEMBER DISCOUNT
DemocracyInAction provides an
affordable, integrated online campaign solution for nonprofits of any
size. And NTEN members save 10% on set up fees!
LATEST
REPORTS
 Data integration is one of
the hottest issues in nonprofit tech. Find out about one potential
solution - APIs - in our latest report.
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