My current job title includes the term “Community Builder” and I get asked nearly every day just what that means: how do you build community? where is the community you want to build? how can I be a community builder online? I want My latest post is up on the Stanford Social Innovation Review opinion blog.  You can read the full post and join the conversation on SSIR here.

The word most in question: “organization” When applying the idea of the traditional understandings of the word “organization” to this bunch, we could say: Strawberries = the organization (staff) Blueberries = the members/supporters/community I’ve been thinking about words lately and finding that there are far too many that we use that either are too vague they don’t really mean anything or are so frequently used that they no longer mean anything.  That doesn’t help us communicate very well!

you're implementing social media smartly at your organization, you already know it raises more issues for nonprofits than it solves. If social media is about individuals conversing authentically with a community, who's in charge of the conversation?  You'll I'm fascinated by the ways social media is changing how organizations structure themselves -- and in particular, how social media is redefining job titles in our sector. Flickr Photo: varnent Your job isn't going to exist in a few years, and it ain't the economy's fault. Blame it on social media.   If

Yesterday, I checked out the session “Community organizing and online organizing: can they go together?” The session covered interesting points on the debate between community and online organizers and ways to overcome the resistance within an organization. He asked the question – is organizing the same whether it is done online or offline? Thanks to NTEN for sharing live webinars of the NTC sessions for those of us that couldn’t make the actual conference. rdquo; led by Charles Lenchner who currently works for the Working Families

David Wilcox and I are getting ready for iterations on Social by Social - the first two being applications of the lessons learned and strategies for using social media shared in Social by Social ( read online or download the PDF for free, or buy your hardcopy ) in local communities and the same for local government.  We have a couple events coming up at the end of the week where we’ll get to work with local government representatives, organizations and community members to discuss how to use social media to create community online as well as enable democratic participation.

Jay Moonah's presentation on Social Media Best Practices for Non-Profit & Public Sector Organizations was streamed live online as part of The Canadian Institute’s recent “Managing Social Media” conference recently - but if you missed it, no worries! Best practices online community Social networking case studies Non-profit Communications training webinar social medi We’ve got the highlights right here. ...( read more ) ...Tags:

A successful online community can pay off in increased word of mouth (35%), more brand awareness (28%), bringing new ideas into the organization faster (24%) and greater customer loyalty (24%), according to the 2008 Tribalization of Business study by Beeline Labs, Deloitte, and the Society for New Communications Research, which surveyed more than 100 business with online communities. That the greatest value of an online community lies in “communications-based objectives” — in forging bonds between...( read more ) ...Tags: Tags: analytics online community Best practices

Have you been wondering if your organization needs a blog? In this guest post, Michael Faye of AssociaDirect talks about how blogging can help you to connect more effectively with your community of members, and outlines 5 basic considerations in planning a non-profit blog. Is Blogging Right for Your Organization? Practically every customer and potential customer I speak with inevitably brings up social media. “Should Should we be twittering?” “Should

In December, we held one of the first conferences devoted to the intersection of online and community organizing, with a special emphasis on the labor movement, local electoral campaigns and small organizations. What made Organizing 2.0 they also heard from multiple speakers about the challenges that online work faces within our organizations It was gratifying to be able to discuss issues that weren't getting enough attention at other conferences we attend. unique was the emphasis on organizational change, in contrast to tech tips and tricks that other conferences

community.  survivors on a personal basis and animate the community.   I asked Brooke McMillan, Online Community Evangelist, for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, to share some examples of how they engage with their community. October 2nd is LIVESTRONG Day- a day we set aside each year to focus on cancer survivors, advocacy efforts and community participation. Note from Beth:   The Lance Armstrong Foundation , known by its nickname “Livestrong”, Livestrong”, provides a  network of support for people diagnosed