That doesn’t help us communicate very well! 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) 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.  Let’s use this beautiful picture of fruit as an example. 

I've found that understanding some of the mind's cognitive biases can not only help nonprofit campaigners efficiently motivate our audiences into taking action online, but also help us be more effective professionally. Help ensure our children have a better future"). Online Organizin For example, people are more willing to take action to stop something from being taken away than if they were to receive the equivalent value (you'll do more to stop from losing a dollar than you will to get a dollar). That means it's often more effective to frame an action as preventing

As part of a workshop on social media that I gave with Susan Mernit at the 2009 Women, Action & the Media conference, I pointed out Wellstone Action as an example of an organization that's doing great work on Twitter. said, "I don't know if this will be valuable, but it can't hurt," and any tactic that could help raise our profile was received well. After the workshop, I wondered how @wellstoneaction planned their Twitter usage-- were they really some sort of non-profit advocacy Twitter mastermind, as I'd suspected? Elana Wolowitz, the Communications Director and voice

The goal is to help participants create a social media strategy AND take a deep dive into the tactics and tools of social media.   One of the challenges, of course, is integrating social media strategy with overall communications planning as well as Internet strategy without having the time in the workshop to drill down into those other topics.  I've come up with synthesis - a worksheet, how-to points, and resources that would guide an organization to think strategically about social media. Source:  Dollar Bin, Flickr In February, I'll be co-teaching the " WeAreMedia Live " intensive two-day workshop in San Francisco from NTEN .  

Think of all the places your organization’s name, staff, projects, programs or focus area could come up in the news, in campaigns, or in online conversations. To stay on top of it all, I suggest you create a listening dashboard for your organization - and here’s how to do it! Here are some example searches using NetSquared as the organization. “netsquared” or “net squared” This month’s Net2 Think Tank question asks, “How do you stay up-to-date online?”  8221;  There are so many blogs, news sources, and conversations

Think of all the places your organization’s name, staff, projects, programs or focus area could come up in the news, in campaigns, or in online conversations. To stay on top of it all, I suggest you create a listening dashboard for your organization - and here’s how to do it! Here are some example searches using NetSquared as the organization. “netsquared” or “net squared” - putting this in the Amy Sample Ward, NetSquared [Ed. Ed.

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

If you haven’t yet noticed, three very important changes have been made that significantly effect your organization’s Facebook community: Coincidently, once this change was made, activity on the Nonprofit Organizations Facebook Page declined. Thus, a $50 experiment with Facebook Advertsing for Nonprofit Organizations. The Facebook of February 2010 is quite different from the Facebook of 2009 especially when it comes to Facebook Fan Pages. 1) Status Updates are no longer guaranteed to get exposure in the News Feed.

Some people define it as organizing, especially around specific events, campaigns, legislation, or fundraising.  Those of us in positions to support those connections and collaborations are some of the luckiest people in the global network, acting as the email or Twitter post or blog reference that helps individuals make networked jumps to where they really want to be. The approach is focused on organic collaboration and growth for the entire community.  My latest post is up on the Stanford Social Innovation Review opinion blog.  You can read the full post and join the

After studying over 50 international nonprofit organization's email lists and response rates, the 2009 eCampaigning Review Study revealed that 60% of nonprofits present a compelling argument for supporters to take action, yet close to 70% of the organizations did not send a follow up email within one month. The study conducted by Advocacy Online, Duane Raymond of Fairsay and consultant Jess Day also noted that 50% of organizations' online lists had 40% or more inactive supporters. 37% of nonprofits did not even bother to send a thank you email. This surprised members