TechSoup Blog

Continuing on last week's discussion about Causes leaving MySpace, TechSoup's own Amy has written an interesting guest post on Sean Stannard-Stockton's Tactical Philanthropy blog. Amy discusses the Causes fallout as well as Ideablob's sudden disappearance. She gets at some of the big questions nonprofits should be asking about the tools we're using. It's definitely worth the read.

We can count our Twitter followers or how many people have commented on our blog post, or could have counted the number of supporters on Causes or voters on Ideablob, but that doesn’t mean we connect with them. Now that Causes removed itself, its content, and any related data from MySpace, organizations cannot connect with their supporters who were using Causes. Ideablob participants are locked out from seeing any comments or feedback on their ideas. The fact that access to data, whether it’s supporters’ email addresses, tracking actions taken, or anything else, is instantly gone should be a big alert bell to those working in a "networked" way via social media to grow their community. To connect with supporters, organizations and individuals working on projects will need to be sure that data gets back to them. How are you encouraging your supporters all over the web to connect with you directly? For example, when you post a message (whether it’s on Twitter, Facebook, or even Change.org) telling your supporters that you’re ramping up for some big news, a new project or something else, include a link where they can sign up with you to be on the email/announcement list. When supporters sign a petition or take action on your organization’s behalf in social media platforms, include "thank you" and "learn more" links wherever possible that link to ways to connect directly with your organization, ensuring the contact information is in your database, not just Facebook’s.

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As mentioned last week, our Customer Service Representatives are working their tails off to dig out from a huge backlog of donation requests following the launch of Windows 7 last month. In order to help do that, they will not be taking calls today so they can go through the mountain of email requests and hopefully decrease the wait time for everyone in the coming weeks. So, even though they won't be answering phones today, they'll be plowing through your emails all day long.

The Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) and California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) today named TechSoup Global one of three winners of the 2009 California Digital Inclusion Program Award. The award recognizes nonprofits, government agencies, and corporations responsible for raising awareness of and improving web accessibility for Californians with disabilities.

Here's a photo of a directional antenna that can transmit Wi-Fi Internet several miles. Anyone can build one with materials from a hardware store; you can even download the blueprint online for free. Over the past 18 months or so, the antennas have been appearing around Jalalabad, a former Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan. Of the ways in which it differs from a traditional wireless access point, the most profound is that it lacks an electronics company logo. It wasn't created by a government either, but it could become the new symbol of infrastructure rebuilding in Afghanistan and around the world.

The organization behind the antennas is Fab Lab, an international network of community workshops. Fab Lab helps residents install the antennas and, even more importantly, learn how to use them. These may not be the most sophisticated antennas, but they work. They're inexpensive and easy to repair, qualities more important in Afghanistan than a good warranty.

Originally an MIT project with a modest National Science Foundation grant, Fab Labs are becoming important resources in some of the most troubled communities on the planet. Individuals can come to Fab Labs to pick up computer and production skills in order to make themselves more employable or start their own businesses. Through projects like the Wi-Fi antennas, Fab Labs empower citizens to play an active role in building and rebuilding their communities. In this great TED Talk, Neil Gershenfeld summarizes the history of Fab Lab and suggests that the labs are democratizing technology by turning consumers into creators. I've been aware of Fab Lab for a few months now and I'm enamored.

In Afghanistan, the lab is actually part of a growing network of loosely-affiliated organizations and individuals taking a do-it-yourself approach to rebuilding. These people make up in creativity what they lack in institutional funding. Take, for example, the Taj, the only bar in Eastern Afghanistan (apparently a tiki bar, no less). A natural gathering point for military people, contractors, and NGOs, the Taj is an obvious place for people who might not otherwise meet to trade information. Dave Warner had the idea to set up a simple 1 TB hard drive in the bar for storing and sharing data. Now, the "Beer for Data" program has grown into a major source of information and collaboration for NGOs. In this talk, Warner explains how the program made it possible for a worldwide network of NGOs and activists to work together to monitor Afghanistan's 2009 election.

Vinay Gupta asked activist Smari McCarthy about Fab Lab, Beer for Data, and other innovations in an excellent long interview earlier this year. A question that comes up again and again is why these sorts of projects can't find more funding (Fab Lab Jalalabad's monthly expenses are a mere $1500). McCarthy posits that governments won't support Fab Lab because it makes too much sense, a joke with more than a hint of truth.

I find it inspiring to read about organizations doing profoundly important work with next to no budget. Technology in particular is an area in which it's sometimes hard to see past the price tag. But some projects don't require a grant or a large tech allotment; sometimes you just need a good idea and a trip to the hardware store.

From our good friends at Idealware:

Are you on staff at a nonprofit? Are you using any social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, video sites, blogs) - or even just starting to experiment with it? If so, please take our Social Media survey today: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=l3Z9bXmCorZ_2fQzAYlvrOkw_3d_3d

Idealware has embarked on an intense, year-long social media research initiative which will ultimately result in a Social Media Decision Making Guide for Nonprofits.

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Software as a service (SaaS) is an undeniably green alternative to traditional computing. It's one form of cloud computing in which people use software applications that are located on the Internet rather than on their own computers or networks. A very common example of it is web-based email. The green aspect of SaaS or cloud computing is that it shifts the computing power responsibilities to a relatively small number of Internet servers and can slow the continual demand for hardware upgrades to meet the needs of new software. Essentially, a software hosting provider can utilize a server more efficiently than you can in your office; it can also make setting up and managing your software a whole lot easier. As you rely more on the cloud, you may find that you rely less on an in-house IT person. It also usually lowers your upfront costs since you no longer have to buy and maintain the server or the software. But is it the right solution for you and your organization?

Risks

Since these services usually charge some sort of subscription fee, the lower upfront costs need to be balanced against the generally higher operating costs to determine what is right for your budget. Check out the thoughts and concerns of some of our forum users in this thread (read past the first few posts about the initial article to get to the real discussion). Their main concerns were around security, potential for data loss and availability. Major SaaS providers like Google, Amazon and Microsoft have had significant outages causing inconvenience to their users, but more importantly, one actually lost data in the process.

TechSoup is a nonprofit that has many moving parts, programs, services, and functions. It's a lot of work to provide (what we hope is) good content, useful events, inexpensive or donated products from corporate partners, and more. With that, we need your help. There are many ways to get involved; check out the pages on the TechSoup Global site to learn about current job openings and internship opportunities. This post will discuss two of those opportunities in detail.

The TechSoup Content Team Is Seeking Volunteers and an Intern:

Faith in Practice won an Honorable Mention in the Digital Storytelling Online Challenge for their Flickr story submission. I got a chance to connect with Ashley Messick, a winning lady behind the winning organization, to find out more about her work.

What organization do you work for and where are you located?

I work full-time with Faith In Practice (FIP), a nonprofit organization out of Houston, Texas that does medical mission work in Guatemala. I also work part-time, remotely doing social media for Blood Centers of the Pacific (BCP), the community blood center in the San Francisco/Bay Area.

Tell us briefly about the mission of your organization and your work.

The mission of FIP is to improve the physical, spiritual, and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term surgical, medical, and dental mission trips and health-related educational programs. I work to coordinate and organize all the aspects of our volunteers' trips down to Guatemala so that they are prepared before leaving and have everything they need while in-country, including customs documents, supplies, hotel, transportation, and more.

BCP seeks to provide an adequate and affordable blood supply which meets the health and safety needs of the public; and to conduct medical and scientific research and education that improves the safety and efficacy of blood transfusions. I began with BCP in the Communications Department doing social media, briefly worked in Donor Recruitment, and now am back in the Communications Department working remotely to continue building our social media presence.

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I'll start off with an introduction — I'm not new to TechSoup, but I'm new to the TechSoup Blog. I've been working as a web content developer for TechSoup for a little over a year, writing content for our catalog of products each time we get new donor partners or new donations from existing ones.

Seeing all the donation requests we get from organizations has reminded me that there's a huge number of nonprofit organizations out there doing great things. And I'm really excited that so many organizations are getting the technology they need from TechSoup. However, I think it's very unlikely that most of these organizations are getting the recognition they deserve.

To that end, I'll be writing a series of blog posts highlighting organizations that have received donations from TechSoup to aid in achieving their missions. I want each post to be a small story about the organization and how they've succeeded in bettering their communities.

In my work for TechSoup, I'm guilty of being a bit heads-down and not taking note of what other nonprofits are doing, since my position doesn't require direct interaction with our member orgs. I love hearing about what organizations are doing, and starting a project like this (perhaps selfishly) allows me to do that. But I think that other organizations, potential donation partners, and pretty much anyone can learn something from nonprofits' stories and successes.

We've received a lot of content over the years from groups telling exactly these kinds of stories, and I'll probably be sorting through these for some time. I also want to reach out to new organizations that have stories to tell.

Interested nonprofits or libraries can send me an email through my TechSoup Community profile. It doesn't need to be lengthy, but at least include contact information and answer these two questions:

1. What does your organization do?
2. How have technology donations from TechSoup helped your organization achieve a specific goal or benefited your community?

Regardless of whether your organization is featured on here or not, I'm extremely grateful to all the nonprofits, libraries, and other charitable organizations everywhere doing meaningful work. Thank you — your actions mean everything.

Photo: i a mcdonnell

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Check out this short interview Kim Hart of The Hill conducted with TechSoup CEO Marnie Webb. Marnie's been in Washington this week talking about how best to leverage the new broadband stimulus grants on behalf of underserved populations.

... Webb admits she is naive to the ways of Washington. As she meets with non-governmental organizations and agency officials, she has to stress that she is not looking for financial help. TechSoup did not apply for any money in the first round of stimulus grants. She's thought of talking to the staff of her district's representative, who happens to be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but she knows she'll have a hard time getting an audience.

"I have to say, 'No really, I'm not asking for money - this is not a sneaky way of asking for more funds,'" she said over coffee this morning.

Webb says she essentially wants to offer TechSoup's services to help stretch the $7 billion in stimulus grant money as far as it will go.

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