Introduction
Best of NTEN Connect 2011
Holly Ross, Executive Director, NTEN  Around this time of the year, I tend to be really focused trying to finish up those last few (or many) things I need to get done before the year ends. When you're entirely focused on what you haven't yet accomplished, it's hard to remember to reflect on all the things you HAVE accomplished. At NTEN, it's a long list:
And of course, there's this newsletter. Over the course of 2011, we've talked about everything from websites to data to accidental techies. We're excited to use this edition to look back and share with you some of the most compelling content from the year. When you're done reading (and watching the top cat videos from "Things We Like"), we hope you'll take a few minutes to reflect. What was your big nonprofit technology accomplishment this year? Share with us! Best,
Holly BEST OF 2011
Data and Storytelling: 6 Ways to Use Data to Move Your Mission
By Kurt Voelker, CTO, Forum One  Data is the new black. These days everyone is releasing it, visualizing it, aggregating it, and mashing it up. It can justify the work your organization is doing, help others understand why it's critical, and offer exciting new ways to motivate others to help solve the problems your organization is working on.
One effective way to transform your data from an afterthought into a powerful communications product is through visualizations that help tell your story. CONTINUE READING > Interested in other ways to use data? Check out: Partner Sponsor
 BEST OF 2011
Five Free Tools for Social Media Listening (And How to Start Responding)
By Carie Lewis, Director of Emerging Media, Online Communications, Humane Society of the United States  Listening is the first step in social media. You have to listen to what others are saying about you before you jump into the fire. Listening will tell you what people are saying, and where they are saying it, so you know where to get started.
Here are 5 tools I recommend to get started. CONTINUE READING > Oh, there's more social media where that came from! NTEN Connect readers also liked: BEST OF 2011
The Five Best Tools For Quick And Effective Project Management
By Peter Campbell, IT Director, Earthjustice  As an IT Director, co-workers, peers, and consultants frequently ask me, "Do you use Microsoft Project?" The answer to that question is a resounding denial.
My Project rule of thumb: if the budget doesn't justify a full-time employee to manage the Project plan, then MS Project is overkill.Real world projects require far more agile and accessible tools. Here are five tools that are either free or you've already obtained, which, used together, will be far more effective than MS Project for the typical project at a small to mid-sized organization. CONTINUE READING > We all want to work more effectively. Our community recommends:  Future nptechie Darcy Pudhorosky
"This year I'm giving to support one of my favorite organizations, NTEN. NTEN is made up of the coolest nonprofit geeks in the world. It's been a huge help and inspiration to me over the years so I really appreciate the opportunity to give back. Thanks for helping me do that!" - Corey Pudhorosky > Help me support NTEN! BEST OF 2011
The Social Website: Integrating Social Media into Website Design and Function
By Debra Askanase, Founder, Community Organizer 2.0 and Seth Giammanco, Principal, Minds On Design Lab   If you're considering revamping your website to include social elements like the Facebook Like button, streaming from YouTube, or adding information from a social site through its API, it can be overwhelming to know where to begin.
There are many ways to "get social", and so many reasons for doing so. Primarily, it's about creating a fundamentally engaging experience for the website visitor that brings them closer to your organization. The process of considering how to get social starts with considering goals. CONTINUE READING > Everybody loves to hate their own website, but we've got you covered: BEST OF 2011
An Accidental Techie #FAIL Story
By Melissa Barber, Electronic Communications Specialist, Death with Dignity National Center  At a previous job, I suggested we move from using three Access databases and individual employees' email programs and spreadsheets to a more robust, centralized, and informative cloud-based Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) system.
As a development associate with previous experience working within a functional CRM, I knew how much more effective our entire organization would be if employees could access – from anywhere – a single system managing all our contacts with donors, vendors, volunteers, and grant makers. What I neglected to concentrate on: making sure others in the organization understood the benefit of the new system, the reasons for the change, and – perhaps most importantly – that the executive director understood and bought into the concept of a CRM. CONTINUE READING > We're all techies these days, even if we don't think of ourselves that way: Partner Sponsor
 A Few of Your Favorite Things The most read items from "Things We Like" in 2011. Yes, NTEN Connect readers do like cat videos!. - If there was one theme to rule them all in 2011, it was... storytelling.
- We know! We thought it would be social media again, too. But the only link to crack the top 20 was Event360's look at "LinkedIn for Nonprofit Professionals". Are you getting burned out? Or has social media become such a part of your strategy, you can now ignore the latest and greatest shiny new tool?
- From visual storytelling to blogging to fundraising, you're clearly looking for opportunities to tell your organization's story in new and impactful ways. And we support that!
- It's not just because you validate our obsession with maps. From broadband availability to surprisingly beautiful maps of the Internet to climate change, maps make data interesting and informative.
- But there's nothing more to say about the "United States of Awesome".
- Nor about our mutual love of cat (and ocassionally, dog) videos. Heck, our friend Dahna Goldstein even mentioned us in a song.
- And while kittens on turntables and cats and dolphins playing together are cutely ridiculous and ridiculously cute respectively, nothing we saw this year trumps "Catvertising".
- The DoGooder Nonprofit Video Awards – including one of our favorite nominees, "Passover Moses" – amply demonstrated that the sudden ubiquity of cheap, high quality video cameras can be used for more than trying to score a viral hit on the back of your cat; they can, in fact, be harnessed by nonprofits to tell stories in a language we all understand. (Also, don't stand on your cat's back. That could end badly.)
- So can effective data visualizations, QR codes – and even the good old fashioned report: JGA's look at "Millenial Donors" was one of the most popular links we posted this year. The key is to do it well.
- Now, since you've already stopped fondling the hammer, stopped treating your web designers like collage artists, stopped treating your e-mail template as something that should just work, stopped... well, you get the picture: tactics are fine, but they need to tie into strategy.
- We hear you, and NTEN will support that work in new ways in 2012. But for now, let's do another barrel roll, enjoy a little bacon-based art, and affirm that the world is a wonderful place. Happy holidays!
| DECEMBER 2011
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