ONLINE EVENT: Introductions (Online Activism: Social Media Tools for Social Change)

Hi everyone... this is Heather Mansfield. I am here to answer your questions - if i can!

I am the nonprofit community manager at:

http://www.change.org

And created and maintain the NPO MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/nonprofitorganizations

And have a small company on the side called DIOSA | Communications:

http://www.diosacommunications.com

Glad to be here!

Hi all!

My name is Carie Lewis, and I manage all the internet marketing efforts for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which includes social networking / web 2.0 and online advertising.

I've been with the HSUS for about 2 years now and after proving that social networking and online advertising can really bring results (in terms of community building to reach our advocacy and fundraising goals), I've been able to hire 2 new staffers to help with internet marketing!

All of our networks can be seen here:
www.humanesociety.org/connect

Looking forward to your questions today.

I really enjoy networking with others, particularly those in the nonprofit web 2.0 space, so please feel free to ask me questions and connect with me!

Carie Lewis
Internet Marketing Manager
The Humane Society of the United States
email: clewis@humanesociety.org
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=690301276
linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carielewis

My Name is David Ballinger and I am the Online Fundraising Coordinator at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, I started last week after a few rounds of internships utilizing social networking sites and new media tools. I'm really looking forward to learning new tips today!

Hi all,

I've been trying to expand our web presence, and I'm just beginning to look into how sites like Myspace and Facebook can help us reach more people. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone has to say today!

Hi,

My name is Usman Imanah,
Publisher of Development Report Magazine. An online Magazine that focuses on reporting Non profit activities in Nigeria and Africa in general. The online publication focuses on issues relating to charity, development, philanthropy and related activities. It seeks to provide the information needed to bridge the gap between the philanthropist and the needy.

Our maiden edition is online at

www.developmentreport.org

We are looking for funding to go print and am here to learn as much as I can.

You can check us out on facebook

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=14824389611&ref=nf

Hi,

My name is Sasha Daucus and I am a forum host (Introduction forum) here at TechSoup.

I'm also work in marketing for a donor management software company. Most of our marketing is done online, and I find that what works in the for-profit world often is similar to what works in the nonprofit world. There are some important differences, but often not as dramatic as appears on the surface.

Best wishes,

Hi there - I'm Michelle Riggen-Ransom, the Communications Director for BatchBlue Software. We make online CRM software for small businesses and entrepreneurs: http://www.batchblue.com/

I also just started a blog called Social Media for Social Change and am curious to see what types of things people are doing with social media in the private and non-profit sector. My blog is at http://socialmediaforchange.com/

Lastly, I co-wrote a paper on how small business can get started using sites like Twitter, flickr and Facebook, which folks might find useful. It's here: http://www.batchblue.com/bluepaper-socialmedia.html

Thanks everyone and thanks TechSoup for organizing! ~Michelle

HI Everyone!
My name is Maha Chehlaoui and I am the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator for a new 2.0 type company called Call2Action. We are a social networking site where Orgs, filmmakers and users can connect. Non-profits will be able to have a profile page where they can feature their own media, as well as connect with other relevant cause related media. They will be able to post calls2action, in the form of events, donations, petitions, and pledges in relation to that media. We want to help NPO's grow their support base, help filmmakers get their work seen, and make it as easy as possible for individuals to affect change!

I am looking forward to sharing information and learning from all of you. I am interested in hearing what non-profits look for in choosing a social network- there are lots out there, and I want to make sure we are providing a useful value.

See you on the boards!
Maha

Hi I'm Dan Bassill, president of a Chicago non profit calledCabrini Connections (CC) , Tutor/Mentor Connection (T/MC).

While we operate a site based tutor/mentor program connecting inner city kids with adult volunteers, we created the T/MC to help tutor/mentor programs throughout the Chicago region get ideas, and get the volunteers and donors needed to operate good programs.

The core of the T/MC is a knowledge base with liks and contact information for more than 200 tutor/mentor programs and with more than 1000 other liks to research and related information that volunteers and leaders could use to sustain their programs.

We host events, such as a May 29 and 30 conference, to bring people together, and to build public awareness. We've created internet forums so people who cannot come to the conferences can connect online. The people we encourage to participate in this networking are the people we link to from our web site, and others who we meet in social networking spaces.

Thus, our pages on Facebook, MySpace, Linked In, etc. as well as our blogs, are intended to reach more people who care about this work, and to point them to the central information hub.

What I find is that with a growing number of places to network, the real challenge is finding time to manage all of these places. To me the answer is in the volunteers and/or interns who we might recruit. I'm hoping that this forum can lead to some networking and new volunteer development opportunities.

Hello everyone: I am coming a bit late(!) to today's party but do look forward to reviewing questions and comments. I am developing awareness and engagement in the U.S. with a global online community of nonprofits and socially engaged individuals called ammado. ammado incorporates elements of social media and social networking and is dedicated to meaningful societal change on both a global and local level. Thanks to TechSoup for this discussion. Barbara Kelly, bkelly@ammado.com
http://www.ammado.com/PublicProfile.lnk/2338

Hi there, I just posted here but the reply didn't show up so here goes again ! Thanks Tech Soup for hosting this . What a great
idea and I hope to learn a lot. Sorry to be late.
I'm the Director and co-founder of a new arts non profit called Chordata based in the desert but with international scope.
Here's a clip from our mandate:


Art is what puts the human face on technology.
With the awesome gains we have made in science and the almost
incomprehensible acceleration of this
knowledge, we still sense that something crucial is missing.
It’s our humanity, gone missing in the vast sea of myspaces and “connectedness”.
Hiding behind the glossy surface of all this technology that mesmerizes us so,
we only seem to be more
isolated and the world is ever more war-torn and dislocated.
We forget that information is not wisdom and in this Information Age,
the quality of our lives and
relationships with each other and the planet we live on, has deteriorated.
Humans are all lopsided these days.
If we can remember that art is the expression of our deepest emotions, our creative nature,
and plays an
essential role in enhancing and illuminating
our lives , we’re halfway home.
It’s like riding a bicycle: Once you learn , you never forget. It may be that the knowledge
of how to live a
rich, meaningful creative life (creativity being about problem solving and not consumption)
has atrophied
from under-use.
Part of our human inheritance, though, is that self-righting, self-repairing
mechanism referred to as
“adaptive resilience.”
Artists have honed the skills and have the tools to help unlockhe the creative core,
the emotional wellspring
in us all.
We started chordata to :
“ Support artists and work that is focused on re-establishing the value of art and,
specifically, creative thought and the creative life in our technologically driven societies.
It is the artist’s emotional, creative intelligence that makes an essential contribution to
human well-being, self knowledge, and wisdom.
Chordata plans to accomplish our goals through : Providing a unique multi-purpose space
for project development, events, exhibitions, performances ; Administrative/Management
support ; Self-sustaining entrepreneurial models and opportunities; Cross cultural
exchanges ; Experiments with crossing mediums and collaborations ; Direct access for the
public to the creative environment (a transparent laboratory).”

Long winded ! Anyway, I prior to the launch of Chordata.us which will be a clearing house/media rich site, I've resurrected my
blogs, been using twitter (good experience) and setting
up many social networking accounts PRIOR to full web site
launch. We'll put a new video/soundtrack on a You Tube
Channel/Myspace Music site etc.... and create (I hope?) a
breadcrumb trail through cross networking all of this
to the website. MY QUESTION IS: We are planning also to
launch an Amazon store full of cool things from vintage
vinyl to desert ephemera and contributions from friends
around the world . This will be an ongoing fundraising vehicle
and I wonder if any of you have experience with this?
Also what you think of the strategy of using web 2 tools to
network first BEFORE the full website (also practical because
our site will podcast, videocast and there is a lot technically
to do to make it GREAT .)

You are an amazing bunch ....look forward to getting to know you more.
Liz
www.anodyne2art.com
twitter: www.twitter.com/anodyne2art
chordataamigata@gmail.com

Hi -- My name is Tim. I do online community stuff with WebJunction. I thought I'd have time to participate today, but my schedule thought otherwise. The best I'll be able to do is peek in at the topics and maybe respond to some later. I appreciate you doing this and wish I could participate more actively. Maybe next time?

BTW, Michelle -- I took a gander at your article. Good stuff. Thanks for posting!

Hi, I'm Anthony Zacharzewski, and I run a non-profit in the UK called The Democratic Society. We exist to promote political engagement and participation, and we'll be holding our first discussion event offline in our home city of Brighton next month. We're also looking for tech help to build a web app that will support discussions and allow people to hold discussions and explore issues online.

I'm not going to be able to participate much right now, as it's gone midnight UK time and I need my sleep - but I'm looking forward to catching up with the discussions when I get up.

We are a small non-profit animal rescue in northeastern Wisconsin with very big dreams! We revamped our website in December so it looks more professional and have just started a myspace page that is still in the works, so today's forums have been all around helpful and will be a great resource and we get our social networking pages up and running!

Tina & Eli
Open Door Rescue Oasis/Critterscompanion
www.critterscompanion.org