[Printer Friendly Version]

News for January 2004

29 January 2004

CAFOD report: dire working conditions in computer production

The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development has released a report showing dire working conditions in computer production. I will be very interested in learning the response of values based organizations and intermediaries to this report. Will it change the nonprofit sector's purchasing decisions if some of their suppliers are exploiting sweat shops? I'm particularly interested in the response of technology consultants and advisors. Posted: 1/29/04; 1:25:03 PM #

Creative Commons License 2.0 Draft
	The draft of version 2.0 of the Creative Commons License has been released for public review. If you are in any way in the business of content (which many nonprofits are), I encourage you to take a look at this. They have added some great provisions, such as link back requirements. Posted: 1/29/04; 1:24:49 PM #

Crafting Messages That Stick

In Crafting Messages That Stick (10 page PDF), Chip Heath looks at what nonprofits can learn from urban legends in their message development. Urban legends are among the most viral of all messages. They tend to be: (1) Simple, making use of analogies. (2) Unexpected, producing a short-circuit between two mental frames. (3) Concrete, using specific language and details. (4) Credentialed, relying on authorities or testable ideas. (5) Emotional, tapping negative or positive feelings. (6) Stories, with real people. Posted: 1/29/04; 1:24:32 PM #

28 January 2004

10 Tips on Writing the Living Web

I am becoming quite the fan of Mark Bernstein. He is a deep thinker who develops deep software and he is a keen, fluent writer. I particularly liked his 10 Tips on Writing the Living Web. (The "living web" refers to that majority of the information space that is constantly under construction.) In short, his tips are: Write for a reason. Write often. Write tight. Make good friends. Find good enemies. Let the story unfold. Stand up, speak out. Be sexy. Use your archives. Relax! Posted: 1/28/04; 10:22:19 AM #

Sorting Things Out

Information junkies, like myself, love to classify things. I recommend Sorting Things Out by Geoffrey Bowker & Susan Leigh Star. This book is about the power of classification. One of the key lessons for people designing information systems for nonprofits is that the ongoing process of classification and reclassification, not just having a useful taxonomy, is itself one of the most powerful forms of knowledge building. Posted: 1/28/04; 10:22:09 AM #

Is business waking up to the need for innovation?
	Dave Pollard asks "is business waking up to the need for innovation?" He addresses many of the same issues that I have been raising with funders and others in the nonprofit sector for years and presents a number of models for nurturing innovation, including Drucker's. He also uses some fun graphics. Posted: 1/28/04; 10:21:58 AM #

26 January 2004

Yet another Windows email virus

I have personally received over 1000 copies of the W32/MydoomMM virus by email today. I'm never a fan of the Microsoft monoculture, but today I'm particularly angry. Every time this happens I consider threatening to stop corresponding with anyone who uses Windows (or sometimes just Outlook), including the tens of thousands of people who read Nonprofit Online News. (No, I'm not actually going to do this.) This is infuriating. It's like throwing garbage into your neighbors back yard. I have received ten more just in the time it took to post this news item. Note: I eventually received over 30,000 of these. Posted: 1/26/04; 7:40:12 PM #

21 January 2004

Supporting Open Collaboration and Sustainable Engineering
	For several years, a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been working on participatory technology planning models, a topic at the center of my own professional interests. They have published a particularly good paper on Supporting Open Collaboration and Sustainable Engineering in Education (PDF). Posted: 1/21/04; 12:25:39 PM #

Generating Web Graphs with Embedded Communities
	Yahoo now has a public Labs site, with research papers and other resources to come. Because of my ongoing interest in the visualization of networks and communication, I was pleased to see this paper on Generating Web Graphs with Embedded Communities (PDF). It's a good piece, but not for the casual reader. Posted: 1/21/04; 12:25:04 PM #

20 January 2004

For a Future to be Possible
	At a time when hypocrites are the loudest moralizers, it is sometimes a calm blessing to read someone like Thich Nhat Hanh. As I read For a Future to be Possible, I thought about how the five Bhuddist precepts are very much a reflection of the core values of much of our sector. It was a gentle, grounding book. Posted: 1/20/04; 11:22:44 AM #

The First American

If Benjamin Franklin were alive today, the powers that represent the United States would not, I believe, respect him. Today's America embraces anti-intellectualism and the pursuit of private profit. At least, this was one of my thoughts as I read The First American, by H.W. Brands. I was inspired by the way Franklin pursued philosophy, science, politics, and civic engagement (including starting several "nonprofits") with equal intelligence and passion Posted: 1/20/04; 11:22:25 AM #

19 January 2004

MLK on $20 Bill?

After thousands of people (along with Nancy Reagan) opposed the move to replace Roosevelt on the U.S. ten cent coin, the effort appears dead. In this context, the San Francisco Chronicle takes this opportunity (and this day) to recommend Martin Luther King for the $20 bill, and offer a history lesson on Andrew Jackson (whose swagger seems distressingly familiar) at the same time. Posted: 1/19/04; 8:02:37 PM #

The MLK American has Ignored
	Today is Martin Luther King Day in the United States. Tens of thousands of nonprofiit organizations are working toward the vision of peace, equality, and justice that MLK espoused. That is very much the topic which the Christian Science Monitor explores in the Martin Luther King Jr. America has Ignored. Posted: 1/19/04; 7:40:53 PM #

8 January 2004

Altruistic individuals, selfish firms?
	In Altruistic Individuals, Selfish Firms, Andrea Bonaccorsi and Cristina Rossi look at the structure of motivation in Open Source software development. Their observations apply quite well to the nonprofit sector, where despite the altruistic purposes for which most organizations are established, they nevertheless behave in some very selfish ways. Posted: 1/8/04; 3:44:07 PM #

Mind Mapping
	As many of you will know, I use a lot of mapping techniques in my work. I've been trying to share related resources as they come to my attention. The latest is this introduction to Mind Mapping, from The Learning Centre. Posted: 1/8/04; 3:43:18 PM #

7 January 2004

Help Keep FDR on the Dime

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's image is on the U.S. ten cent coin. He was the founder of the March of Dimes whose original mission was to eradicate polio. (That goal is likely to be achieved by next year!) Congressional idealogues want to remove Roosevelt from the dime and replace him with Ronald Reagan, whose administration's extragovernmental efforts include funding contra terrorists in Central America. If this concerns you, you might want to check out what the March of Dimes has to say about it. Posted: 1/7/04; 11:40:01 AM #

6 January 2004

Guide to eLearning
	The U.K. based eLearning Centre's Guide to eLearning is an excellent introduction to the subject, with solid introductions to key topics, definitions, annotated links, and other resources. Posted: 1/6/04; 12:41:29 PM #

Always Time for a Change
	In Always Time for a Change, John Naughton draws some lessons from the socio-technical landscape of 2003 and offers a few modest predictions for 2004. Posted: 1/6/04; 12:41:20 PM #

The Most Important (weblog) Ideas of 2003 - Part 1
	In Part 1 of Dave Pollard's The Most Important Ideas of 2003, he makes a number of both obvious and less obvious conclusions about weblogging. He also includes a great flow chart of the process of managing a weblog. Looks a lot like what I've been doing for the last seven years. Posted: 1/6/04; 12:40:47 PM #

5 January 2004

Donella Meadows on Places to Intervene in a System

Whenever I lecture about a systems approach to communication strategy and organizational change, people want more resources. Often, I point them to some fairly esoteric stuff. But I was recently reminded of Donella Meadows' 1997 work on Places to Intervene in a System, and I recommend it to anyone trying to find leverage points for change in a networked world. It's essential reading for funders, consultants and nonprofit leaders. Posted: 1/5/04; 12:11:23 PM #

What You Can't Say
	I think I am regarded in some circles as rather outspoken, so it was with great pleasure that I read Paul Graham What You Can't Say, a thoughtful exploration of heresy in all its forms and implications. Posted: 1/5/04; 12:11:13 PM #

Knowledge Augmentation
	Denham Grey has written a jargon heavy, but pithy and link filled piece on Knowledge Augmentation, in which he lists some of the key practices in organizations who want to build their knowledge base and encourage learning. These practices are one of the reasons I focus on communication and processes in my knowledge management work, rather than on content. Posted: 1/5/04; 12:10:55 PM #

2 January 2004

Does oligopoly crush innovation?
	Oligopoly Watch explores the question of whether oligopolies hinder innovation and reach the conclusion that they do. We have oligpoly forces at work in the nonprofit sector as well (exacerbated by funder's desires to back big winners) and we suffer from a corresponding impact on finding new approaches to our work. Posted: 1/2/04; 12:43:36 PM #

Standards: Do We Really Need Them?
	In Standards: Do We Really Need Them? does a great job going over the basics: What are standards? Why are they important? What can you do about them? Posted: 1/2/04; 12:43:29 PM #

NPA's Predictions for Internet Fundraising in 2004
	Rick Christ of NP Advisors has compiled his Predictions for Internet Fundraising in 2004. I particularly like this one: "Nonprofits who actually ask for money online will get lots more of it." Posted: 1/2/04; 12:43:21 PM #

Nielsen's Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003
	Jakob Nielsen offers his Top Ten Web Design Mistakes of 2003. My favorite is the very first one: Unclear Statement of Purpose. I think it's true. After all these years, most people still don't know what they intend their web site to accomplish or how they are going to measure its success. Posted: 1/2/04; 12:43:13 PM #