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Email Design Guidelines for 2006

I highly recommend Campaign Monitor's Email Design Guidelines for 2006. In brief, their six recommendations are: (1) Never use images for important content like headlines, links and any calls to action. (2) Use alt text for all images for a better experience in Gmail and always add the height and width to the image to ensure that the blank placeholder image doesn't throw your design out. (3) Add a text-based link to a web version of your design at the top of your email. (4) Ensure your most compelling content is at the top (and preferably to the left). (5) Test your design in a preview pane, full screen and with images turned on and off before you send it. (6) Ask your subscriber to add your From address to their address book at every opportunity. Posted: 12/10/05; 4:58:13 PM #

Accidental Activists

I'm always fascinated by the personal stories of people who become committed agents for social change. Some people's stories are subtle, full of gradual realizations. Some, like Craig and Cindy Corrie, have moment's of truth. In their case, it was when their daughter was killed by a Caterpiller bulldozer destroying Palestinian homes. The Corries' lives took a sudden turn to a new path, carrying on their daughter's work for reconciliation in Palestine and fighting the Caterpiller company's profiting from what they see as war crimes. Posted: 12/10/05; 4:55:52 PM #

Love Your Enemies

In Love Your Enemies (ad supported Salon article), Michelle Goldberg tells the story of Tom Fox, one of the four Christian peace activists who are facing death after their recent kidnapping in Baghdad. The deadline placed by the kidnappers has passed. Over 30,000 people have signed a petition asking for their release, explaining (as does this article) how Fox and the other members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams have worked to help the very Iraqi prisoners whose release the kidnappers are trying to force. Although I got hate mail the last time I said it, I will say it again: Tom Fox and his fellow peacemakers are the real heroes to me. Posted: 12/10/05; 4:47:25 PM #

The Submarine: Finding PR Influence Online

In The Submarine, Paul Graham describes how the Internet makes visible the heretofore submerged process of influence exerted by public relations efforts on news and commentary. Using simple searches, he tracks the proliferation of a new "trend" (men's suits supposedly making a comeback) to a public relations firm hired by Men's Warehouse. It's really nothing we didn't already know, but it seems like this would be a useful research technique in nonprofit educational and activist campaigns. Posted: 12/10/05; 4:38:45 PM #

Worker Privacy: You Have None
	Joanna Glasner gives a quick overview of the state of online worker privacy in the U.S. in Wired and the short answer is that there is none. I wonder what nonprofit policies are in this regard. Posted: 12/10/05; 4:17:58 PM #

FBI Put Peaceful Protesters in Terrorism Files

In today's news, we learn about the Chinese police massacring protesters and sealing off their village to hunt for organizers. I'm aware that, relatively speaking, we still have some precious freedoms in United States. But the growing evidence of domestic spying, criminalizing of dissent, and conflating activism with terrorism is still very disturbing. The latest news proves that the FBI does indeed put peaceful protesters in terrorism files. Posted: 12/10/05; 4:12:03 PM #