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News for October 2007
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 30 October 2007 |
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| ProPublica - Journalism in the Public Interest |
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I'm very excited about the launch of ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative news organization. I'm not surprised to learn that the project is backed by some of the very same grantmakers whose vision has opened up opportunities for nonprofits and the Internet. Investigative journalism is clearly at risk and while I am intrigued by the choice of a former Wall Street Journal editor as its leader, I have a lot of hope for ProPublica. They understand exactly what role they could play in the renewal of democracy in the United States. I hope they take full advantage of the fact that one of the few remaining sectors of society where the spirit of investigation is alive and well is among civil society organizations. The possibilities for partnership and leveraging resources are profound.
Posted: 10/30/07; 7:29:36 PM # |
| NRCCUA College Admissions Website Report |
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The National Research Center for College & University Admissions commissioned a survey of college or university admissions websites. I like their methodology, which involved a very effective combination of opinion survey (of students) and functional criteria (related clearly to communication objectives). The main conclusion? As the expectations of students for engaging communication flow increases, colleges and universities are falling bahind.
Posted: 10/30/07; 7:19:17 PM # |
| Actics: A Social Site for Rating Actions According to Values |
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I am not yet sure what I think of Actics, so I'm very interested in the analysis of my readers, if you care to offer some. In essence, it's a site where you publicly document your own or your organizations values and actions, and then receive feedback or ratings from others. Like most sites these days, it has a social network aspect and a widget that you can use to share your "rating" and get feedback (which presumably markets the site). I have to say, I can't quite wrap my head around this. Could it be a platform for other community's rating systems? How easily is it gamed? What does it really even mean?
Posted: 10/30/07; 6:51:08 PM # |
| Global Environment Outlook |
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Always on the lookout for frames of references that can bring many organizations into closer collaboration, I have sometimes found global reports of many kinds to serve that purpose. The most recent Global Environment Outlook from the United Nations Environment Programme is no exception.
Posted: 10/30/07; 6:40:44 PM # |
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24 October 2007 |
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23 October 2007 |
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| The Alphabet Soup of Data Exchange |
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In private circles, I've expressed some frustration recently with the attention that certain nonprofit software vendors have received for finally adopting some sort of open API. My frustration isn't that they shouldn't be praised for doing the right thing, it's that this falls into the typical pattern of late movers getting most of the credit. Anyway, if you're interested in learning what the fuss is about and how interoperability is actually managed these days, I highly recommend Peter Campbell's recent Alphabet Soup of Data Exchange, published by the incomparable Idealware.
Posted: 10/23/07; 6:06:16 PM # |
| Management By Conjury: The Persistent Mystery of High-Impact Nonprofits |
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White Courtesy Telephone is one of my favorite philanthropic blogs (one of those I wish were part of our network), because it doesn't shy away from taking a stand. If you can get used to the relentless irony, you will find the posts thought provoking and timely. I recommend a recent one entitled Management By Conjury: The Persistent Mystery of High-Impact Nonprofits, which tears apart a recent article describing the supposed six practices of successful organizations. (The popularity of such numbered lists is really tiring, don't you think?) The author argues persuasively that the "six practices adduced by the study's authors are epiphenomena with little predictive power when compared with the qualities of a nonprofit's leadership".
Posted: 10/23/07; 6:00:08 PM # |
| Is The Net Good For Writers? |
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It goes without saying that writing is a powerful tool for civil society and social change and I've been involved in numerous programs in support of writers, including our Author's Network and the Keystrokes Workshop. I took great pleasure from the varied opinions expressed in RU Sirius's recent interviews: Is The Net Good For Writers? The answer of course is that this depends on which writers you mean, but given the explosion of writing online (the usual overwhelming proportion of which is bad) and the complaints from publishers (rather than writers), I think it's safe to say that if you were dependent on bits being expensive to copy, then you are probably out of luck. That doesn't apply to most writers I know. It will be fun to watch new business models hatch! (Link is now using Google cache, since original article disappeared mysteriously.)
Posted: 10/23/07; 5:03:51 PM # |
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16 October 2007 |
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| Thinking Points, by George Lakoff |
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The Rockridge Institute hosts the entire text of George Lakoff's book Thinking Points as a vision document for political conversation in the United States. I'm an unabashed Lakoff fan, so I loved the book, but the site also has substantial archives of conversations, facilitated by Joe Brewer, that took place around the various chapters. I particularly liked the final chapter in the book, The Art of Arguments, that is a sort of primer of reframing issues. It makes me wonder what a comprehensive effort to broaden the frame of reference of civil society organizations might look like, given how many are trapped within a frame that actually undermines the very issues they purport to be working on.
Posted: 10/16/07; 6:34:18 PM # |
| Circle of Life Foundation Asks: What's Your Tree? |
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The Circle of Life Foundation is in the process of launching a civic engagement program entitled What's Your Tree? The reason I'm mentioning it now, well before launch, is because the concept really appeals to me. The question comes from Julia Butterfly Hill's well known sit up in the tree known as Luna. But what it conveys is even more important: how all our issues are connected and how powerful it can be to focus in tightly on a single aspect of the system. As you probably recall, I have a great frustration with the fragmentation of civil society and the isolation of our organizations and causes. Hill's story and this program has the potential to show that connection can be compatible with focus.
Posted: 10/16/07; 6:25:48 PM # |
| 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index |
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Reporters Sans Frontières has released their 2007 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. The big news is that now bloggers are as threatened worldwide as traditional media are, which puts nonprofits under even greater restrictions. The U.S. has gained slightly compared to last year, although it still ranks 48th of 169 nations, behind places like Estonia, Namibia, and Trinidad.
Posted: 10/16/07; 6:19:36 PM # |
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11 October 2007 |
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| The Journal of Online and Integrated Fundraising: Nov 2 Deadline for Papers |
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The November 2nd deadline for submissions to The Journal of Online and Integrated Fundraising is coming up fast. This is an area where pretty decent research has really taken off in the last two years and I'm looking forward to working with reviewers to put together a great inaugural issue.
We're taking an interdisciplinary approach and covering a wide range of topics, including: network centric and "viral" fundraising, opportunities for greater cultivation and stewardship, donor centered fundraising and organizational boundaries, many to many communication and the role of "scaling up listening", tested best practices in all fields of online fundraising, emerging patterns of disintermediation and aggregation, user centered design and user experience in fundraising, methods for transitioning donors between media, and methods for change management in fundraising practice.
Please forward the URL to our Call for Papers to any and all who you think may be able to submit papers. There is a surprisingly diverse range of people and organizations conducting meaningful research in this field.
Posted: 10/11/07; 4:43:31 PM # |
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10 October 2007 |
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| Reflections on a Year of The Guru’s Handbook |
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It's been a year since we launched Asher Bey's weblog, The Guru's Handbook. In Reflections on a Year (appropriately enough his 100th post), Asher looks at the process of learning through writing and how reading makes meaning. I'm proud to have supported this work and am looking forward to year two!
Posted: 10/10/07; 6:28:17 PM # |
| My Secret Summer Romance: Gavin Clabaugh on the Open Secrets Effect |
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In My Secret Summer Romance, Gavin Clabaugh opens with a description of his companion on his recent trip to France and then segues into an exploration of the "open secrets effect". He looks at the great power to be found in exposing publically available information - such as campaign contributions, grantmaking decisions, or even maps - in new ways to large numbers of connected people.
Posted: 10/10/07; 6:23:40 PM # |
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7 October 2007 |
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| Introduction to Nonviolence - Series of Classes on Video |
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The University of California at Berkeley is starting to post its classes on YouTube. One of the most interesting to me right now is PACS 164A: Introduction to Nonviolence. It's the first of two entire series of courses on the topic, a total of fifty-six class sessions between the two of them. The class description: "An introduction to the science of nonviolence, mainly as seen through the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi. Historical overview of nonviolence East and the West up to the American Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr., with emphasis on the ideal of principled nonviolence and the reality of mixed or strategic nonviolence in practice, especially as applied to problems of social justice and defense."
Posted: 10/7/07; 10:27:26 PM # |
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4 October 2007 |
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| Gilbert Authors Network |
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In 2006, we quietly started considering new ways to expand the range of voices associated with The Gilbert Center and Nonprofit Online News. We already had guest authors contributing to our featured articles list and to our growing range of topical publications. And of course, our Journals are comprised of many voices, who are experts in their fields. In Oct. 2006 we took an even bigger step. We introduced the first new weblog affiliated with The Gilbert Center since the establishment of Nonprofit Online News in 1997. Since then we have slowly been adding more new authors and weblogs to the network. And there are many more to come.
Today, I'm pleased to announce a modest little website that serves as a public face to the Gilbert Authors Network. It has bios of all the authors in one place, and aggregates all the posts in a single feed. As the network grows, we have some directions we would like to take this site, but we think it's a good start. Please check it out!
Posted: 10/4/07; 5:04:59 PM # |
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2 October 2007 |
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| Right Livelihood Award 2007 |
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The winner's of this year's Right Livelihood Awards (the Alternative Nobel Prizes) have been announced: Christopher Weeramantry (of Sri Lanka) for his work on advancing the rule of international law, Dekha Ibrahim Abdi (of Kenya) for her effective nonviolent conflict resolution work around the world, Percy and Louise Schmeiser (of Canada) for their work on biodiversity and genetically modified crops, and the company Grameen Shakti (of Bangladesh) for its solar energy work.
Posted: 10/2/07; 4:23:24 PM # |
| A Pacifist Primer |
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Today is the first International Day of Nonviolence. I'm aware that this concept is actually rather foreign to a lot of otherwise very thoughtful people. One interesting starting point that I would recommend is Clark Hanjian's Pacifist Primer.
Posted: 10/2/07; 4:05:52 PM # |
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1 October 2007 |
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| The Mean Streets of the Homeland Security State-let |
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If you think your cause or organization is immune from the new security state, I highly recommend you read Nick Turse' article on NYC, the NYPD, the RNC, and Me. Every nonprofit worth supporting represents some expression of personal passion for change or service and depends upon our freedom to organize and our freedom to speak to each other. Follow some of the links. Think that you work on something "nonpolitical" and are therefore safe? Think again.
Posted: 10/1/07; 1:26:56 PM # |
| YouTube Nonprofit Program |
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Youtube launched a nonprofit program last week, to much less fanfare than I would have expected. I suspect this is partly in preparation for adding advertising to many of the videos on the site, but that doesn't mean it won't be useful for some organizations. My main worry, of course, is about the effect of centralized services such as Google on freedom of expression in repressive times such as ours and I fear that some civil society organizations will abandon their more "controversial" cousins in favor of free hosting. Despite all this, it's good to see Google continuing to build its support for nonprofit organizations.
Posted: 10/1/07; 1:21:48 PM # |
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