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Content Management Vs Knowledge Management

I always look skeptically at articles written by software vendors, but I have to say I was impressed by Nav Chakravarti's analysis of the difference between Content Management and Knowledge Management. What's important about his piece isn't just that there is a distinction or even what it may be in theory, but rather some of the specifics that distinguish these practices. For example, I agree completely with the observation that knowledge management is distinguished by high granularity of information and high frequency of updates. This brings information into the scale of how people actually produce it, consume it, and work with it. It's a really excellent distinction. Posted: 10/6/08; 4:34:21 PM #

In Praise of Small and Mid-size Nonprofits
	Don Griesmann's In Praise of Small and Mid-size Nonprofits is a thank you note to community based nonprofit organizations. Reading Blue Avocado, hearing Jan Masaoka discuss its mission with passion and acerbic intelligence, and reading this piece, reminds me that the ecology of civil society can survive without the big players, but not without the smaller ones. Posted: 10/6/08; 4:28:16 PM #

The Tenth Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association: Open Call for Papers

I get dozens of announcements for conferences and calls for papers each month, but I only pass on a few of these to readers of Nonprofit Online News. The Tenth Annual Convention of the Media Ecology Association is worth looking at for two reasons: First, they are taking applications for papers from far outside academia and have a track record of accepting such. Second, civil society needs to be represented in this discussion. "Media ecology" is the study of media environments - the idea that "technology and techniques, modes of information and codes of communication play a leading role in human affairs". (Take a look at the link for examples and inspiration.) In my opinion, there is nowhere this is more worth studying than in the context of civil society. Papers and session proposals should be sent by January 15, 2009. Posted: 10/6/08; 4:23:54 PM #

Measuring Human Development: A Primer

The United Nations Development Programme's primer on Measuring Human Development (173 page PDF) somehow manages to straddle the gap between comprehensive and accessible in addressing a highly political and important topic. The notion here is fundamental, expressed in the very nature of the the term "human development" - the welfare of human beings is the purpose of development work. Given how many traditional metrics function to obscure this, the ongoing global struggle to create, promote, and utilize new metrics is a critical one. In the narrow sense of development for development's sake, you may not see your organization as being involved in such work, especially if you are located in a rich country. But I encourage you to take a look at this primer nevertheless. In the coming crisis, building bridges in both vision and method is more important than ever. You'll find practical value throughout the guide, but most certainly in the section on Advocating for Change with Human Development Data, which includes information on data sources, data skills, communication practices, media plans, and long term advocacy. Posted: 10/6/08; 4:15:50 PM #

What Nonprofits are Saying About the Bailout: A Fast Roundup
	As is often the case, Blue Avocado has a piece worth linking to: What Nonprofits are Saying About the Bailout: A Fast Roundup. The article represents a quick slice of the commentaries of advocacy groups, co-ops and other nonprofits that work on financial systems reform. Posted: 10/6/08; 4:03:17 PM #