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Nonprofit Day 1998

By Michael C. Gilbert, June 1998

Yesterday, over 700 of us gathered at the ANA Hotel in San Francisco to be a part of the Support Center for Nonprofit Management's [ http://www.supportcenter.org/sf ] Nonprofit Day, 1998. I was well run. The Support Center staff were both friendly and effective. I enjoyed myself immensely!

I want to tell you about the two events that occupied most of my time.

Why Web Sites Don't Work

I taught a workshop to a room full of wonderful people on the subjects of Why Web Sites Don't Work and What To Do About It. I polled the audience and discovered that nobody in the room was directly responsible for the web sites that I was to insult.

We looked at these syndromes:

The Upside Down Web Site: There is good content on the site but it's buried under an organizational chart or some other impenetrable hierarchy.

The Dead Web Site: It's never updated. Not to be mistaken for the Dead on the Outside Web Site, which looks like it's never updated, but is actually an Upside Down site.

The Disconnected Web Site: Where all the communication is one way and there is no way for the reader to send email or otherwise contact the site owners.

The Cool Web Site: So enamored of the technology that is almost impossible to use, at least on a regular basis.

The Stingy Web Site: Gives away nothing of value.

We also spent time looking at some principles of Whole Systems Internet Design, as a way to get around these problems.

Starting an Online Newsletter

Martha Simpson of the Support Center staff delivered an excellent workshop on doing an email newsletter. She covered issues related to technology, production and content. Her advice was fantastic and I'm encouraging her to put her material online.

The best advice? Make sure you have a strong voice in your writing! She has been an influence on me and I hope I'm following her advice.

For those of you who don't already know, Martha edits Food for Thought, a regular newsletter of the Support Center. Check out their web site for subscription information.

Other Conferences Like This?

Please write to me [ news@gilbert.org ] and tell me about conferences like this in your own part of the world. The only other place where I have felt like I've been around that many nonprofit folk at the same time is online. I'm looking for other offline gatherings!

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