The Bamboo Project Blog

Need to Mashup a Google Map? Try Wayfaring

In a meeting yesterday, a couple of my clients wanted to be able to see the locations of various employers in their community on a map, but weren't sure how to do this. I knew that this was something we could do using Google Maps, but not being a programmer, I also knew it was beyond my minimal capacities to be fooling around with Google's API. So I started to do a little research and quickly stumbled upon Wayfaring. It's a nice little tool that could prove helpful if you want to create your own map.

Creating a Map
You have to register to start a map, something I did in about 60 seconds. Within about 5 minutes, I had developed my first map showing the location of several employers in Delaware County outside of Philadelphia.

The first step in the process is adding "Waypoints," which are the locations you want to include on the map. You name your Waypoint (I just used company names) and then in the next screen, you enter the street address. Wayfaring will automatically figure out the GPS location of the address and integrate it with Google so that you can see your location as a pin on your map.

If you'd like you can add tags (I had entered a few hospitals, so I tagged them as such) and you can also include notes on each location. In my case, I could use notes to put the contact information of the HR manager at each of the companies we were including on the map (with their permission of course). Once you've added your notes and tags, you hit "Done" and you've added your Waypoint.

Adding additional waypoints was just as easy, although I did run into a few situations where the site couldn't find the address I'd entered. I need to do some more troubleshooting on that problem.

Sharing Your Map
If you want to share your map with someone else, you have a couple of options. You can use the e-mail tab to e-mail your map to your target audience. You also have the option of cutting and pasting the code to include in your blog or website. In my case, I'll probably be including the map in the job search blog I'm going to be creating for the client.

Possible Uses
So why would anyone want to create their own map in the first place? I can actually see a lot of potential applications for the service. Later in the spring I hope to be working with a group of young people on an asset mapping project (we're waiting on grant money--sound familiar?). In that project, we want to gather information about the resources that are available in our community to serve the needs of youth who have dropped out of school. This tool could come in handy as a way to document what we collect. It would also allow us to easily share the information with other people in the community through the wiki and other tools we have planned.

Since we've been talking so much about networks lately, I can also see using this tool to map the location of individual network members or organizations or of various services that clients may access. Brainstorming with the network, you could probably come up with other value-add maps to create that would be helpful to network members. 

Pros and Cons
One feature I'd like to have but didn't see is the ability to use tags to screen locations on my map. In my case, for example, I've included several hospitals. It would be nice if I could use the tag to include only hospitals on my map.

There also doesn't appear to be any "Help" feature--not even a FAQs section--so if you run into trouble, it seems that you're on your own to figure it out.

That said, though, Wayfaring was pretty easy to use and I got myself up and running quickly with minimal problems. And I can't complain about the price, since it's free. So if you're looking for a simple, fast way to put together your own Google Maps mashup, you might want to take Wayfaring for a spin.

Michele

The 59 Smartest Orgs Online

Via Seth Godin, NetSquared, Get Active and NetSquared have teamed up to identify 59 nonprofits that are making the best use Web 2.0 practices.

"These charities were chosen for their excellence in online storytelling and collaboration with their donors. We didn't play favorites to one cause over another, nor did we look at their fundraising goals or number of members. Instead, these organizations are winners because of their web 2.0 smarts and a willingness to engage their constituents far beyond asking them to dig into their pockets.

These are organizations that give their volunteers and members a voice and get out of the way. They're pros at mobilizing awareness online. They're experimenters. Innovators. On a mission. They're fearless."

Haven't had a chance to do more than browse briefly, but some interesting examples here that underscore my belief that Web 2.0 is as much about the values of transparency and community as it is the actual tools. Although these nonprofits do a nice job with the tools, too.

P.S. My week-long hiatus stretched out a little longer than I planned, for a variety of reasons. I plan to post more regularly again, although perhaps not as frequently. I also will be going in some different directions with the blog, bringing in some things I've been working on and thinking about for the past several weeks. Still lots of tech, but some other ideas, too.

Online Learning Guide to Free Video Resources

I'm working on my latest nonprofit networking installment, which I may or may not upload today. In the meantime, here's a nice mini guide to free video resources for learning from Robin Good. I haven't had a chance to fully explore it, but of particular interest to nonprofits, I think are the sections on:

• Video tutorials for blogging, social bookmarking and "Internet television."
• Presentations
• Collaborative Learning

Michele

Web 2.0? Not So Fast!

An interesting article in IT Business.ca, that indicates that many organizations are still not embracing Web 2.0 in all its glory, with many expressing concerns about privacy and compliance issues.

Among the article's key points:

• Employees are interested in the ability of Web 2.0 applications to help them make sense of the growing tsunami of information with which they're faced on a daily basis. Blogs, wikis and mashups can be very appealing when you're trying to sort the wheat from the chaff. But their employers are still wary of how to use these effectively within their current organizational structures. To many people, these tools are just electronic versions of gossip at the water cooler.
  

• When organizations do use tools like blogs and wikis, because of privacy concerns, they are more likely to use them within individual departments, as opposed to throughout organizations or across organizations.

• For many, the real need for Web 2.0 tools seems to lie in the creation of mashups, which combine data and information from two or more sources to create new knowledge. Workers are not necessarily looking for more information--they're looking for GOOD information and a way to make sense of it all.
  

• An interesting area to explore is the idea of employees with their own individual home pages, similar to MySpace, but more professional. Staff could maintain an online portfolio with information describing their skills and talent areas, projects they've worked on, etc. They could also use tags that others could then search to find someone who is knowledgeable about a particular topic for which they need more information, etc. Obviously this makes sense primarily for larger organizations, but it could be a good way to capture and access the expertise of all employees.

• The article also notes that recent grads have begun turning down job offers from organizations that do not allow them to use tools like Instant Messenger or MySpace. It will be an interesting culture clash as more and more tech-savvy graduates enter the marketplace. How will organizations respond to their desire to work differently?  While to management, these tools may be considered "time-wasters," to Gen Y (and some Gen X-ers and even Baby Boomers), these tools are indispensable to their more socially-oriented, networked way of getting work done.

Michele

Org 2.0--What Every Smart Nonprofit Needs to Know from Seth Godin

Via Seth, NPower New York and Squidoo, a FABULOUS one page cheat sheet describing "six cool (free) things you can do by the end of the day" to explore Web 2.0 tools and "Org 2.0." It's an easy-to-read PDF file that you can use to start experimenting with the new breed of Internet tools.

Go get it. Right now. I'm not kidding. It's a must have. Use it to explain new technology to someone who doesn't get it. Or get six people in your organization to try one of these things and then report back to the rest of the group. Or you do one of these each day for the next six days. It's a great way to experiment.

 

UPDATE: Beth has some good suggestions to go with the cheat sheet that you should check out, too.

Michele

Does Your Web Site Suck?

Sometimes we learn more from what's wrong, than from what's right. That's why Vince Flanders of Web Pages that Suck has been dissing businesses and nonprofit websites for years. Rightfully so if you check out his Biggest Mistakes in Web Design: 1995-2015, an article he recently revised when he realized that the Mistakes of 2004 (when he originally wrote it) were doomed to be repeated.

For those of you who want me to cut to the chase, here's Vince's one-sentence description of all major site design problems:

Visitors to your web site don't care about you and your web site and they don't want design elements that get in their way, especially Mystery Meat Navigation, too much material on the page (although sometimes they do), they don't want you misusing Flash or using FrontPage, but they want to be able to figure out what your site's about, how to navigate through it, they want Heroin content, they want text and graphics used correctly and they don't really care about your marketing plans, your use of Web Standards, Usability and tableless CSS as long as you clearly and quickly point out how they can get what they want.

That's too much crammed into one sentence for me. So here are some of my favorites that bear repeating:

Believing that People Care About You and Your Site
Not that they don't care, but as Vince points out, most visitors are really most interested in how you can help THEM.

Nobody cares about you or your site. Really. What visitors care about is solving their problems. Most people visit a web site to solve one or more of these three problems.

1. They want/need information
2. They want/need to make a purchase / donation.
3. They want/need to be entertained.

If your site doesn't help them do one or more of these things quickly, then you're done.

Site Design That Gets in the Way of Visitors
If you use design elements--Flash, too much or too little text, poor navigation, etc.--that get in the way of customers solving their problems (see Mistake Number 1 above), then you have a problem. Your goal is to have a site that makes it easy for visitors to find what they need and to accomplish what they came for. You don't want them to have a hard time giving you a donation, do you? 

Site Lacks "Heroin Content"
You can get away with a lot of design flaws if the CONTENT of your site is so compelling it keeps people coming back for more. That means content that changes frequently, that is powerful and engaging, and that provides people with information and/or entertainment. Vince has some great questions to ask yourself about content in this section that you shouldn't miss.

Misunderstanding Graphics
Animated gifs, ugly background graphics, poor quality or inappropriate graphics--all make the list. A picture's worth a thousand words, but not if it sucks.

There's a ton of great advice in this article that can help you plan for that site design or re-design. You might also want to check out these "Sites that Suck" to make sure you're not making some of the mistakes he's talking about.

• Association of International Glaucoma Societies
• San Francisco County Superior Court
• Ponus Yacht Club
• Visual Arts League

Please, don't let these happen to you. . .

Michele

An Open Space Reading List

Lately Open Space Technology (OST) has been cropping up everywhere, most notably as Unconferences  and Mashup Camps. I think that part of the appeal comes from how well OST processes dovetail with the ethos of Web 2.0, as well as how the tools of Web 2.0 lend themselves perfectly to supporting Open Space.

What is Open Space?

Open Space is a process for running meetings and conferences that is based on the concept that participants should take responsibility for their passions. From Wikipedia (which explains it better than I can right now):

Open Space Technology enables groups of any size to address complex, important issues and achieve meaningful results quickly. It is at its best where more traditional meeting formats fail: when there is conflict, complexity, diversity of thought or people, and short decision times. It has been used in widely diverse settings, from designing aircraft doors at a large aircraft manufacturing company to engaging street kids in defining a sustainable jobs program.

Originated by Harrison Owen in 1986, Open Space has been used in over 100 countries and in diverse settings, industries, cultures and situations - for program and product design, knowledge exchange, interdisciplinary thinking, conflict resolution and conferences.

In Open Space, a facilitator explains the process and then participants are invited to co-create the agenda and host their own discussion groups. Discussions are held in designated areas or separate rooms known as 'breakout spaces' and participants are free to move amongst the discussion groups. Each group records the conversations in a form which can be used to distribute or broadcast the proceedings of the meeting (in hard copy, blog, podcast, video, etc). Online networking can occur both before and following the actual face-to-face meetings so discussions can continue seamlessly. In a multi-day Open Space, participants have the opportunity to announce new discussion topics / late-breaking sessions each new morning. At the end of the day (or 2 days or 2.5 days) the full group reconvenes for comments and reflection. This helps participants to re-engage in the full group over the duration of the meeting.

While the mechanics of Open Space provide a simple means to self-organize, it is the underlying principles that make it effective both for meetings and as a guidepost for individual and collective effectiveness. The Law of Two Feet -- a foot of passion and a foot of responsibility -- expresses the core idea of taking responsibility for what you love. In practical terms, the law says that if you're neither contributing nor getting value where you are, use your two feet (or available form of mobility) and go somewhere where you can. It is also a reminder to stand up for your passion. From the law, flow four principles:

• Whoever comes is the right people
• Whatever happens is the only thing that could have
• Whenever it starts is the right time
• When it's over, it's over

I've used Open Space very successfully before so initially I thought about doing a write-up on using Open Space with nonprofits. Maybe some day when I have the time I'll do that. But frankly, there are a lot of really great resources out there already, so I'm not sure it's really necessary. Instead, I wanted to share some of my favorite OST resources for anyone who's interested in trying Open Space.

____________________________________________________

Open Space Reading List

Open Space Technology: A User's Guide by Harrison Owen is the bible of the Open Space movement. Although you could probably figure out how it all works using some of the free resources below, I always think it's a good idea to start with the original work as the most comprehensive basis for starting to work with Open Space. You can also find a brief (free) version of the User's Guide here.

Open Space World is the online home of the Open Space movement. Here you can learn about the development of Open Space, read their blog and check out their resources, including finding an Open Space facilitator. Be sure to check out the Facilitator Resources. This section includes great articles and checklists to use in explaining and facilitating open space events.

Chris Corrigan has a great site on Open Space, including some excellent resources for deeper learning and doing. (The photo above is from one of Chris's events) You can also check out Chris's blog here. (Thanks to Dave Pollard for this tip.)

For a great visual review of Open Space Technology, check out Lisa Heft's Anatomy of an Open Space Event, which uses pictures to explain Open Space.

While not technically Open Space, The Unconference Blog  uses Open Space concepts and techniques, but with a techie twist. She also has lots of examples of unconference events that are going on, as well as some good practical hints and even some games.

Let me know if you have any other good resources--I'll add them to my list.

Michele

Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants--Calling All Bloggers!

It's our turn to host the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants this week, so I need your help.

The Basics

Submit a post on the topic below by 8 p.m. (EST) Friday, December 8. Send your post to npc.carnival@yahoo.com or by going to the Blog Carnival Form.  I'll be selecting 7 of the best entries for the Carnival, which will go online Monday morning.

Topic
Last week, I mentioned that we've started a wiki to give nonprofits a brief introduction to the concepts and tools of Web 2.0 and to provide them with specific examples of how other nonprofits are using these tools to engage in their basic work activities. We're trying to build a library of resources for everyone, so what we're looking for are posts that:

• Provide a simple explanation, tutorial, how-to, tip etc. on using a Web 2.0 tool. Tools include blogs, wikis, RSS, social networking sites, YouTube,  etc. Try to make things as "non-techie" as possible. We're looking for "Web 2.0 for Dummies" here.

AND/OR

• Demonstrate how a nonprofit is using a Web 2.0 tool to accomplish a particular task. Tasks can include marketing, fundraising, advocacy, staff development, etc. Any good concrete examples or case studies that can help nonprofits get a picture of how Web 2.0 stuff can work for them is perfect. If possible, examples of how smaller "mom and pop" nonprofits are doing it would be really great.

That's it. Looking forward to seeing what we come up with.

Michele

Monthly Fundraising--Nonprofit of the Month Club

Via Escape from Cubicle Nation, I found Monthly Socks, a "sock of the month" club that allows you to sign up and receive socks on a monthly basis. Since it's Christmas and these kinds of "Thing of the Month" packages make great gifts, it got me to thinking . . .

What about  nonprofits banding together for a sort of "donation of the month" club?  Let's say I'm buying a gift for my Aunt Sally who has everything. She loves the environment, so rather than buying her a gift she doesn't need, I could buy an "Environmental Package." Each month, a different environmental nonprofit would receive a donation in Aunt Sally's name and Aunt Sally might get an e-mail update, a video or some other piece of information about the cause that lets her know how this month's donation is being used.

Or I could buy a "Children's Package" that might include a donation to 12 different nonprofits that serve children. Or a "local package" that let's me support 12 different  nonprofits from my local area. There could be "Arts" packages or "Helping Women" packages. You could even have a complete "mix and match" package that would let individuals select 12 individual nonprofits from any category they wanted.

It wouldn't have to be 12 nonprofits. Three, four or six nonprofits could also be organized with each nonprofit getting 2, 3 or 4 donations per year. The point is setting up a more consistent package that gets people in the habit of giving without having to solicit the funds as frequently and without donors feeling like you're "hounding" them.

Offering the broad kinds of possibilities I'm suggesting are probably more appropriate for an organization like Network for Good to set up. They would be in the best position to set up a variety of different cause-related groups because they are working with a broad range of nonprofits.  But there's nothing to stop nonprofits that share a common mission or customer base from self-organizing and marketing the idea on their own.

I can picture, for example, local nonprofits that help victims of domestic violence banding together to create a ""Break the Cycle" club. Donors' monthly donations might first go to a domestic violence shelter, then to a job training program for victims of domestic violence, then to an organization that works specifically with the children and then to an organization that counsels and works with perpetrators. This seems to me to be a wonderful synergy that could benefit all the organizations, both in terms of advocacy and getting their message out, as well as in increasing their fundraising efforts.

If anyone's aware of something like this going on already, let me know--I'd be curious to see how it's working. I think it's an idea with some interesting possibilities and the technology is making it ever easier to automate this cycle of giving.

Michele

Digital Future Includes Greater Social Activism and Link Between Online Communities and Off-line Action

I'm tired after a day of presentations, but still wanted to quickly write about this. Excuse any incoherence. . .

The USC/Annenberg Digital Future Project just released a report indicating some major shifts in communications and social connections spurred by online activities. The project conducts annual surveys of more than 2,000 individuals nationally and this year's report identifies some important changes in how users are participating in real-life and online community activities.

The findings most important to nonprofits include:

Online communities and offline action -- The Digital Future Project found that involvement in online communities leads to offline actions. More than one-fifth of online community members (20.3 percent) take actions offline at least once a year that are related to their online community. (An “online community” is defined as a group that shares thoughts or ideas, or works on common projects, through electronic communication only.)

Social activism – Participation in online communities leads to social activism. Almost two thirds of online community members who participate in social causes through the Internet (64.9 percent) say they are involved in causes that were new to them when they began participating on the Internet. And more than 40 percent (43.7 percent) of online community members participate more in social activism since they started participating in online communities.

To me, these findings present a major opportunity for nonprofits that are able to create and maintain online communities. What I find particularly interesting is that online activities actually boost offline social activism. Clearly nonprofits that can capitalize on this will be in a stronger position to engage supporters of their cause.

You can read the rest of the report here.

Michele