One of the above is the actual cover of "Visualizing Information for Advocacy" - a must read booklet from Tactical Technology Collective.

NpTech Conversations

So, you want to build a MashUp? Take the NetSquared Mashup Challenge!

Drew Bernard has a review of a new guide by the good folks at Tactical Technology Collective called "Visualizing Information for Advocacy"

Nonprofits are from Mars, Designers/Techies are from Venus from the alldaybuffet describes some classic communications issues between nonprofits, designers, and technology staff. It notes, "Maybe the answer is an intermediary b/w tech and design volunteers and the non-profits they’re working with–something like a consulting company or creative manager." There's also another article on a similar theme that focuses on the describing the problem -- or why nonprofits, designers, and techies can't talk to each other. Perhaps the skills identified in this workshop or sessions at the upcoming NTC designed to look at change issues that technology surfaces from the viewpoint of executive directors or IT staff might help.

Gavin Clabaugh tells us how to embed "Skype Presence" in a SharePoint Web Part.

Teresa Crawford is in Kiev Ukraine doing a workshop on Web2.0 for NGOs there. Here's one of her training presentations.

Deborah Finn has written a SEO primer called "Search Engine Optimization for Nervous Nonprofit Novices" and she is seeking feedback from SEO mavens. There's a good round up of links to blog posts and articles by other nonprofit techies and SEO mavens. For a step-by-step tutorial on SEO techniques for nonprofits, Wild Apricot's 30 Day Guide to Search Optimization is a good choice, while Search EngineLand site is probably the subject matter expert of choice.

Beth Dunn's "Money for Nothing, IT for Free" has a post about the importance of considering the total cost of a technology investment even if it is free and some advice for getting started. This guide on the Total Cost of Technology from the ICT Hub may also be useful.

For more NpTech Talk, see this roundup over at the NTEN blog.

Social Media

A couple of really useful posts on Facebook and Nonprofits. Ethan Zuckerman gives a summary of Pros/Cons of facebook Activism, a presentation by Imran Jamal and the Burma Global Action Network. The good folks at Care2 (Heather Holdridge, Justin Perkins, and James O'Malley) have a detailed case study on the NTEN blog about the top Facebook winner of the recent Case Foundation America's Giving Challenge. There's also a profile of the Humane Society's recent $50,000 contest win from Microsoft.

Net2 ThinkTank gives up a round up of how Nonprofits and NGOs are Using Mobile Phones and SMS for Social Change. Lots of good stuff from Ken Banks of Kiwanja.net and Katrin Verclas and Corey Ramey at MobileActive.

Twitter's CEO has learned that short is sweet, flexibility is essential, and applications shoudl work so that people don't have to be at their computer all day long. Nate Ritter gives a brilliant example of how Twitter could help save the lives of missing children. The Chronicle sets up a twitter account to broadcast links to blog posts.

With streaming video tools that are free - like Ustream.TV - I imagine we'll see more people video streaming from professional conferences like next month's NTC Conference in New Orleans. This post shows you how to jury rig a DIY periscope for your webcam if it is built into your laptop screen. This is useful if you want both broadcast AND use your laptop to take notes (or answer email).

According to TechCrunch, Bloglines experienced a major outage, leaving many who use bloglines taking a serious look at alternative RSS readers and exporting and backing up our OPML files.

Are you spending too much of your day in your email? Here's a couple of GTD tips for processing your email and being more efficient from LifeHacker. Empty Your Inbox with Trusted Trio and How To Stop Checking Email on Nights and Weekends.

NpTech Slide Decks

SlideShare is like YouTube for powerpoint presentations. It also offers groups where members can share slide decks. There's even an NpTech group that has to date 115 slideshows and 31 members. Here's a roundup of recent additions:

Social News for Social Good is about how to build buzz with Digg by Jonathon Coleman and the slide show he presented at Forum One - Social Sites for Social Good. The presentation describes the benefits of using Digg and shares some before/after results. He also talks about how, contrary to some observations, Digg just isn't empty traffic. Haven't dug into Digg yet? No problem, I dug into the NpTech + Digg tag archives and pulled out this terrific Beginner's Guide To Digg. Check this recent interview to learn more about Jonathan's secrets to using social media tools for success.

Social Metrics: The Search for ROI in Social Media by Steve Latham of Spur Digital. Be sure to check out slide 13 that answers the question, What Can We Measure for Web2.0?" Also worth checking out is this slide show on Social Media Measurement techniques and Greg Cangialosi's ROI of Social Media which coins a new phrase, ROE (Return on Engagement).

I'd Like That To Go: The Impending Mobile Revolution by Holly Ross, NTEN, is the slide deck from her presentation at the TIG Legal Services Conference about mobile campaigns and use of mobile in program delivery. If you're coming to NTEN's NTC Conference next month, you can experience this technology first-hand. You can find all the presentations from that conference here.

Building Foss for Society Blog is the blog for the Humanitarian FOSS Project a collaborative, community-building project that was started by a group of computing faculty and open source proponents at Trinity College, Wesleyan University, and Connecticut College.

Drew Bernard has a blog about conversation, technology, activism, and life.