First for the fun: a new machinima and live mixed video by Drax that features the TechSoup Community team behind the scenes working on the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwAZ1-BstjE

And for the how and why of what we're doing in this community:
The people of TechSoup have been deeply saddened by the recent devastation in Haiti. We have been so inspired and impressed with the many ways folks are using mobile and other technologies to help with disaster relief. Together we have blogged about some of these relief efforts from the great folks at Ushahidi and the Extraordinaries as well as those of our donor partners.

The Red Cross Red Crescent and Reuters have launched a multimedia web documentary - that marks the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean Tsunami. The centre-piece of "Surviving the Tsunami: Stories of Hope" are four very moving interviews with people who have survived this disaster which killed 230,000 people across 14 countries. The Indian Ocean Tsunami is the largest natural disaster in living history: http://tsunami.trust.org

I recently wrote about the British documentary “Us Now” and what I thought about its content. In my latest blog entry I'm talking about what can be learned from the web site and why it provides an excellent lesson in how to make advocacy films that extend beyond the screening room: http://sm4good.com/2009/11/24/open-source-documentary-advocate

I like well made advocacy videos - and the one that British Red Cross released today definitely falls into this category. It features Konnie Huq, a well know and very sexy tv-presenter (well known in the UK). The question is: "Would you still want to kiss her, if she was HIV positive?"

The reason this video was made is a survey that British Red Cross commissioned of 16-25-year-olds in the UK. The result:

Even though 85 per cent know you cannot catch HIV from a kiss, 69 per cent of respondents said they wouldn't kiss someone with HIV.

Or as British Red Cross puts it: "There is safety. And then there is stigma."

If you're struggling with your Christmas shopping this year take a look at the range of gifts on offer at our online gift shop www.giftofsight.co.uk

The Sightsavers' gift list gives you a great opportunity to buy your friends and loved ones a fantastic present which could have a huge impact on someone's life in the developing world.

During the month of October, we reached out to members of TuDiabetes, asking for video submissions on which they described life with diabetes through one of the five senses (sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste). This contest was called Making Sense of Diabetes.

This is the compilation video we've produced in time for World Diabetes Day (Nov. 14), highlighting some of the best contributions made during the contest. We hope it will help people who do not have diabetes to better understand what life with diabetes is like.

Today, over 800 student activists converged on Capitol Hill for the largest lobby day to prevent genocide in history. 

Although we've gotten some amazing submissions for Making Sense of Diabetes so far, we thought it'd be a good idea to collect some tips for those who may not be as inclined to appear in front of the camera and a few others for those who want to do it but are not quite sure how to complete SOME part in the process of putting together a video for Making Sense of Diabetes (or anything else, for that matter). Here you go...

FIRST THING: THE STORY

I wanted to share with you our most recent diabetes awareness project at the Diabetes Hands Foundation, called Making Sense of Diabetes

We are seeking video entries that tell about the impact diabetes has on our lives through one of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. Watch this video to learn about the project and please help us pass the word around about it (perhaps one of you will take us up and help us make sense of diabetes.

Volunteerism in the 21st century can take a different form than traditional charity work, like YouTube's Video Volunteers: youtube.com/videovolunteers.

The mission of YouTube's Video Volunteers platform is to connect nonprofit organizations with skilled video makers who can help them broadcast their causes through video, reaching new audiences online and driving action around issues and projects that matter to them. In partnership with allforgood.org, the new platform that connects volunteers with volunteer opportunities, "Video Volunteers" pools video-related volunteer postings and connects YouTubers with these opportunities.